tihxavy  of  Che  trheolojical  ^mimxy 


PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


Donation  of  Samuel  Agnew 


BX  8495   .W5  S68  1820 
Southey,  Robert,  1774-1843 
The  life  of  Wesley 


THL 


AND  THE 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS 


BY  ROBERT  SOl  i'HEY,  Esq. 

POET  LAUREATE, 
MEMBER   or   THE  ROTAL  SPAHISB  ACADEMY,    OP  THE  ROTAL  SPANISH  ACADEMY  OF 
HISTORY,  AKD  OP  THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTE  OP  THE  RETBEBLAHDS,  &C. 


Read  not  to  contradict  and  confute ;  nor  to  believe  and  take  for  granted ;  nor  to  find  talk  and 
discourse  :  but  to  weigh  and  consider.  Lord  Bacon. 


/.V  TfFO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  I. 


■  NEW-YORK: 

PrBI,ISHED  BY  WM.  B.  GILLEY,  NO.  92  BROADWAY 

J.  Seymour,  print 


1820. 


I..;uUn.  r>ilrl)u)ii<l  Wli.hy  J  2Iiaray ,  Jt  Soli,  ly  O.  TOtiFUet  So,.:. 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 
in  2014 


littps://arcli  ive.org/details/lifeofwesleyriseOOsout_0 


SHARON  TURNER, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  ANGLO-SAXONS, 
THE   HISTORY    OF  ENGLAND, 

THESE  VOLUMES  ARE  INSCRIBED, 

IN  THE  HOPE 

THAT  THE  OPINIONS  WHICH  THEY  EXPRESS  WILL  NOT  Bt 
DISAPPROVED   EY  HIS   JUDGMENT  J 

IN   THE   CERTAINTY  THAT 
THE  FEELING  WHICH  PERVADES  THEM  IS  CONGENIAL  WITH 
.  HIS  OWN  ; 


AND   IN  MEMORIAL 
OF   TRUE   RESPECT  AND  FRIENDSHIP. 


I  HAVE  had  no  private  sources  of  information  in 
compTDsing  the  present  work.  The  materials  are  de- 
rived chiefly  from  the  following  books  : — 

Life  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.  M.  including  an  Account 
of  the  Great  Revival  of  Religion  in  Europe  and  America, 
of  which  he  was  the  first  and  chief  Instrument.  By  Dr. 
Coke  and  Mr.  Moore.    8vo.    London,  1792. 

Life  of  the  Rev.  John  Weslev,  M.  A.  collected  from  his 
private  Papers  and  printed  Works,  and  written  at  the  re- 
quest of  his  Executors.  To  which  is  prefixed,  some  Ac- 
count of  his  Ancestors  and  Relations  ;  with  the  Life  of  the 
Rev.  Charles  Weslev^  M.  A.  collected  from  his  private 
Journals  and  never  before  published.  The  whole  forming 
a  History  of  Methodism,  in  which  the  Principles  and  Eco- 
nomy of  Methodists  are  unfolded.  Copied  chiefly  from  a 
London  edition  published  by  Jons  Whitehead,  M.  D.  2 
vols.  8vo.    Dublin,  1805.  v 

Memoirs  of  the  late  Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.  M.  with  a  Re- 
view of  his  Life  and  Writings  ;  and  a  History  of  Methodism, 
from  its  commencement  in  1 729,  to  the  present  time.  By 
John  Hampson,  A.  B.   3  vols.  12mo.  Sunderland,  1791. 

Original  Letters,  by  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  and  his  Friends, 
illustrative  of  his  early  History,  with  other  curious  Papers. 


VI 


PREFACE. 


Commumcated  by  the  late  Rev.  S.  Badcock  ;  to  which  ig 
prefixed,  an  Address  to  the  Methodists.  By  Joseph 
Priestley,  L.  L.  D.  F.  R.  S.  &c.  Birmingham,  1791. 
8vo. 

The  Works  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  16  vols.  8vo. 
London,  1809. 

Sermons  by  the  late  Rev.  Charles  Wesley,  A.  M.  Student 
of  Christ  Church,  Oxford.  With  a  Memoir  of  the  Author, 
by  the  Editor.    Crown  8vo.    London,  1816. 

Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conference,  from  the  First  held  in 
London  by  the  late  Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.  M.  in  the  year 
1744.  3  vols.  8vo.  London,  1812. 

Arminian  Magazine,  (now  called  the  Methodist  Magazine) 
from  its  commencement. 

A  Chronological  History  of  the  People  called  Methodists,  of 
the  Connexion  of  the  late  Rev.  John  Wesley,  from  their 
Rise  in  the  year  1729  to  their  last  conference  in  the  year 
1802.    By  William  Myles.    12mo.    London,  1803. 

A  Portraiture  of  Methodism  ;  or,  the  History  of  theWesleyan 
Methodists,  showing  their  Rise,  Progress,  iiid  present 
State ;  Biographical  Sketches  of  some  of  their  most  emi- 
nent Ministers ;  the  Doctrines  the  Methodists  beheve  and 
teach,  fully  and  explicitly  stated  ;  with  the  whole  Plan  of 
their  Discipline,  including  their  Original  Rules  and  Subse- 
quent Regulations.  Also  a  Defence  of  Methodism.  By 
Jonathan  Crowther,  who  has  been  upwards  of  thirty 
years  a  travelling  Preacher  among  them.  8vo.  London, 
1815. 

A  Portraiture  of  Methodism:  being  an  impartial  View  of  the 
Rise,  Progress,  Doctrines,  Discipline,  and  Manners  of  the 
Wesleyan  Methodists.  In  a  Series  of  Letters,  addressed  to 
a  Lady.  By  Joseph  Nightingale.   8vo.   London,  1807" 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  the  late  Rev.  Georgk 
Whitefield,  a.  M.  of  Pembroke  College,  Oxford,  and 
Chaplain  to  the  Right  Hon.  the  Countess  Dowager  of  Hunting- 
don ;  faithfully  selected  from  his  Original  Papers,  Journals, 
and  Letters ;  illustrated  by  a  variety  of  interesting  Anec- 
dotes from  the  best  authorities.  By  the  late  Rev.  J.  Gillies, 
D.  D.  Minister  of  the  College  Church  of  Glasgow.  Se- 
cond edition,  with  large  additions  and  improvements.  8vo. 
London,  1813. 

The  Works  of  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  M.  A.  &c. 
Containing  all  his  Sermons  and  Tracts  which  have  been  al- 
ready published ;  with  a  select  Collection  of  Letters,  writ- 
ten to  his  most  intimate  Friends  and  Persons  of  Distinction 
in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  America,  from  the  Year 
1734  to  1770,  including  the  whole  Period  of  his  Ministry. 
Also,  some  other  Pieces  on  important  Subjects,  never  be- 
fore printed,  prepared  by  himself  for  the  Press.  6  vols.  Bvo. 
London,  1771, 

The  Two  First  Parts  of  his  Life,  with  his  Journals.  Revis- 
ed, corrected,  and  abridged  by  George  Whitefield,  A.B. 
Chaplain  to  the  Right  Hon.  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon. 
12mo.    London,  1756. 

Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  the  late  Rev.  Corne- 
,    LiusWiKTER;  compiled  and  composed  by  William  Jay. 
l  :mo.    London,  1809.     (This  volume  contains  a  much 
more  interesting  account  of  Whitefield  than  is  to  be  found 
in  any  Life  of  him  that  has  yet  been  published. 

The  Ancient  and  Modern  History  of  the  Brethren,  or  a  Suc- 
cinct Narrative  of  the  Protestant  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren,  or  Unilas  Fratrum,  in  the  remoter  Ages,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  present  Century.  Written  in  German,  by 
David  Cranz,  Author  of  the  History  of  Greenland ;  now 
translated  into  Enghsh,  with  Emendations,  and  published 
with  some  additional  Notes,  by  Benjamin  Latrobe.  8vo. 
London,  1780. 


vni 


PREFAC.E. 


A  candid  Narrative  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Herrn- 
huters,  commonly  called  Moravians,  or  Unitas  Fratrum, 
with  a  short  Account  of  their  Doctrines,  drawn  from  their 
own  W ritings.  To  which  are  added,  Observations  on  their 
PoHtics  in  General,  and  particularly  on  their  Conduct  whilst 
in  the  County  of  Biidingen,  in  the  Circle  of  the  Upper 
Rhine  in  Germany.  By  Henry  Rimius,  Aulic  Counsellor 
to  his  late  Majesty  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  Author  of  the 
Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Brunswick.  The  Second  Edi- 
tion, in  which  the  Latin  Appendix  in  the  first  edition  is  ren- 
dered into  English.    8vo.    London,  1733. 

A  True  and  Authentic  Account  of  Andrew  Frey  :  containing 
the  Occasion  of  his  coming  among  the  Herrnhuters  or  Mo- 
ravians ;  his  Observations  on  their  Conferences,  Casting 
Lots,  Marriages,  Festivals,  Merriments,  Celebrations  of 
Birth  Days,  Impious  Doctrines  and  Fantastical  Practices, 
Abuse  of  Charitable  Contributions,  Linen  Images,  Ostenta- 
tious Profuseneis  and  Rancour  against  any  who  in  the  least 
differ  from  them  ;  and  the  Reasons  for  which  he  left  them ; 
together  with  the  Motive  for  Publishing  this  Account. 
Faithfully  translated  from  the  German.';  8vo.  London, 
1753. 

A  Solemn  Call  on  Count  Zinzendorf,  the  Author  and  Advo- 
cate of  the  Sect  of  Herrnhuters,  commonly  called  Moravi- 
ans, to  answer  all  and  every  Charge  brought  against  them 
in  the  Candid  Narrative,  &c. ;  with  some  further  Observa- 
tions on  the  Spirit  of  that  Sect.  By  Henry  Rimius.  8vo. 
London,  1754. 

The  Moravians  Compared  and  Detected.  By  the  Author  of 
the  Enthusiasm  of  the  Methodists  and  Papists  compared. 
8vo.    London,  1755. 

An  Extract  from  the  Journal  of  Mr.  John  Nelson,  Preacher 
of  the  Gospel.  Containing  an  Account  of  God's  dealings 
with  him  from  his  Youth  to  the  42d  Year  of  his  Age.  Writ- 
ten by  himself.    24mo.    London,  1813. 


PREFACE. 


ix 


The  Lile  and  Death  of  Mr  Thomas  Walsh,  Minister  of  the 
Gospel ;  composed  in  great  part  from  his  own  Accounts. 
By  James  Morgan,  12mo.  London,  1811. 

The  Life  and  Writings  of  the  late  Rev.  William  Grimshavv, 
A.B.  Minister  of  Haworth,  in  the  West  Riding  of  the  Coun- 
ty of  York.    By  William  Myles.    12mo.  1813. 

The  Life  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Coke,  L.  L.  D.  :  including  in 
detail,  his  various  Travels  and  extraordinary  Missionary 
Exertions  in  England,  Ireland,  America,  and  the  West  In- 
dies ;  with  an  Account  of  his  Death,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1814, 
while  on  a  Missionary  Voyage  to  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  in 
the  East  Indies  ;  interspersed  with  numerous  Reflections, 
and  concluding  with  an  abstract  of  his  Writings  and  Cha- 
racter. By  Samuel  Drew,  of  St.  Austell,  Cornwall.  8vo. 
London,  1817- 

Extracts  of  the  Journals  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coke's  Five  Visits 
to  America.  12mo.  179.3. 

A  History  of  the  West  Indies  ;  containing  the  Natural,  Civil, 
and  Ecclesiastical  History  of  each  Island  :  with  an  Account 
of  the  Missions  instituted  in  those  Islands,  from  the  com- 
mencement of  their  Civilization  :  but  more  especially  of  the 
Missions  which  have  been  established  in  that  Archipelago, 
by  the  Society  late  in  Connexion  with  the  Rev.  John  Wes- 
ley. By  Thomas  Coke,  L.  L.  D.  of  the  University  of  Ox- 
ford. 8vo.  3  vols.  Vol.  1,  Liverpool,  1808  ;  Vol.  2.  Lon- 
don, 1810;  Vol.  3.  London,  1811. 

The  Experience  and  Gospel  Labours  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin 
Abbott  ;  to  which  is  annexed,  a  Narrative  of  his  Life  and 
Death  ;  also.  Extracts  from  the  Journal  of  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley.  By  John  Ffirth.  12mo.  Philadelphia.  Li- 
verpool (reprinted,)  1809. 

The  Life  of  the  Rev.  John  William  de  la  Flechere,  com- 
piled from  the  Narrative  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley ;  the  Bio- 
VOL.  I.  2 


X 


PREFACE. 


graphical  Notes  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin  ;  from  his  own 
Letters ;  and  other  Authentic  Documents.  By  Joseph 
Benson.  8vo.  London,  1817. 

The  Works  of  the  Rev.  John  Fletcher.  In  10  vols.  8vo. 
London,  1815. 

The  Works  of  Augustus  Toplady,  A.  B.  late  Vicar  of  Broad 
Hemburj,  Devon.    In  6  vols.    8vo.    London,  1794. 

The  Enthusiasm  of  Methodists  and  Papists  compared.  In 
Three  Parts,    2  vols.  12mo.  London,  1734. 

The  Doctrine  of  Grace  ;  or,  the  Office  and  Operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  vindicated  from  the  Insults  of  Infidelity  and  the 
Abuses  of  Fanaticism  ;  with  some  Thoughts  (humbly  offer- 
ed to  the  Consideration  of  the  Established  Clergy)  regard- 
ing the  right  method  of  defending  Religion  against  the  at- 
tacks of  cither  party.  In  Three  Books.  In  the  Fourth 
Volume  of  Bishop  Warburton's  Works. 

Various  Volumes  of  the  Gospel  Magazine. 

I  am  not  conscous  of  having  left  any  tiling  undone 
for  rendering  the  present  work  as  little  incomplete 
as  it  was  in  my  power  to  make  it ;  and  I  have  repre- 
sented facts  as  I  found  them,  with  scrupulous  fidelity, 
neither  extenuating  nor  exaggerating  any  thing.  Of 
the  opinions  of  the  writer,  the  reader  will  judge  ac- 
cording to  his  own  ;  but  whatever  his  judgment  may 
be  upon  that  point,  he  will  acknowledge  that,  in  a 
book  of  this  kind,  the  opinions  of  an  author  are  of  less 
consequence  than  his  industry,  his  accuracy,  and  his 
sense  of  duty. 


CONTENTS. 


OOP" 

VOL,  i. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Pagf. 


Bartholomew  Wesley,  great  grandfather  of  John,  an  eject- 
ed minister,  *   36 

John,  son  of  Bartholomew,  ejected  and  imprisoned.  He  dies 

early,     37 

Samuel,  son  of  John,  leaves  the  Dissenters,  and  enters  at 

Exeter  College,  Oxford   38 

Marries  Susannah  Annesley.   39 

Preaches  against  Popery  under  James  II   41 

Holds  the  livings  of  Epworth  and  Wroote   42 

John  Wesley  born  at  Epworth    42 

Providentially  preserved  from  fire   43 

Birth  of  his  brother  Charles   44 

Mrs.  Wesley  holds  religious  meetings  on  Sunday  evenings, 

during  her  husband's  absence.    44 

Correspondence  with  her  husband  upon  this  subject   45 

Her  particular  care  to  breed  up  John  in  religious  prin- 

ples    47 

Samuel,  the  elder  brother,  an  usher  at  Westminster   48 

Charles  educated  at  Westminster   49 

John  at  the  Charter-house    49 

Preternatural  noises  in  the  parsonage  at  Epworth    49 

Wesley's  spare  diet  and  regular  exercise  while  a  school-boy  54 

His  annual  visit  to  the  Charter-house   54 

CHAP.  II. 

Wesley  is  entered  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford   56 

His  skill  in  logic   56 

He  hesitates  about  taking  orders  — ,   56 


COJNTEiN  l  b 


Effect  produced  upon  him  by  the  treatise  De  Imitatione 

Christi    -    —  67 

and  by  Bishop  Taylor's  Holy  Living  and  Dying  59 

His  opinions  of  Christian  humility   60 

Of  Predestination   61 

He  is  ordained  in  1725   62 

1  Elected  Fellow  of  Lincoln    62 

Greek  Lecturer,  and  Moderator  of  the  Classes   63 

Distribution  of  his  studies   64 

He  longs  for  retirement     65 

Officiates  at  Wroote  as  his  father's  curate  -  66 

Charles  Wesley  refuses  to  go  to  Ireland  with  one  who  would 

have  adopted  him  for  his  name's  sake   67 

Charles  takes  a  religious  turn  at  Oxford    68 

He  and  his  associates  are  called  Methodists   69 

Morgan,  one  of  these  first  Methodists   70 

Birth  and  boyhood  of  Whitefield   70 

Officiates  as  drawer  at  his  mother's  inn   71 

Goes  as  a  Servitor  to  Pembroke  College,  Oxford   72 

Becomes  one  of  the  Methodists   7S 

Their  mode  of  life  and  self-examination   74 

Wesley,  the  father,  encourages  them   75 

John  becomes  acquainted  with  William  Law   76 

The  two  brothers  travel  on  foot,  and  converse  in  Latin   78 

Wesley  doubts  the  lawfulness  of  worldly  studies    78 

Defends  himself  against  the  charge  of  singularity   79 

Wears  his  hair  loose  and  unpowdered    80 

Reduces  himself  to  a  dangerous  state  of  weakness   81 

Samuel  accepts  the  mastership  of  Tiverton  school    82 

John  is  urged  to  apply  for  the  succession  to  his  father's  living  84 

His  reasons  for  choosing  to  continue  at  Oxford   8f 

CHAP.  HI. 

Death  of  Samuel  Wesley,  the  father    88 

Wesley  consents  to  go  out  to  the  new  colony  in  Georgia   89 

He  thinks  it  easy  to  convert  the  Savages   90 

Charles  takes  orders,  and  accompanies  him   90 

Delamotte  and  Ingham  their  companions    91 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Page. 

Moravians  on  board  the  ship   91 

Wesley  advises  his  brother  Samuel  to  discard  the  classics 

from  his  school   92 

Their  rule  of  life  on  board   93 

Equanimity  of  the  Moravians   94 

Establishment  of  the  British  colony  in  Georgia   94 

Situation  of  Savannah   95 

Speech  of  Tomo-Chichi   96 

Creek  Indians  in  England   97 

Laws  of  the  colony   99 

Wesley's  interview  with  the  Moravian  pastor,  Spangenberg. .  101 

His  interview  with  Tomo-Chichi     103 

He  preaches  against  vanity  in  dress    105 

Insists  upon  a  rigid  observance  of  the  Rubric   106 

Charles  becomes  obnoxious  to  the  people  atFrederica   107 

Oglethorpe  treats  him  unkindly   108 

Falls  ill,  and  sends  for  his  brother   110 

Is  reconciled  to  Oglethorpe    Ill 

Returns  to  England   113 

Wesley  in  love  with  Sophia  Causton   113 

The  Moravians  forbid  him  to  marry  her    116 

She  marries  Mr.  Williamson    117 

Wesley  rebukes  her   119 

He  repels  her  from  the  Communion   120 

Williamson  prosecutes  him  for  this    120 

He  leaves  Savannah  _   126 

Is  lost  in  the  woods   126 

Embarks  for  England    127 

His  state  of  mind  on  the  voyage    128 

He  lands  at  Deal,  and  describes  his  own  imperfect  state 

of  faith   133 

Advantages  which  he  derived  from  his  mission  to  Geor- 
gia  13! 

CHAP.  IV. 

Wesley  exhorts  Whilefield  not  to  pursue  his  voyage,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  lot  which  he  had  cast   136 

Whitefield's  excess  of  devotion  at  Oxford   138 

He  experiences  the  new  birth   139 

Is  ordained  at  Gloucester    I'lO 


xiv 


CONTENTS. 


Pag' 

VVhitefield  officiates  in  London  with  success   142 

Officiates  in  a  village  in  Hampshire   142 

Resolves  to  go  to  Georgia    144 

Preaches  at  Bristol    145 

Becomes  exceedingly  popular  in  that  city   146 

His  qualifications  as  an  orator    J46 

Followed  by  crowds  in  London  147 

Excites  jealousy  concerning  his  doctrine    148 

Wesley  arrives  in  London  as  soon  as  Whitetield  leaves  it  149 

Wesley  meets  Peter  Boehler     150 

Boehler  convinces  him  of  unbelief   161 

Wesley  begins  to  exhort  people  as  he  travels    151 

He  resolves  not  to  confine  himself  to  a  form  of  prayer..  152 
Is  persuaded  by  Boehler,  that  conversion  must  be  an  in- 
stantaneous work  —  -  163 

The  Methodists  in  London  are  formed  into  bands  154 

Their  rules   154 

Wesley  writes  to  Mr.  Law,  reproaching  him  for  not  having 

taught  him  the  necessity  of  a  saving  faith   1 55 

Law's  answer      157 

Charles  Wesley  is  cojiTjerieci  _   159 

Wesley's  conversion    160 

His  conduct  at  Mr.  Mutton's    161 

Mrs.  Hutton  complains  to  Samuel  -   162 

Samuel's  remarks  upon  the  conduct  of  his  two  brothers   162 

Wesley  sets  out  for  Herrnhut   165 

CHAP.  V. 

The  Bohemian  Church    166 

Effect  of  Wickliffe's  writings   167 

Religious  wars   167 

Expulsion  of  the  Protestants    168 

Comenius  writes  the  history  of  his  Church   169 

Christian  David  incites  the  Protestants  to  emigrate   171 

He  obtains  permission  for  them  to  settle  on  Zinzendorf's 

estates    171 

Count  Zinzendorf   172 

They  name  this  settlement  Herrnhut   17:> 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Page. 

Debate  whether  they  shall  join  the  Lutheran  Church,  decid- 
ed by  lot    175 

Zinzendorf  banished   176 

He  enter  into  orders   177 

Wesley  visits  him  at  Marienborn   178 

His  opinions  concerning  Justification   179 

Wesley  proceeds  to  Herrnhut   182 

Discipline  of  the  Moravians   182 

Their  scandalous  language  at  one  time   188 

Wesley  hears  Christian  David  preach  1    1 89 

He  returns  to  England   191 

CHAP.  VI. 

Wesley  addresses  an  epistle  to  the  Church  of  Herrnhut   192 

He  objects  to  the  Count's  authority   193 

His  opinion  of  his  own  spiritual  state   194 

Delamotte  censures  him  —  197 

He  accompanies  some  criminals  to  Tyburn   198 

Interview  with  Bishop  Gibson    199 

Charles  AVesley's  second  interview   200 

Raptures  of  the  converts   201 

Whitefield  returns  from  Georgia  to  raise  contributions  for 

building  an  orphan-house  there   204 

Love-feasts  in  Fetter-lane    206 

Whitefield  thinks  of  preaching  without-doors,  because  the 

church  was  not  large  enough  for  his  hearers   207 

He  goes  to  Bristol    207 

Preaches  out  of  doors  to  the  colliers  in  Kingswood  208 

He  resolves  to  preach  in  defiance  of  ecclesiastical  autho- 
rity  209 

He  longs  for  persecution  211 

He  invites  Wesley  to  take  his  place  at  Bristol  214 

Wesley  consults  the  Bible  upon  the  sybject  215 

CHAP.  VII. 

Wesley  at  Bristol   217 

Whitefield  lays  the  first  stone  of  a  school  for  the  colliers' 

childrfin  at  Kingswood  218 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


l-agt . 

Wesley  commences  field-preaching  after  Whitefield's  exam- 
ple   220 

Paroxysms  of  Methodism   221 

Case  of  John  Haydon    221 

Correspondence  with  his  brother  Samuel  ...»   223 

Conversion  of  Thomas  Maxfield   231 

Exultation  of  Wesley  at  the  effect  which  he  produces   232 

Bands  formed   232 

First  Meeting-house  built   233 

Wesley  is  called  to  London   233 

CHAP.  Vlll. 

Lay  preaching  contended  for    235 

Opposed  by  Charles  Wesley    236 

Whitefield  in  Moorfields    237 

Wesley  at  Blackheath   238 

Fits  in  London    239 

Origin  of  the  French  Prophets   240 

They  produce  disputes  among  the  Methodists   246 

Whitefield  produces  the  same  paroxysms  as  Wesley    247 

Samuel  argues  against  these  extravagancies    248 

Wesley  accused  of  being  a  Papist    252 

Character  of  Charles  Wesley's  preaching   252 

Ceremonies  at  an  evening  meeting   253 

Wesley's  mother  becomes  a  convert   255 

Letter  from  Samuel  on  that  occasion   255 

Death  of  Samuel  Wesley   257 

Wesley's  view  of  the  difference  between  himself  and  the 

clergy    25C 

Cases  of  supposed  possession   259 

Charles  less  credulous  than  his  brother.   263 

CHAP.  IX. 

View  of  the  history  of  Christianity  in  England   266 

Christianity  long  confined  to  cities   266 

Imperfect  conversion  of  the  people   267 

Paganism  recruited  in  this  island  by  the  Saxons  and  Danes. . . .  268 

Advantages  of  the  Papacy   •   270 


CONTENTS.  Xvil 

Pag, 

Corruption  of  the  Romish  Church   270 

Reformation  271 

Number  of  Clergy  injuriously  diminished  —  272 

Clergy  impoverished    274 

Conforming  Clergy  at  the  Reformation    274 

The  sequestered  Clergy    276 

State  of  the  Church  at  the  Restoration   278 

Evil  produced  by  conforming  Puritans,  and  by  the  ejectment 

of  sincerer  Men    278 

Conduct  of  the  Clergy   279 

Misapplication  of  the  Fines     280 

Decay  of  discipline  280 

Want  of  zeal  281 

In  part  owing  to  the  constitution  of  the  Church  281 

Its  want  of  auxiliaries   282 

Growth  of  towns   283 

Growth  of  Infidelity   284 

Exertions  against  Popery  284 

Advantages  of  the  Reformation   285 

Ignorance  of  the  lower  orders   287 

Measures  required  for  completing  the  Reformation   287 

Wesley's  iaimediate  object    288 

His  hopes  and  indefinite  prospects   288 

CHAP.  X. 

Diflference  with  the  Moravians    290 

Molther  opposes  certain  errors  of  Wesley   290 

He  advances  others  in  opposition  to  them    291 

Wesley  repairs  to  London  in  consequence    292 

The  difference  becomes  greater   293 

He  prepares  for  a  separation,  and  provides  a  place  of  meet- 
ing at  the  Foundry    294 

Extravagant  language  of  the  Moravians   296 

Wesley  withdraws  from  them   296 

He  addresses  an  epistle  to  the  Moravian  Church   297 

Many  of  his  friends  adhere  to  the  Brethren    298 

Peter  Boehler  arrives  in  England    299 

Wesley  confers  with  him  and  Spangenberg   306 

Re-union  ineffectually  proposed   3q1 

Conference  between  Wesley  and  Zinzendorf     302 

VOL.    I.  ;j 


XVUl. 


CONTENTS. 


Wesley  proclaims  the  breach  to  the  world  ,   SOS 

Dedicates  the  Journal  in  which  this  is  done  to  the  Moravian 

Church   303 

Changes  his  tone,  and  censures  the  Moravians  305 

Accredits  the  calumnies  against  them  306 

Whitelield  writes  against  them    307 

CHAP.  XI. 

Whitefield  di;Tors  from  Wesley  concerning  predestination, 

and  wishes  to  avoid  the  dispute   308 

Writes  from  America  to  express  his  diff  erence  of  opinion  - .  309 

Acourt  brings  the  question  forward  in  London   310 

Wesley  publishes  his  sermon  against  predestination   312 

Whitelield  assumes  a  tone  of  superiority    312 

Extravagance  of  Whitefield's  language    313 

He  still  affects  to  look  for  persecution   313 

Reproves  Wesley  for  his  notions  of  perfection,  and  for  not 

owning  election   314 

Exhorts  him  to  be  humble   315 

Writes  against  him    316 

Copies  of  his  letters  distributed  at  the  Foundry   318 

Cennick  employed  at  Kingswood   318 

Writes  to  Whitefield,  complaining  that  the  Wesleys  preached 

false  doctrines    319 

Wesley  charges  him  with  this   321 

Excludes  Cennick  and  his  party   322 

Whitefield  sails  for  England   323 

Finds  his  popularity  diminished  -   324 

Is  under  pecuniary  embarrassments    325 

Correspondence  with  Wesley     326 

Breach  between  them  •  -  327 

CHAP.  XII. 

Charles  Wesley  inclined  to  the  Moravians   328 

Wesley's  feelings  of  discontent  in  youth   329 

Steps  towards  schism   330 

Class-money  --    331 

Class-leaders    332 

Itinerancy   334 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

Page. 

Field-preaching    335 

Lay-preachers  337 

Resisted  at  first  by  the  Wesleys  337 

Necessity  of  assistants  --   338 

Thomas  Maxfield  339 

Wesley  hears  him  preach,  and  assents  to  the  practice  340 

John  Nelson   -   340 

Wesley  visits  him  at  Birstall    348 

Wesley  goes  to  Newcastle  r   340 

NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Physic  practised  by  the  Clergy  in  former  times   357 

Dr.  Owen     359 

Mrs.  Wesley's  method  of  teaching  her  children  to  read   359 

Wesley  not  educated  at  Westminster  —   360 

Fires   360 

Sacheverel's  Defence    361 

Original  Accounts  of  the  Disturbances,  by  Jeffry,  at  Ep- 

worth   -.  ...  361 

Thomas  a  Kempis    379 

Methodists,  not  a  new  name    380 

Expenses  of  the  University   380 

Wesley's  scheme  of  self-examination   381 

Behmenists  in  England  <   383 

William  Lawi   383 

Baptism  by  Immersion   384 

Members  of  the  colony  in  Georgia   384 

Coincidence  of  opinion  between  Wesley  and  South   386 

Phihp  Henry's  opinion  concerning  the  exact  time  of  con- 
version  386 

Comenius   386 

Moravian  Marriages    387 

Fanatical  language  of  the  Moravians   387 

Zinzendorf 's  notion  that  all  souls  are  female   390 

Doctrine  of  Assurance   39 1 

Thomas  Haliburton    39 j 

Ravings  of  the  persecuted  Hugonots   392 

Late  continuance  of  the  Druidical  superstitions    393 

Preaching  at  a  Cross    393 


XX 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

flobbes's  parallel  between  the  Romish  Clergy  and  the  Fai- 
ries  -   393 

Plunder  of  the  Church  at  the  Reformation   394 

Miserable  state  of  the  inferior  clergy  in  the  first  age  after  the 

Reformation  .  -  ■   395 

Means  for  assisting  poor  scholars  diminished   398 

Conforming  clergy  at  the  Reformation   398 

Ignorance  of  the  country  clergy   399 

Clergy  of  Charles  the  First's  age   399 

The  sequestered  clergy   399 

Conforming  Puritans    400 

Eflect  of  religion  in  changing  the  heart   401 

Dialogue  bet\veen  Wesley  and  Zinzendorf.  -  401 

Charges  agniiist  the  Moravians    403 

Puritanical  language   403 

Extr;ivagancies  at  Kingswood    403 

System  of  itinerancy  proposed  by  the  fmatics  of  Cromwell's 

time,  as  a  substitute  for  the  Establishment   404 

First  lay-preachers    40S 

— 

VOL,  II. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

State  of  Methodism   3 

Death  of  Mrs.  Wesley  .-   4 

Wesley's  sisters   6 

Conduct  of  his  brother-in-law,  Hall   6 

His  sister  Wright    12 

His  brother-in-law,  Whitelamb   14 

Wesley  preaches  upon  his  father's  grave                           -.  15 

Letter  from  Whitelamb   16 

Converts  at  Epworth   17 

The  curate  at  Epworth  refuses  to  administer  the  sacrament 

to  Wesley   -   18 

CHAP.  XIV. 

Offence  taken  at  the  extravagance  of  the  Methodists   19 

Wesley  relates  miracles   20 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


Reports  concerning  him  . . .  20 

Charles  Wesley  taken  up  for  a  Jacobite    21 

John  Wesley  and  Beau  Nash   23 

Riots  at  Bristol    23 

Outrages  at  Wednesbury   24 

John  Nelson  pressed  for  a  soldier    29 

Gross  misconduct  of  tlie  magistrates   29 

Nelson's  enthusiasm  and  courage    31 

The  Countess  of  Huntingdon  obtains  his  discharge   34 

Maxfield  pressed  in  Cornwall   35 

Wesley  attacked  by  the  mob  in  Cornwall   36 

Charles  Wesley  in  danger  at  Devizes   37 

Wesley's  appeal  concerning  field-preaching   38 

CHAP.  XV. 

Scenes  of  itinerancy   39 

Wesley  and  John  Nelson  in  Cornwall   41 

Chance-converts  42 

E{fects  of  field  preaching   47 

Wesley's  love  of  the  poor    50 

His  opinion  of  the  higher  classes   51 

Dislike  of  the  farmers    51 

Instability  of  his  converts    53 

CHAP.  XVI. 

Wesley's  lay-coadjutors   55 

He  justifies  himself  for  admitting  them   57 

Advises  them  to  read   58 

But  not  to  affect  the  praise  of  learning  59 

Defends  them  from  the  charge  of  being  ignorant  GO 

His  management  of  them   Gl 

Their  ready  obedience  instanced  in  the  case  of  John  Jane  62 

Some  of  the  first  preachers  withdraw   G2 

Conversion  of  John  Furz   G3 

Of  John  Thorpe   G4 

CHAP.  XVH. 

John  Oliver   05 

Severity  of  his  father   G(» 


xxn 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Falls  into  despair,  and  throws  himself  into  the  river  67 

Attempts  suicide  a  second  time    67 

Runs  away  (rem  home    68 

Is  permitied  to  follow  his  own  course,  and  becomes  a 

preacher  »   68 

John  Pawson    69 

Opposed  by  his  father  71 

His  vindication  of  himself   71 

The  father  is  converted   72 

Pawson  becomes  melancholy   73 

He  receivts  tiie  assurance    74 

Becomes  a  preacher   74 

Alexander  Mather   75 

Joins  the  Rebels  in  1745   75 

Is  delivered  Jo  justice  by  his  father    75 

Goes  to  London,  and  marries  there    75 

Objects  to  working  at  his  business  as  a  baker  on  Sundays  76 

Is  admitted  by  Wesley  to  preach    77 

Excessive  exertions  at  this  time  79 

Cruelly  used  by  a  mob  79 

Account  of  the  change  wrought  in  him  by  religion  ....  80 

Thomas  Olivers  80 

A  reprobate  boy  and  young  man  81 

Arfected  by  hearing  Whitefield  82 

Rejected  by  one  of  Whitetield's  preachers  83 

Attends  the  Methodists  83 

His  exertions  as  a  preacher  84 

Suffers  dreadfully  from  the  small  pox  85 

Pays  all  his  debts  85 

Attacked  by  the  mob  at  Yarmouth  87 

His  deliberation  concerning  marriage  .  .  .  .  ,  88 

CHAP.  XVIII. 

John  Haime  90 

His  first  stage  of  doubt  and  despair  9d 

In  the  act  of  committing  blasphemy,  he  is  frightened  by  a 

bustard  92 

Enlists  as  a  soldier  92 

Is  driven  to  despair  by  one  of  Whitetield's  preachers  ...  93 
Charles  Wesley  comforts  him  93 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 


Goes  to  the  continent   94 

Forms  <i  society  in  the  army  of  Flanders   94 

Brings  one  of  his  comrades  to  a  court-martial  for  blas- 
phemy   95 

Is  in  tlie  battle  of  Fontenoy   96 

His  second  state  of  despair   96 

He  continues  to  preach,  notwithstanding   98 

Admitted  as  a  travelling  preacher   99 

The  disease  leaves  him  when  an  old  man       -    -    .    .  loo 

He  dies  in  the  fulness  of  hope   100 

Sampson  St.aniforth  -   100 

His  profligate  life  in  the  army   101 

Converted  through  the  means  of  a  comrade  -  -  -  -  103 
Describes  a  vision  in  which  he  is  persuaded  that  his  sins 

are  forgiven   lOo 

Marries,  and  leaves  the  army   104 

Settles  as  a  preacher   106 

His  happy  old  age    106 

George  Storv    107 

His  miscellaneous  reading   108 

His  search  after  happiness   108 

Becomes  an  unbeliever   109 

Uneasiness  of  his  mind   110 

Reasons  with  the  Methodists  -    -    -  112 

Joins  them  from  the  workings  of  his  own  mind  -      -    -  112 

Never  becomes  an  enthusiast   113 

CHAP.  XIX. 

Provision  for  the  lay-preachers   113 

Allowance  for  their  wives   114 

Wesley  establishes  a  school  atKingswood   116 

System  of  education  there   117 

Lady  Maxwell   118 

111  management  of  the  school  -  120 

Conference  of  the  preachers   121 

CHAP.  XX. 

Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions  122 

The  moral  or  Adamic  law  122 


xxiv 


CONTENTS. 


fa-*. 

Spiritaal  death,  or  the  death  of  the  soul  a  consequence  of  the 

Fall  -  123 

Hence  the  necessity  of  a  new  birth  -  --  -___.]  25 
Justification  -  126 
Sanctification  .127 
Instantaneous  deliverance  from  sin  127 

Salvation  by  faith  -128 

What  is  fulh?     -    --    -  129 

Revelation,  a  perpetual  thing  130 
The  inward  evidence  of  Christianity  131 

Faith,  the  free  gift  of  God   _    .    .  131 

Witness  of  the  Spirit    -    --  132 

Assurance  reasonably  explained   -  133 
Perfection  134 
Chain  of  beings   -  136 
Diabolical  agency    -  .137 
Day  of  judgment      _-----_-_____]  38 

The  Millennium      -  138 
Opinions  concerning  the  brute  creation       ______  133 

Wesley's  perfect  charity    -    --  -_--_--_i4i 

CHAP.  XXI. 

Discipline  of  the  Methodists  ---_144 

Wesley's  supremacy     _-_----_--__  145 

Circuits    -    -_----_-----___  147 

Helpers,  in  what  manner  admitted     -    --  __-__147 
The  twelve  rules  of  a  Helper        ___-__.-_  148 
Forbidden  to  engage  in  trade      -    --  -___-_i50 

Advice  respecting  their  diet    -    --    --    --    --    -  161 

Frequent  change  of  preachers     -    --    --    --    --  162 

Early  preaching       _----_--    --._-l  53 

Local  preachers  ----i  54 

Leaders    ____------    -    -    -__  -154 

Bands  ___-._----------155 

Select  bands       _-__-_--__.    -    ._i  56 

Watch-nights      -    -.---_-  157 

Love-feasts  -    --    --    --    --    --    -    -__l  59 

Settlement  of  the  chapels  160 

Their  structure  and  plan  -  ___---_--_]Cl 
Psalmody  ._..-_  ..-i(;2 


eONTEATS. 

CHAP.  XXII. 

Pag'. 

j^ethodism  in  Wales  -    -  164 

Origin  of  the  Jumpers   165 

Methodism  in  Scotland   165 

Whitefield  invited  thither   166 

Conduct  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  the  Seceders  towards 

him    166 

Attacked  from  the  pulpit  at  Aberdeen   168 

His  success  in  Scotland    169 

finds  access  to  people  of  rank    170 

Whitefield's  talents  not  to  be  estimatnd  by  his  printed  works  171 

His  manner  of  preaching   171 

Scene  at  Cambuslang    17§ 

Opposition  of  the  Seceders  —  177 

Their  enmity  to  Wesley  .  -   179 

Wesley  complains  of  the  indifference  of  the  Scotch   180 

His  opinion  of  John  Knox    183 

Arrested  at  Edinburgh   185 

Thomas  Taylor's  adventures  at  Glasgow   185 


CHAP.  XXIIl. 

Methodism  in  Ireland   187 

Ferocious  superstition  mingled  with  Christianity   187 

Attachment  of  the  Irish  to  popery   188 

The  Reformation  injurious  to  li'eland   188 

Berkeley's  hints  for  converting  the  people   190 

Wesley's  favourable  opinion  of  the  Irish   19J 

The  Metliodists  are  nick-uamod  Swaddlers    192 

Riots  against  them  at  Cork   193 

Whitefield  nearly  murdered  at  Dublin   198 

Animosity  of  the  Catholics    199 

Thomas  Walsh      199 

He  renounces  the  Romish  Church   201 

Becomes  a  Methodist   202 

Preaches  in  Irish   205 

Sanctity  of  his  character   206 

Wesley  becomes  popular  in  Ireland   210 

Cases  of  Methodism   211 

The  plunder  of  a  wreck  restored   213 

VOL.  I.  4 


XXVI 


CONTENTS, 


CHAP.  XXIV. 

Page. 

Wesley  in  middle  age   213' 

Charles  Wesley  marries   215 

John  takes  counsel  coacerning  marriage    216 

Marries  Mrs.  Vizelle    217 

Her  jealousy  and  insufferable  conduct   218 

Their  separation    221 

Tendency  of  Methodism  to  schism   222 

Wesley  favours  the  arguments  of  the  separatists   224 

But  opposes  the  separation   225 

James  Wheatley   227 

James  Relly   229 

Scheme  of  the  Rellyan  Universalists   229 

Antinomianism   230 

Excesses  at  Everton —   232 

Wesley  suspects  their  real  character    242 

Controversy  with  Bishop  Lavington   244 

With  Warburton   244 

George  Bell   246 

Maxfield  separates  from  Wesley   250 

Prophecy  of  the  end  of  the  world   250 

Wesley's  Primitive  Physic  -   251 

He  recovers  from  a  consumption    252 

His  epitaph,  written  by  himself   253 

CHAP.  XXV. 

Progress  of  Calvinistic  Methodism    253 

Whitefield's  courtship   254 

His  marriage   255 

He  preaches  in  Moorfields  during  the  Whitsun-holydays   -  -  256 

First  Methodist  Tabernacle  built   259 

Lady  Huntingdon    260 

Whitefield  invited  to  preach  at  her  house   260 

She  becomes  tlie  patroness  of  the  Calvinistic  Methodists   262 

Founds  a  seminary  for  them  at  Trevecca   263 

Death  of  Whitefield   264 

Minutes  of  Conference  in  1771    266 

Lady  Huntingdon  oflfended  at  these  Minutes    266 

Mr.  Fletcher    267 


CONTEXTS.  XXVIl 

Pagt. 

Mr.  Shirley's  Circular  Letter  concerning  the  Minutes   269 

Meeting  at  the  Conference,  and  apparent  reconciliation   270 

Controversy   271 

Mr.  Toplady   271 

Fletcher's  controversial  writings   275 

Abuse  of  Wesley   278 

Wesley's  sermon  upon  Free  Grace    279 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Wesley  attempts  to  form  an  union  of  clergymen    286 

Rev.  William  Grimshaw   287 

Dr.  Coke  ^   291 

Tendency  to  schism    293 

Erasmus  the  Greek  Bishop   294 

Baptism  by  immersion   295 

Wesley's  manner  of  dealing  with  crazy  people   296 

Cases  of  infidelity    296 

His  own  stage  of  doubt   297 

He  encourages  a  certain  kind  of  insanity   298 

Is  easily  duped   299 

His  excessive  credulity    300 

He  publishes  the  Arminian  Magazine   301 

CHAP.  XXVII. 

Methodism  in  America    302 

Society  formed  at  New-York  by  Philip  Embury  and  Captain 

Webb    303 

Mr.  Wesley  sends  preachers   304 

Their  progress  interrupted  by  the  war                              .  305 

Wesley's  "  Calm  Address"   306 

Attacked  by  Caleb  Evans  •-   ^08 

Defended  by  Mr.  Fletcher   309 

Wesley's  Observations  on  Liberty,  in  reply  to  Dr.  Price  ..  312 

He  instructs  his  preachers  in  America  to  refrain  from  politics  314 

The  English  preachers  obliged  to  fly   315 

The  sectarian  clergy  refuse  to  administer  the  ordinances  to  the 

Methodists  


XXviii 


CONTENTS. 


Impossibility  of  obtaining  episcopal  ordination  in  Ame- 
rica   316 

Tlie  American  Methodists  ordain  for  themselves     317 

Asbury  sets  this  aside,  and  refers  the  siffair  to  Mr.  Wesley  ..  317 
Wesley  resolves  to  ordain  priests  for  America,  and  consecrates 

Dr.  Coke  as  a  bishop    318 

His  letters  of  ordination  ..-     319 

Dr.  Coke  sails  for  New-York   321 

Meets  Asbury      322 

Conference  at  Baltimore   323 

Scheme  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  America   323 

Their  address  to  Washing;ton   324 

Foundation  of  Cokesbury  College  ,  325 

Discipline  of  the  College   325 

Popularity  of  Dr.  Coke    326 

He  mak^ s  himself  obnoxious  by  preaching  against  slavery  . .  327 

Forest-preaching   329 

Riotous  devotion  at  their  meetings      331 

Benjamin  Abbott    332 

Rule  respecting  spiritous  liquors   333 

Odd  places  in  which  Dr.  Coke  preached   336 

He  complains  of  the /ocaizoM  of  the  preachers    337 

Rapid  increase  of  the  Methodists   336 

CHAP.  XXVIII. 

Methodism  in  the  West-Indies  339 

Mr.  Gilbert  forms  a  society  in  Antigua  339 

John  Baxter   340 

History  of  an  Irish  family    341 

Coke  is  driven  to  the  West-Indies   342 

He  is  well  received  at  Antigua  343 

Visits  the  neighbouring  islands    344 

His  second  voyage  to  the  West-Indies  345 

Lands  in  Barbadoes   345 

Methodism  proscribed  in  St.  Eustatius    346 

Rash  conduct  of  Dr.  Coke   348 

He  is  hospitably  entertained  in  Jamaica  349 

Begs  money  for  the  West-Indian  Missions  350 

Methodists  become  unpopular  in  the  islands   35.1 


oosrtENts.  i^ii 

Page. 

BSects  of  enthHsiasm   .  ^ . . «   352 

Riots    354 

Numbers  atthe  time  &f  Wesley's  death   35t> 

CHAP.  XXIX. 

Seltletneut  ef  the  Coufereiice   .i   356 

CWfence  given  by  t^ie  Deed  of  Declaratioa    359 

Eaisy  terms  of  admissiou   360 

Dress   3G1 

AmusemeDts    3(36 

Laughter    307 

Kingswood  Srhool   309 

Yearly  covenant   371 

Alarming^  sermons   373 

Effects  of  Methodism  upon  the  educated  classes   377 

Riches    379 

Little  real  reformation  in  the  great  body   382 

Moral  Miracles   384 

Prisons    386 

Effect  of  Methodism  upon  the  Clergy   387 

Political  effects   388 

Wesley  ordains  preachers  fur  Scotland    389 

Ifijudicious  conduct  of  some  magistrates  in  Lincolnshire....  389 

Wesley's  letter  to  the  bishop   38^ 

CHAP.  XXX. 

Wesley  in  old  age   39^ 

His  excellent  health  and  spirits   39I 

Cured  of  a  hydrocele   392 

Removes  from  the  Foundry  to  the  City-Road   392 

Lay-preachers  jealous  of  Charles    393 

:»Irs.  Wnght   395 

Musical  taleuts  of  Charles's  sons   395 

Oue  of  them  becomes  a  Papist   3gQ 

Wesley  s  letter  upon  this  subject   39(j 

His  controversy  with  the  Roman  Catholics   397 

Account  of  his  health  in  his  72d  year   397 

H4}  OHtlires  all  his  first  disciples   ,   399 


XXX 


CONTENTS. 


ragt. 

Death  of  Mr.  Fletcher     -  400 
Wesley's  extraordinary  health  in  old  age     ------  404 

He  begins  to  feel  decay  in  his  84th  year     ------  405 

Death  of  Charles  Wesley      -    -    -  406 

Wesley  closes  his  cash-accounts  -    --    --    --    --  407 

His  last  letters  to  America      -  408 
His  death      -  408 
Lies  in  state  in  the  Chapel     -    --    --    --    --    -  408 

State  of  the  Connexion  at  his  death    -    -    -    -       -    _    _  499 

Conclusion    -    --   --    --    --  -.--..410 

NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  Pretender   413 

Lay-preachers     -    --    -  4 13 

Thomas  OHvers   413 

Anecdotes  of  the  bustard  -    --    --    --    --    --  414 

Toplady's  illustration  of  the  renewal  of  the  image  of  God  in 

the  heart  of  man      -  -  -  414 

The  new  Birth      -    --    --    --    --    --    --  415 

Instantaneous  conversion   -    --    --    --    -    --  -417 

Salvation  not  to  be  sought  by  works  -417 

Assurance  -    -    --    --    --    --  417 

Perfection  417 

Ministry  of  Angels  -    --    --    --    --    --    --  418 

Agency  of  evil  spirits    -    --    --    --    --    --  -419 

Immortality  of  animals      -    --    --    --    --    --  420 

Itinerancy  -  420 

The  select  bands  421 

Psalmody  421 

Service  of  the  Methodists   -    -  423 

Strong  feelings  expressed  with  levity  423 

Methodism  in  Scotland  -    --    --    --    --    --    -  423 

Ireland  neglected  at  the  Reformation     -------  424 

Wesley  offers  to  raise  men  for  government  during  the  Ameri- 
can war  425 
Wesley's  separation  from  his  wife     --------  425 

The  Burnham  Society  ---425 

Device  upon  VVhitefield's  seal     -    --  426 

Whitefield's  body  -  42(; 


CONTENTS.  xxxi 

Conference  with  Mr.  Shirley   426 

Berridge  \  427 

The  Serpent  and  the  Vox   427 

Calvinism  428 

Mr.  Fletcher's  Illustrations  of  Calvinism   429 

Arm inianism  described  by  the  Calvinisls  431 

Young  Grimsh aw  432 

Wesley's  doctrine  concerning  riches   .....^   432 

The  yearly  covenant  432 

The  value  of  a  good  conscience   433 

Mr.  Wesley's  epitaphs  433 

J.  Collet's  forgeries  434 


Additional  Notes  concerning  Mr.  Wesley's  family  ....  435 


THE 


T  HE  sect,  or  Societj  ,  as  they  vvoukl  call  themselves, 
oLMktllfidill?'  '^^s  existed  for  the  greater  part  of"  a 
century;  they  have  their  seminaries  and  their  hie- 
rarchy, their  own  regulations,  their  own  manners, 
their  own  literature  :  ijiJEngland  they  form  a  distinct 
ge^pjej_5iL-i2/jp«ii£m-2Vi .  im /o^LJlifiyLareL  xt  e  n  d  [ng 
wIHelyjn  America  ;  and  in  both  countries  they  num- 
ber  their  annuaTTncrease  by  thousands.  The  histo- 
ry of  their  founder  is  little  known  in  his  native  land 
beyond  the  limits  of  those  who  are  termed  the  reli- 
gious public;  and  on  the  continent  it  is  scarcely 
known  at  all.  In  some  of  his  biographers  the  heart 
has  been  wanting  to  understand  his  worth,  or  the 
will  to  do  it  justice  ;  others  have  not  possessed  free- 
dom or  strength  of  intellect  to  perceive  wherein  he 
was  erroneous. 

It  has  been  remarked  witli  much  complacency,  by 
the  Jesuits,  that  in  the  year  of  Luther's  bii  th  Loyola 
was  born  also:  Piovidence,  they  say,  having  wisely 
appointed,  that  when  so  large  a  portion  of  Christen- 
dom was  to  be  separated  from  the  Catholic  Church 
by  means  of  tiie  great  German  heresiarch,  the  great 
Spanish  saint  should  establish  an  order  by  which  the 
Catholic  iaith  would  be  strenuously  supported  in 
Europe,  and  disseminated  widely  iu  the  other  parts 

VOL.  I.  U 


34 


THE  LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


of  the  world.  Voltaire  and  Wesley  were  not  indeed 
in  like  manner,  ^Eildren  of  the  same  year,  but  they 
were .  contemporaries  through  a  longer  course  of 
tjme  ;  and  the  influences  which  they  exercised  upon 
their  age  and  upon  posterity,  have  been  not  less  re- 
markably opposed.  While^  the_pne  was  scattering, 
with  pestilent  activity,  the  seeds  of  immorality  and 
ulibfineT,  the  other,  with  equally  unweariabie_zeal, 
laboured  in  the  cause  of  religious  enthusiasm.  The 
works  of  Voltaire  have  found  their  way  wherever 
the  French  language  is  read;  the  disciples  of  Wes- 
ley wherever  the  English  is  spoken.  The  principles 
of  the  arch-infidel  were  more  rapid  in  their  operation ; 
Ke  who  aimed  at  no  such  evil  as  that  which  he  con- 
tributed so  greatly  to  bring  about,  was  himself  startled 
at  their  progress :  in  his  latter  days  he  trembled  at 
the  consequences  which  he  then  foresaw ;  and  in- 
deed his  remains  had  scarcely  mouldered  in  the 
grave,  before  those  consequences  brought  down  the 
whole  fabric  of  government  in  France,  overturned 
her  altars,  subverted  her  throne,  carried  ^uilt,  de- 
vastation, and  misery  into  every  part  of  his  own  coun- 
try, and  shook  the  rest  of  Europe  like  an  Earthquake. 
Wesley's  doctrines,  meantime,  were  slowly  and  gra- 
dually winning  their  way  ;  but  they  advanced  every 
succeeding  year  with  accelerated  force,  and  their  ef- 
fect must  ultimately  be  more  extensive,  more  power- 
ful, and  more  permanent,  for  he  has  set  mightier  prin- 
ciples at  work.  Let  it  not,  however,  be  supposed 
that  1  would  represent  these  eminent  men,  like  agents 
of  the  good  and  evil  principles,  in  all  things  contrast- 
ed :  the  one  was  not  all  darkness,  neither  was  the 
other  all  light. 

The  history  of  men  who  have  been  prime  agents 
in  those  great  moral  and  intellectual  revolutions, 
which  from  time  to  time  take  place  among  mankind, 
is  not  less  important  than  that  of  statesmen  and  con- 
querors. If  it  has  not  to  treat  of  actions  wherewith 
the  world  has  rung  from  side  to  side,  it  appeals  to  the 
higher  part  of  our  nature,  and  may  perhaps  excite 


THE  LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


35 


more  salutary  feelings,  a  worthier  interest,  and  wiser 
meditations.  The  Emperor  Charles  V".,  and  his  ri- 
val of  France,  appear  at  this  day  infinitely  insignifi- 
cant, if  we  compare  them  with  Luther  and  Loyola ; 
and  there  may  come  a  time  when  the  name  of  Wesley 
will  be  more  generally  known,  and  in  remoter  re- 
gions of  the  ^lobe,  than  that  of  Frederick  or  of  Cath- 
arine. For  the  works  of  such  men  survive  them,  and 
continue  to  operate,  when  nothing  remains  of  world- 
ly ambition  but  the  memory  of  its  vanity  and  its  guilt. 


CHAPTER  I. 


FAMILY   OF  THE  WESLEYS.  WESLEY's  CHILDHOOD  A^D 

EDUCATION. 

The  fouiKler  of  the  Methodists  was  emphatically 
of  a  good  family,  in  the  sense  wherein  he  himself 
Mould  have  used  the  term.  Bartholomew  Wesley, 
his  great-grandfather,  studied  physic*  as  well  as  di- 
vinity at  the  university,  a  practice  not  unusual  at  that 
time :  he  was  ejected,  by  the  act  of  uniformity,  from 
the  living  of  Allington,  in  Dorsetshire  ;  and  the  medi- 
cal knowledge  which  he  had  acquired  from  motives 
of  charity,  became  then  the  means  of  his  support. 
John,  his  son  was  educated  at  New-Inn  Hall,  Oxford, 
in  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth;  he  was  distin- 
guished not  only  for  his  piety  and  diligence,  but  for 
bis  progress  in  the  oriental  tongues,  by  which  he  at- 
tracted the  particular  notice  and  esteem  of  the  then 
vice-chancellor,  John  Owen,  a  man  whom  the  Cal- 
vinistic  dissenters  still  regard  as  the  greatcstt  of  their 

*  "  Let  me,"  says  the  humble  moderator,  (Bishop  Croft) 
"  speak  a  word  to  those  of  the  inferior  clergy  who  take  upon 
them  to  study  and  practise  physic  for  hire  :  this  must  needs  be 
sinful,  as  taking  them  off  from  their  spiritual  employment.  Had 
they  studied  physic  before  they  entered  holy  orders,  and  would 
after  make  use  of  their  skill  among  their  poor  neighbours  out  of 
charitj',  they  wore  commendable  :  but  being  entered  on  a  spiritu- 
al and  pasloi  il  charge,  which  requires  the  whole  man,  and  more, 
to  spend  their  lime  in  this,  or  any  other  study  not  spiritual,  is  con- 
trary to  their  vocation,  and  consequently  sinful  ;  and  to  do  it  for 
gain  is  sordid,  and  unworthy  their  high  and  holy  calling.  But 
necessitas  cogit  ad  turpia  :  the  maintenance  of  many  ministers  is 
so  small,  as  it  forces  them  even  for  food  and  raiment,  to  seek  it 
by  other  employment,  %vhich  may  in  some  measure  excuse  them, 
but  mightily  condemns  those  who  should  provide  better  for  them." 

t  "  The  name  of  Owen,"  say  Messrs.  Bogue  and  Bennet,  the 
joint  historians  of  the  Dissenters,  "  has  been  raised  to  imperial 
c!i|;,nity  in  the  theological  world  by  Dr.  John  Owen." — "  A  young 
minister,"  they  say,  "  who  wishes  to  attain  eminence  in  his  profes- 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEVS. 


37 


Jivincs.  If  the  government  had  continued  in  the 
Cromwell  family,  this  patronage  would  have  raised 
him  to  distinction.  He  obtained  the  living  of  Bland- 
ford  in  his  own  county,  and  was  ejected  from  it  for 
non-conformity ;  being  thus  adrift,  he  thought  of  emi- 
grating to  Maryland,  or  to  Surinam,  where  the  Eng- 
lish were  then  intending  to  settle  a  colony,  but  re- 
flection and  advice  determined  him  to  take  his  lot  in 
his  native  land.  There,  by  continuing  to  preach,  he 
became  obnoxious  to  the  laws,  and  was  four  times 
imprisoned :  his  spirits  were  broken  by  the  loss  of 
those  w  hom  he  loved  best,  and  by  the  evil  days ;  he 
died  at  the  early  age  of  three  or  four  and  thirty;  and 
such  was  the  spirit  of  the  times,  that  the  Vicar  of 
Preston,  in  which  village  he  died,  would  not  allow 
his  body  to  be  buried  in  the  church.  Bartholomew 
was  then  living,  but  the  loss  of  this,  his  only  son, 
brought  his  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave. 

This  John  Wesley  married  a  woman  of  good  stock, 
the  niece  of  Thomas  Fuller,  the  church  historian,  a 
man  not  more  remarkable  for  wit  and  quaintness,  than 
for  the  felicity  with  which  he  clothed  fine  thoughts 
in  beautiful  language.  He  left  two  sons,  of  whom 
Samuel,  the  younger,  was  only  eight  or  nine  years 
old  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death.  The  circum- 
stances of  the  father's  life  and  sufferings,  which  hav<j 
given  him  a  place  among  the  confessors  of  the  non- 
conformists, were  likely  to  influence  the  opinions  of 
the  son  ;  but  happening  to  fall  in  with  bigotted  and 
ferocious  men,  he  saw  the  worst  part  of  the  dissenting 
character.    Their  defence  of  the  execution  of  King 


sion,  if  he  has  not  the  works  of  John  Howe,  and  can  procure  them 
in  no  other  w  ay,  should  sell  his  coat  and  buy  them  ;  and  if  that  will 
not  suffice,  let  him  sell  his  bed  too  and  lie  on  the  floor  ;  and  if  he 
spend  his  days  in  reading  thena,  lie  will  not  complain  that  he  Hes 
hard  at  night." — But  "  if  the  theological  student  should  part  with 
his  coat  or  his  bed,  to  procure  the  works  of  Howe,  he  that  would 
not  sell  his  shirt  to  procure  those  of  John  Owen,  and  especially 
his  Exposition,  of  which  every  sentence  is  precious,  shows  too 
much  regard  for  his  body,  and  too  little  for  his  immortal  mind." 

History  of  the  Dissenters,  vol.  ii.  pp.  223.  236. 


38 


FAMILY  OP  THE  WESLEYS. 


Charles  offended  him,  and  he  was  at  once  shocked 
and  disgusted  by  their*  calf's  head  club ;  so  much 
so,  that  he  separated  from  them,  and,  because  of  their 
intolerance,  joined  the  church  which  had  persecuted 
his  father.  This  conduct,  which  was  the  result  of 
feeling,  was  approved  by  his  ripe  judgment,  and 
Samuel  Wesley  continued  through  life  a  zealous 
churchman.  The  feeling  which  urged  him  to  this 
step  must  have  been  very  powerful,  and  no  common 
spirit  was  required  to  bear  him  tlirough  the  difficul- 
ties which  he  brought  upon  himself ;  for,  by  with- 
drawing from  the  academy  at  which  he  had  been 
placed,  he  so  far  offended  his  friends,  that  they  lent 
him  no  further  support,  and  in  the  latter  years  of 
Charles  II.  there  was  little  disposition  to  encourage 
proselytes  who  joined  a  church  which  the  reigning 
family  was  labouring  to  subvert.  But  Samuel  Wes- 
ley was  made  of  good  mould ;  he  knew  and  could  de- 
pend upon  himself ;  he  w  alked  to  Oxford,  entered 
himself  at  Exeter  College  as  a  poor  scholarf,  and  be- 


*  So  Samuel  Wesley  the  son  slates,  in  a  note  to  his  elegy  upon 
his  father.  According  to  him,  if  his  words  are  to  be  literally  un- 
derstood, the  separation  took  place  when  Mr.  Wesley  was  but  a 
boy.  There  is,  however,  reason  for  supposing  that  he  was  of  age 
at  the  time,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  note  next  ensuing. 

t  In  Dr.  Whitehead's  lives  of  the  Wesleys,  and  in  the  life 
which  is  prefixed  to  the  collected  edition  of  Mr.  Wesley's  works, 
it  is  said  that  Wesley  the  father  was  about  sixteen  when  he  enter- 
ed himself  at  Exeter  College.  But  as  he  was  born  "  about  the 
year  1662,  or  perhaps  a  little  earlier,"  he  must  have  been  not 
less  than  two-and-twenty  at  that  time,  as  the  following  extracts 
from  the  registers  of  Exeter  College  will  prove  : 
Deposit  of  caution  money. 
Sept.  26. 

1634..     Mro.  Hutcliins  pro 

Samucle  Westley,  paup. 
schol.  de  Dorchester,  £3. 


Feb.  9. 
1686. 


Ric.  Hutchins. 
Guil.  Crabb. 

Mro.  Paynter  pro  Sam. 
Wcstley,  p.  schol.  olim 
admisso,  X3. 

Guil.  Paynter. 
Ric.  Hutchins. 


Return  of  caution  money. 


Samueli  Westley  pro 
seipso,  £3. 


Ric.  Hutchins. 
Samuel  Westley. 


Jan.  10. 

1687.     Mihi  ipsi  pro  impensis. 
Coll.  debitis  ad  fest. 
Nat.  87.  £3. 

Jo.  Harris. 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


39 


gan  his  studies  there  with  no  larger  a  fund  than  two 
pounds  sixteen  shilHngs,  and  no  prospect  of  any  fu- 
ture supply.  From  that  time,  till  he  graduated,  a 
single  crown  was  all  the  assistance  he  received  from 
his  friends.  He  composed  exercises  for  those  who 
had  more  money  than  learning  ;  and  he  gave  instruc- 
tion to  those  who  wished  to  profit  by  his  lessons;  and 
thus  by  great  industry,  and  great  frugality,  he  not 
only  supported  himself  but  had  accumulated  the  sum 
of  ten  pounds  fifteen  shillings,  when  he  went  to  Lon- 
don to  be  ordained.  Having  served  a  curacy  there 
one  year,  and  as  chaplain  during  another  on  board  a 
king's  ship,  he  settled  upon  a  curacy  in  the  metropo- 
lis, and  married  Susannah,  daughter  of  Dr.  Annesley, 
one  of  the  ejected  ministers. 

No  man  was  ever  more  suitably  mated  than  the 
elder  Wesley.  The  wife  whom  he  chose,  was,  like 
himself,  the  child  of  a  man  eminent  among  the  non- 
conformists, and,  hke  himself,  in  early  youth  she  had 


To  these  extracts,  for  which  I  am  obliged  to  a  fellow  of  Exeter 
College,  through  the  means  of  a  common  friend,  these  explanato- 
ry observations  are  annexed.  "  In  the  entries  of  deposits  the 
name  first  signed  is  that  of  the  bursar,  as  R.  Hutchins,  G.  Paynter; 
the  name  which  follows  is  that  of  the  depositor  sometimes,  but 
more  usually  that  of  his  tutor  or  friend.  Crabb  was  dean  of  the 
college  when  Westley  entered. 

"  The  Pauper  Scholaris  was  the  lowest  of  the  four  conditions  of 
members  not  on  the  foundation,  as  the  annexed  table,  copied  from 
one  prefixed  to  th^  caution  book,  shows  : 

Summae  fl.  Commensalium"'  1.  Sociorum    ....  £s. 

tradenda:  I      adaiissoiuin  ad  V 

Bursario  pro  |        mensani        J  2.  Propriani  .... 

ratione  ■{ 

diversarum  | 

conditionum    j  2.  Battallariorium  jC4. 

scire.         (_3.  Pauperum  Scholariuin  Jjj, 

"I  understand  that  some  of  these  poor  scholars  were  servitors, 
but  not  all. 

"  There  seems  reason  to  suspect  that  Dec.  22,  1686,  in  the  first 
entry  of  return,  should  be  1685  ;  for  otherwise  Samuel  Westley 
will  appear  to  have  had  two  cautions  in  at  once  ;  and  from  the  state 
of  his  finances  this  is  peculiarly  improbable." 

The  name  is  spelled  Wesdey  with  a  t,  in  these  entries,  and  in 
his  own  signature. 


42 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


afterwards,  released  him  from  his  rash  and  criminal 
engagement.  John  was  their  first  child  after  this 
separation. 

In  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  Mr.  Wesley's  pros- 
pects appeared  to  brighten.  A  poem  which  he 
published  upon  the  battle  of  Blenheim  pleased  the 
duke  of  Marlborough,  and  the  author  was  rewarded 
with  the  chaplainship  of  a  regiment.  A  further 
and  better  reward  was  held  out  to  his  expectations ; 
and  he  was  invited  to  London  by  a  nobleman  who 
promised  to  procure  him  a  prebend.  This  the  Dis- 
senters, with  whom  he  was  engaged  in  controversy, 
were  at  that  time  powerful  enough  to  prevent.  No 
enmity  is  so  envenomed  as  that  of  religious  faction. 
The  Dissenters  hated  Mr.  Wesley  cordially,  because 
they  looked  upon  him  as  one  who,  having  been  born 
in  their  service,  had  cast  off  his  allegiance.  They 
intercepted  his  preferment :  "  they  worked  him  out 
of  his  chaplainship,  and  brought  several  other  very 
severe  sufferings  upon  him  and  his  family."  During 
the  subsequent  reign,  the  small  living  of  Wroote  was 
given  him,  in  the  same  county  with  Epworth. 

John,  his  second  son,  the  founder  of  the  Methodists, 
was  born  at  Epworth  on  the  17th  of  June,  1703. 
Epworth  is  a  market-town  in  the  Lindsay  division  of 
Lincolnshire,  irregularly  built,  and  containing  at  that 
time  in  its  parish  about  two  thousand  persons.  "^I  he 
inhabitants  are  chielly  employed  in  the  culture  and 
preparation  of  hemp  and  flax,  in  spinning  these  arti- 
cles, and  in  the  manufactory  of  sacking  and  bagging. 
Mr.  Wesley  found  his  parishioners  in  a  protligate 
state ;  and  the  zeal  with  w  hich  he  discharged  his 
duty  in  admonishing  them  of  their  sins,  excited  a 
spirit  of  diabolical  hatred  in  those  whom  it  failed  to 
reclaim.  Some  of  these  wretches  twice  attempted 
to  set  his  house  on  tire,  'without  success  :  they  suc- 
ceeded in  a  third  attempt.  At  midnight  some  pieces 
of  burning  wood  fell  from  the  roof  upon  the  bed  in 
■which  one  of  the  children  lay,  and  burnt  her  feet. 
Before  she  could  give  the  alarm,  Mr.  Wesley  was 
roused  by  a  cry  of  fire  from  the  street :  little  ima- 


FAMILY   OF  THE  WESLEY9. 


43 


gining  that  it  was  in  his  own  house,  ho  opened  the 
door,  and  found  it  full  of  smoke,  and  that  the  roof 
was  already  burnt  through.  His  wife  being  ill  at 
the  time,  slept  apart  from  him,  and  in  a  separate 
room.  Bidding  her  and  the  two  eldest  girls  rise 
and  shift  for  their  lives,  he  burst  open  the  nursery 
door,  where  the  maid  was  sleeping  with  five  children. 
She  snatched  up  the  youngest,  and  bade  the  others 
follow  her:  the  three  elder  did  so,  but  John,  who 
was  then  six  years  old,  was  not  awakened  by  all 
this,  and  in  the  alarm  and  confusion  he  was  forgotten. 
By  the  time  they  reached  the  hall,  the  flames  had 
spread  every  where  around  them,  and  Mr.  Wesley 
then  found  that  the  keys  of  the  house-door  were 
above  stairs.  He  ran  and  recovered  them,  a  minute 
belbre  the  stair-case  took  fire.  When  the  door  was 
opened,  a  strong  north-east  wind  drove  in  the  flames 
with  such  violence  from  the  side  of  the  house,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  stand  against  them.  Some  of  the 
children  got  through  the  windows,  and  others  through 
a  little  door  into  the  garden.  Mrs.  Wesley  could  not 
reach  the  garden  door,  and  was  not  in  a  condition 
to  climb  to  the  windows :  after  three  times  attempt- 
ing to  face  the  flames,  and  shrinking  as  often  from 
their  force,  she  besought  Christ  to  preserve  her,  if 
it  was  his  will,  from  that  dreadful  death:  she  then, 
to  use  her  own  expression,  waded  through  the  fire, 
and  escaped  into  the  street  naked  as  she  was,  with 
some  slight  scorching  of  the  hands  and  face.  At 
this  time  John,  who  had  not  been  remembered  till 
that  moment,  was  heard  crying  in  the  nursery.  The 
father  ran  to  the  stairs,  but  they  were  so  nearly  con- 
sumed, that  they  could  not  bear  his  Aveight,  and 
being  utterly  in  despair,  he  fell  upon  his  knees  in 
the  hall,  and  in  agony  commended  the  soul  of  the 
child  to  God.  Jolin  had  been  awakened  by  the 
light,  and  thinking  it  was  day,  called  to  the  maid  to 
take  him  up ;  but  as  no  one  answered,  he  opened 
the  curtains,  and  saw  streaks  of  fire  upon  the  top  of 
the  room.  He  ran  to  the  door,  and  finding  it  impos- 
sible to  escape  that  way,  climbed  upon  a  chest  which 


42 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


afterwards,  released  him  from  his  rash  and  criminal 
engagement.  John  was  their  first  child  after  this 
separation. 

In  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  Mr.  Wesley's  pros- 
pects appeared  to  brighten.  A  poem  which  he 
published  upon  the  battle  of  Blenheim  pleased  the 
duke  of  Marlborough,  and  the  author  was  rewarded 
with  the  chaplainship  of  a  regiment.  A  further 
and  better  reward  was  held  out  to  his  expectations ; 
and  he  was  invited  to  London  by  a  nobleman  who 
promised  to  procure  him  a  prebend.  This  the  Dis- 
senters, with  whom  he  was  engaged  in  controversy, 
were  at  that  time  powerful  enough  to  prevent.  No 
enmity  is  so  envenomed  as  that  of  religious  faction. 
The  Dissenters  hated  Mr.  Wesley  cordially,  because 
they  looked  upon  him  as  one  who,  having  been  born 
in  their  service,  had  cast  off  his  allegiance.  They 
intercepted  his  preferment :  "  they  worked  him  out 
of  his  chaplainship,  and  brought  several  other  very 
severe  sufferings  upon  him  and  his  family."  During 
the  subsequent  reign,  the  small  living  of  Wroote  was 
given  him,  in  the  same  county  with  Epworth. 

John,  his  second  son,  the  founder  of  the  Methodists, 
was  born  at  Epworth  on  the  17th  of  June,  1703. 
Epworth  is  a  market-town  in  the  Lindsay  division  of 
Lincolnshire,  irregularly  built,  and  containing  at  that 
time  in  its  parish  about  two  thousand  persons.  The 
inhabitants  are  chiefly  employed  in  the  culture  and 
preparation  of  hemp  and  flax,  in  spinning  these  arti- 
cles, and  in  the  manufactory  of  sacking  and  bagging. 
Mr.  Wesley  found  his  parishioners  in  a  profligate 
state ;  and  the  zeal  with  which  he  discharged  his 
duty  in  admonishing  them  of  their  sins,  excited  a 
spirit  of  diabolical  hatred  in  those  whom  it  failed  to 
reclaim.  Some  of  these  wretches  twice  attempted 
to  set  his  house  on  fire,  'without  success  :  they  suc- 
ceeded in  a  third  attempt.  At  midnight  some  pieces 
of  burning  wood  fell  from  the  roof  upon  the  bed  in 
which  one  of  the  children  lay,  and  burnt  her  feet. 
Before  she  could  give  the  alarm,  Mr.  Wesley  was 
roused  by  a  cry  of  fire  from  the  street :  little  irna- 


FAMILY   OF  THE  UESLEV9. 


43 


gining  timt  it  was  in  his  own  house,  ho  opened  the 
door,  and  found  it  full  of  smoke,  and  that  the  roof 
was  already  burnt  through.  His  wife  being  ill  at 
the  time,  slept  apart  from  him,  and  in  a  separate 
room.  Bidding  her  and  the  two  eldest  girls  rise 
and  shift  for  their  lives,  he  burst  open  the  nursery 
door,  where  the  maid  was  sleeping  with  five  children. 
She  snatched  up  the  youngest,  and  bade  the  others 
follow  her;  the  three  elder  did  so,  but  John,  who 
was  then  six  years  old,  was  not  awakened  by  all 
this,  and  in  the  alarm  and  confusion  he  was  forgotten. 
By  the  time  they  reached  the  hall,  the  flames  had 
spread  every  M-here  around  them,  and  Mr.  Wesley 
then  found  that  the  keys  of  the  house-door  were 
above  stairs.  He  ran  and  recovered  them,  a  minute 
before  the  stair-case  took  fire.  When  the  door  was 
opened,  a  strong  north-east  wind  drove  in  the  flames 
with  such  violence  from  the  side  of  the  house,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  stand  against  them.  Some  of  the 
children  got  through  the  windows,  and  others  through 
a  little  door  into  the  garden.  Mrs.  Wesley  could  not 
reach  the  garden  door,  and  was  not  in  a  condition 
to  climb  to  the  windows:  after  three  times  attempt- 
ing to  face  the  flames,  and  shrinking  as  often  from 
their  force,  she  besought  Christ  to  preserve  her,  if 
it  was  his  will,  from  that  dreadful  death:  she  then, 
to  use  her  own  expression,  waded  through  the  fire, 
and  escaped  into  the  street  naked  as  she  was,  with 
some  slight  scorching  of  the  hands  and  face.  At 
this  time  John,  who  had  not  been  remembered  till 
that  moment,  was  heard  crying  in  the  nursery.  The 
father  ran  to  the  stairs,  but  they  were  so  nearly  con- 
sumed, that  they  could  not  bear  his  weight,  and 
being  utterly  in  despair,  he  fell  upon  his  knees  in 
the  hall,  and  in  agony  commended  the  soul  of  the 
child  to  God.  John  had  been  awakened  by  the 
light,  and  thinking  it  was  day,  called  to  the  maid  to 
take  him  up ;  but  as  no  one  ar)swered,  he  opened 
the  curtains,  and  saw  streaks  of  fire  upon  the  top  of 
the  room.  He  ran  to  the  door,  and  finding  it  impos- 
sible to  escape  that  way,  climbed  upon  a  chest  which 


44 


FAMILY  OF  TH£  WESLEVS. 


stood  near  the  window,  and  he  was  then  seen  iVoni 
the  yard.  There  w  as  no  time  lor  procuring  a  ladder, 
but  it  was  happily  a  low^  house  :  one  man  was  hoist- 
ed upon  the  shoulders  of  another,  and  could  then 
reach  the  window,  so  as  to  take  him  out :  a  moment 
later  and  it  would  have  been  too  late :  the  whole 
roof  fell,  in,  and  had  it  not  fallen  inward,  they  must 
all  have  been  crushed  together.  When  the  child 
was  carried  out  to  the  house  where  his  parents  were, 
the  father  cried  out,  "  Come,  neighbours,  let  us 
kneel  down  :  let  us  give  thanks  to  God  !  he  has  given 
me  all  my  eight  children  :  let  the  house  go,  I  am  rich 
enough."  John  Wesley  remembered  this  providen- 
tial deliverance  through  life  with  the  deepest  grati- 
tude. In  reference  to  it  he  had  a  house  in  flames 
engraved  as  an  emblem  under  one  of  his  portraits, 
with  these  words  for  the  motto,  "  Is  not  this  a  brand 
plucked  out  of  the  burning  .f"' 

The  third  son.  Charles,  the  zealous  and  able  asso- 
ciate of  his  brother  in  his  future  labours,  was  at  this 
time  scarcely  two  months  old.  The  circumstances 
of  his  birth  are  remarkable.  His  mother  vvas  deli- 
vered of  him  before  the  due  time,  and  the  child  ap- 
peared dead  rather  than  alive,  neltlier  crying  nor 
opening  its  eyes  :  in  this  state  it  vvas  kept,  wrapt  up 
in  soft  wool,  till  the  time  when  he  should  have  been 
born  according  to  the  usual  course  of  nature,  and 
then,  it  is  said,  he  opened  his  eyes  and  made  him- 
self heard. 

Mr.  Wesley  usually  attended  the  sittings  of  con- 
vocation: such  attendance,  according  to  his  princi- 
ples, was  a  part  of  his  duty,  and  he  performed  it  at 
an  expense  of  money  which  he  could  ill  spare  from 
the  necessities  of  so  large  a  family,  and  at  a  cost  of 
time  which  was  injurious  to  his  parish.  During 
these  absences,  as  there  was  no  afternoon  service  at 
Epworth,  Mrs  Wesley  prayed  with  her  own  family 
on  Sunday  evenings,  read  a  sermon,  and  engaged 
afterwards  in  religious  conversation.  Some  of  the 
parishioners  who  came  in  accidentally  were  not  ex- 
clu(Jed ;  and  she  did  not  think  it  proper  that  their 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


presence  should  interrupt  the  duty  of  the  hour.  In- 
duced by  the  report  which  these  persons  made, 
Others  requested  permission  to  attend  ;  and  in  this 
manner  from  thirty  to  forty  persons  usually  assem- 
bled. After  this  had  continued  some  time,  she  hap- 
pened to  find  an  account  of  the  Danish  missionaries 
in  her  husband's  study,  and  was  much  impressed  by 
the  perusal.  The  book  strengthened  her  desire  of 
doing  good :  she  chose  "  the  best  and  most  awaken- 
ing sermons,"  and  spake  with  more  freedom,  more 
warmth,  more  affection  to  the  neighbours  who  at- 
tended at  her  evening  prayers ;  their  numbers  in- 
creased in  consequence,  for  she  did  not  think  it  right 
to  deny  any  who  asked  admittance.  More  persons 
came  at  length  than  the  apartment  could  hold  ;  and 
the  thing  was  represented  to  her  husband  in  such  a 
manner  that  he  wrote  to  her,  objecting  to  her  con- 
duct, because,  he  said,  "  it  looked  particular,"  be- 
cause of  her  sex,  and  because  he  was  at  that  time  in 
a  public  station  and  character,  which  rendered  it  the 
more  necessary  that  she  should  do  nothing  to  attract 
censure;  and  he  recommended  that  some  other  per- 
son should  read  for  her.  She  began  her  reply  by 
heartily  thanking  him  for  dealing  so  plainly  and  faith- 
fully with  her  in  a  matter  of  no  common  concern. 
"  As  to  its  looking  •particular^''  she  said,  "  I  grant  it 
does ;  and  so  does  almost  every  thing  that  is  serious, 
or  that  may  any  way  advance  the  glory  of  God,  or 
the  salvation  of  souls,  if  it  be  performed  out  of  a 
pulpit  or  in  the  way  of  common  conversation ;  be- 
cause in  our  corrupt  age  the  utmost  care  and  dili- 
gence has  been  used  to  banish  all  discourse  of  God, 
or  spiritual  concerns,  out  of  society,  as  if  religion 
were  never  to  appear  out  of  the  closet,  and  we  were 
to  be  ashamed  of  nothing  so  much  as  of  confessing 
ourselves  to  be  Christians."  To  the  objection  on 
account  of  her  sex  she  answered,  that  as  she  was  a 
woman,  so  was  she  also  mistress  of  a  large  family  ; 
and  though  the  superior  charge  lay  upon  him  as 
their  head  and  minister,  yet  in  his  absence  she  could 
not  but  look  upon  every  soul  which  he  had  left  under 


40 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


her  care,  as  a  talent  committed  to  her  under  a  trust 
by  the  great  Lord  of  all  the  families  of  heaven  and 
earth.  "  If,"  she  added,  "  I  am  unfaithful  to  Him  or 
to  you,  in  neglecting  to  improve  these  talents,  how 
shall  I  answer  unto  Him,  when  he  shall  command  me 
to  render  an  account  of  niy  stewardship  ?"  The  ob- 
jections which  arose  from  his  own  station  and  charac- 
ter she  left  entirel}^  to  his  own  judgment.  Why  any 
person  should  reflect  upon  him,  because  his  wife  en- 
deavoured to  draw  people  to  church,  and  restrain 
them,  by  reading  and  other  persuasions,  from  pro- 
faning the  sabbath,  she  could  not  conceive;  and  if 
any  were  mad  enough  to  do  so,  she  hoped  he  would 
not  regard  it.  "  For  my  own  part,"  she  says,  "  I  value 
no  censure  on  this  account :  f  have  long  since  shook 
hands  with  the  world  ;  and  I  heartily  wish  I  had  ne- 
ver given  them  more  reason  to  speak  against  me." 
As  to  the  proposal  of  letting  some  other  person  read 
for  her,  she  thought  her  husband  had  not  considered 
what  a  people  they  were;  not  a  man  among  them 
could  read  a  sermon  without  spelling  a  good  part  of 
it,  and  how  would  that  edify  the  rest.'*  And  none  of 
her  own  family  had  voices  strong  enough  to  be  heard 
by  so  many. 

While  Mrs.  Wesley  thus  vindicated  herself  in  a 
manner  which  she  thought  must  prove  convincing  to 
her  husband,  as  well  as  to  her  own  calm  judgment, 
the  curate  of  Epworth  (a  man  who  seems  to  have 
been  entitled  to  very  little  respect)  wrote  to  Mr. 
VV^esley  in  a  very  difTerent  strain,  complaining  that 
a  conventicle  was  held  in  his  house.  The  name  was 
well  chosen  to  alarm  so  high  a  churchman;  and  his 
second  letter  declared  a  decided  disapprobation  of 
these  meetings,  to  which  he  had  made  no  serious  ob- 
jections hefore.  She  did  not  reply  to  tliis  till  some 
days  had  elapsed,  for  she  deemed  it  necessary  that 
both  should  take  some  time  to  consider  before  her 
husband  finally  determined  in  a  matter  which  she 
felt  to  be  of  great  importance.  She  expressed  her 
astonishment  that  any  eflfect  upon  his  opinions,  much 
more  any  change  in  them,  should  be  produced  by 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLKVS. 


47 


ihe  senseless  clamour  of  two  or  three  of  the  worst 
in  his  parish;  and  she  represented  to  him  the  good 
which  had  been  done  by  inducing  a  much  more  fre- 
quent and  regular  attendance  at  church,  and  reform- 
ing the  general  habits  of  the  people  ;  and  the  evil 
which  would  result  from  discontinuing  such  meet- 
ings, especially  by  the  prejudices  which  it  would  ex- 
cite against  the  curate,  in  those  persons  who  were 
sensible  that  they  derived  benefit  from  the  religious 
opportunities,  which  would  thus  be  taken  away 
through  his  interference.  After  stating  these  things 
clearly  and  judiciously,  she  concluded  thus,  in  refe- 
rence to  her  own  duty  as  a  wife  :  "If  you  do,  after 
all,  think  fit  to  dissolve  this  assembly,  do  not  tell  me 
that  you  desire  me  to  do  it,  for  that  will  not  satisfy 
my  conscience ;  but  send  me  your  positive  command, 
in  such  full  and  express  terms  as  may  absolve  me 
from  guilt  and  punishment  for  neglecting  this  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  good,  when  you  and  I  shall  appear 
before  the  great  and  awful  tribunal  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ," 

Mr.  Wesley  made  no  further  objections  ;  and  tho- 
roughly respecting,  as  he  did,  the  principles  and  the 
understanding  of  his  wife,  he  was  perhaps  ashamed 
that  the  representations  of  meaner  minds  should 
have  prejudiced  him  against  her  conduct.  John  and 
Charles  were  at  this  time  under  their  mother's  care: 
she  devoted  sucti  a  proportion  of  time  as  she  could 
afford  to  discourse  with  each  child  by  itsrif  on  one 
night  of  the  week,  upon  the  duties  and  tiie  hopes  of 
Christianity  :  and  it  may  well  be  believed  that  these 
circumstances  of  their  childhotjd  had  no  inconside- 
rable influence  upon  their  proceedings  when  they 
became  the  founders  and  directors  of  a  new  commu- 
nity of  Christians.  John's  providential  dehveraiice 
from  the  fire  had  profoundly  impressed  his  mother, 
as  it  did  himself,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  after 
life.  Among  the  private  meditations  whicii  were 
found  among  her  papers,  was  one  written  out  long 
after  that  event,  in  which  she  expressed  in  prayer 
her  intention  to  be  more  particulurh/  careful  of  the 


18 


FAMILY  OP  THE  WEbLEVb. 


soul  of  this  child,  which  God  had  so  mercifully  pro- 
vided for,  that  she  might  instil  into  him  the  princi- 
ples of  true  religion  and  virtue ; — "  Lord,"  she  said, 
"  give  me  grace  to  do  it  sincerely  and  prudently,  and 
bless  my  attempts  with  good  success."  The  pecu- 
liar care  which  was  thus  taken  of  his  religious  edu- 
cation, the  habitual  and  fervent  piety  of  both  his  pa- 
rents, and  his  own  surprising  preservation,  at  an  age 
when  he  was  perfectly  capable  of  remembering  all 
the  circumstances,  combined  to  foster  in  the  child 
that  disposition,  which  afterwards  developed  itself 
with  such  force,  and  produced  such  important  ef- 
fects. 

Talents  of  no  ordinary  kind,  as  well  as  a  devotional 
temper,  were  hereditary  in  this  remarkable  family. 
Samuel,  the  elder  brother,  who  was  eleven  years 
older  than  John,  could  not  speak  at  all  till  he  was 
more  than  four  years  old,  and  consequently  was 
thought  to  be  deficient  in  his  faculties  :  but  it  seems 
as  if  the  child  had  been  laying  up  stores  in  secret  till 
that  time,  for  one  day  when  some  question  was  pro- 
posed to  another  person  concerning  him,  he  answer- 
ed it  himself  in  a  manner  which  astonished  all  who 
heard  him,  and  from  that  hour  he  continued  to  speak 
without  difficulty.  He  distinguished  himself  first  at 
Westminster,  and  afterwards  at  Christ  Church,  Ox- 
ford, by  his  classical  attainments.  From  Christ 
Church  he  returned  lo  Westminster  as  an  usher,  and 
then  took  orders,  under  the  patronage  of  Atterbury. 
But  he  regarded  Atterbury  more  as  a  friend  than  a 
patron,  and  holding  the  same  *  political  opinions,  he 

*  The  sons  appear  to  have  imbibed  their  mother's  political 
opinions.  Samuel  was  one  of  those  wits  who  did  themselves  no 
honour,  and  their  country  no  service,  by  assailing  Sir  Robert 
Walpole's  administration.  There  is  a  passage  in  one  of  Charles 
Wesley's  letters  which  shows  that  John  was  of  the  same  political 
school.  Writing  to  Samuel  from  Oxford  in  the  year  1734,  he 
says,  "  My  brother  has  been  much  mauled,  and  threatened  more, 
for  his  Jacobite  sermon  on  the  Uth  June.  But  he  was  wise 
enough  to  get  the  vice-chancellor  to  read  and  approve  it  before 
he  preached  it,  and  may  therefore  bid  Wadham,  Merton,  Exeter, 
iind  Christ  Church  do  their  worst."  Wesley  has  asserted,  and 
hi'!  biographers  have  repeated  it  after  him,  that  Dr.  Sacheverel's 


FAMILY  OF  THE,  WESLEYS. 


49 


attracted  the  resentment  of  the  ministers,  by  assail- 
ing them  with  epigrams  and  satires.  On  this  ac- 
count, when  the  situation  of  under-master  became 
vacant,  and  he  was  proposed  as  a  man  eminently 
qualified  to  fill  it,  by  experience,  ability,  and  charac- 
ter, tlie  appointment  was  refused,  upon  the  irrele- 
vant objection  that  he  w  as  a  married  man.  Charles 
was  placed  under  him  at  Westminster,  and  going 
through  the  college  in  like  manner,  was  also  elected 
to  Christ  Church.  John  was  educated  at  the  Char- 
ter-house. 

While  John  was  at  school,  certain  disturbances 
occurred  in  his  father's  house,  so  unaccountable  that 
every  person  by  whom  they  were  witnessed  believed 
them  to  be  supernatural.  At  the  latter  end  of  the 
year  1715,  the  maid-servant  was  terrified  by  hearing 
at  the  dining-room  door  several  dismal  groans,  as  of 
a  person  at  the  point  of  death.  The  family  gave  lit- 
tle heed  to  her  story,  and  endeavoured  to  laugh  her 
out  of  her  fears;  but  a  few  nights  afterward  they  be- 
gan to  hear  strange  knockings,  usually  three  or  four 
at  a  time,  in  different  parts  of  the  house  :  every  per- 
son heard  these  noises  except  Mr.  Wesley  himself, 
and  as,  according  to  vulgar  opinion,  such  sounds 
were  not  audible  by  the  individual  to  whom  they  fore- 
boded evil,  they  refrained  from  telling  him,  lest  he 
should  suppose  that  it  betokened  his  own  death,  as 
they  indeed  all  apprehended.  At  length,  however, 
the  disturbance  became  so  great  and  so  frequent, 
that  few  or  none  of  the  family  durst  be  alone,  and 
Mrs.  Wesley  thought  it  better  to  inform  her  husband ; 
for  it  was  not  possible  tfiat  the  matter  could  long  be 
concealed  from  him ;  and  moreover,  as  she  says,  she 
was  minded  he  should  speak  to  it.  The  noises  were 
now  various  as  well  as  strange,  loud  rumblings  above 
stairs  or  below,  a  clatter  among  a  number  of  bottles, 


defence  was  composed  by  his  fitlior.  It  ha?  been  usually  as- 
cribed to  Atterbury,  and  v<^ry  nossibly  he  may  have  employed 
his  youug  friend  in  the  task, — a  task  by  no  means  consonant  with 
the  father's  principles. 

VOL.  I.  7 


50 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


as  if  they  had  all  at  once  been  dashed  to  pieces,  foot- 
steps as  of  a  man  going  up  and  down  stairs  at  all 
hours  of  the  night,  sounds  like  that  of  dancing  in  an 
empty  room,  the  door  of  Avhich  was  locked,  gobbling 
like  a  turkey  cock,  but  most  frequently  a  knocking 
about  the  beds  at  night,  and  in  different  parts  of  the 
house.  Mrs.  Wesley  would  at  first  have  persuaded 
the  children  and  servants  that  it  was  occasioned  by 
rats  within  doors,  and  mischievous  persons  without, 
and  her  husband  had  recourse  to  the  same  ready 
solution ;  or  some  of  his  daughters,  he  supposed, 
sate  up  late  and  made  a  noise  ;  and  a  hint  that  their 
lovers  might  have  something  to  do  with  the  mystery, 
made  the  young  ladies  heartily  hope  he  might  soon 
be  convinced  that  there  was  more  in  the  matter  than 
he  was  disposed  to  believe.  In  this  they  were  not 
disappointed,  for  on  the  next  night,  a  little  after  mid- 
night, he  was  awakened  by  nine  loud  and  distinct 
knocks,  which  seemed  to  be  in  the  next  room,  with  a 
pause  at  every  third  stroke.  He  rose  and  went  to 
see  if  he  could  discover  the  cause,  but  could  per- 
ceive nothing ;  still  he  thought  it  might  be  some  per- 
son out  of  doors,  and  relied  upon  a  stout  mastiff"  to  rid 
them  of  this  nuisance.  But  the  dog,  which  upon  the 
first  disturbance  had  barked  violently,  was  ever  af- 
terwards cowed  by  it,  and  seeming  more  terrified 
than  any  of  the  children,  came  whining  himself  to  his 
master  and  mistress,  as  if  to  seek  protection  in  a  hu- 
man presence.  And  when  the  man-servant,  Robin 
Brown,  took  the  mastiflT  at  night  into  his  room,  to  be 
at  once  a  guard  and  companion,  as  soon  as  the  latch 
began  to  jar  as  usual,  the  dog  crept  into  bed,  and 
barked  and  howled  so  as  to  alarm  the  house. 

The  fears  of  the  family  for  Mr.  Wesley's  life  being 
removed  as  soon  as  he  had  heard  the  mysterious 
noises,  they  began  to  apprehend  that  one  of  the  sons 
had  met  with  a  violent  death,  and  more  particularly 
Samuel  the  eldest.  The  father,  therefore,  one  night 
after  several  deep  groans  had  been  heard,  adjured 
it  to  speak  if  it  had  power,  and  tell  him  why  it  trou- 
bled the  house ;  and  upon  this  three  distinct  knock- 


FAMILY  OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


51 


ings  were  made.  He  then  questioned  it  if  it  were 
Samuel  his  son,  bidding  it,  if  it  w  ere,  and  could  not 
speak,  to  knock  again;  but  to  their  great  comfort 
there  was  no  further  knocking  that  night ;  and  when 
they  heard  that  Samuel  and  the  two  boys  were  safe 
and  well,  the  visitations  of  the  goblin  became  rather 
a  matter  of  curiosity  and  amusement  than  of  alarm. 
Emilia  gave  it  the  name  of  old  Jeffery,  and  by  this 
name  he  w  as  now  known  as  a  harmless,  though  by  no 
means  an  agreeable  inmate  of  Ihe  parsonage.  Jeffe- 
ry was  not  a  malicious  goblin,  but  he  was  easily  of- 
fended. Before  Mrs.  Wesley  was  satisfied  that  there 
was  something  supernatural  in  the  noises,  she  recol- 
lected that  one  of  her  neighbours  had  frightened  the 
rats  from  his  dwelling  by  blowing  a  horn  there ;  the 
horn,  therefore,  was  borrowed,  and  blown  stoutly 
about  the  house  for  half  a  day,  greatly  against  the 
judgment  of  one  of  the  sisters,  who  maintained  that  if 
it  was  any  thing  supernatural  it  would  certainly  be 
very  angry  and  more  troublesome.  Her  opinion  was 
verified  by  the  event ;  Jeffery  had  never  till  then  be- 
gun his  operations  during  the  day;  from  that  time 
he  came  by  day  as  well  as  by  night,  and  was  louder 
than  before.  And  he  never  entered  Mr.  Wesley's  stu- 
dy till  the  owner  one  day  rebuked  him  sharply,  call- 
ed him  a  deaf  and  dumb  devil,  and  bade  him  cease  to 
disturb  the  innocent  children,  and  come  to  him  in 
his  study,  if  he  had  any  thing  to  say.  This  was  a 
sort  of  defiance,  and  Jeffery  therefore  took  him  at  his 
word.  No  other  person  in  the  family  ever  felt  the 
goblin,  but  Mr.  Wesley  was  thrice  pushed  by  it  with 
considerable  force. 

So  he  himself  relates,  and  his  evidence  is  clear 
and  distinct.  He  says  also,  that  once  or  twice  when 
he  spoke  to  it,  he  heard  two  or  three  feeble  squeaks, 
a  little  louder  than  the  chirping  of  a  bird,  but  not  hke 
the  noise  of  rats.  What  is  said  of  an  actual  appear- 
ance is  not  so  well  confirmed.  Mrs.  Wesley  thought 
she  saw  something  run  from  under  the  bed,  and 
thought  it  most  like  a  badger,  but  she  could  not  well 
say  of  what  shape  ;  and  the  man  saw  something  like  a 


52 


FAMILY   OF  THE  WESLEYS. 


white  rabbit,  which  came  from  behind  the  oven,  witli 
its  ears  flat  upon  the  neck,  and  its  little  scut  standing 
straight  up.  A  shadow  may  possibly  explain  the 
first  of  these  appearances  ;  the  other  may  be  impu- 
ted to  that  proneness  which  ignorant  persons  so  com- 
monly evince  to  exaggerate  in  all  uncommon  cases. 
These  circumstances,  therefore,  though  apparently 
silly  in  themselves,  in  no  degree  invalidate  the  other 
parts  of  the  story,  which  rest  upon  the  concurrent 
testimony  of  many  intelligent  witnesses.  'I'he  door 
was  once  violently  pushed  against  Emilia,  when  there 
was  no  person  on  the  outside  ;  the  latches  were  fre- 
quently lifted  up;  the  windows  clattered  always  be- 
fore Jeffery  entered  a  room,  and  whatever  iron  or 
brass  was  there,  rung  and  jarred  exceedingly.  It 
was  observed  also,  that  the  wind  commonly  rose  after 
any  of  his  noises,  and  increased  with  it,  and  whistled 
loudly  around  the  house.  Mr.  Wesley's  trencher 
(for  it  was  before  our  potteries  had  pushed  their  ware 
into  every  village  throughout  the  kingdom)  danced 
one  day  upon  tlie  table,  to  his  no  small  amazement ; 
and  the  hand  of  Robin's  hand-mill,  at  another  time, 
was  turned  round  with  great  swiftness;  unluckily 
Robin  had  just  done  grinding;  nothing  vexed  him, 
he  said,  but  that  the  mill  was  empty  ;  if  there  had 
been  corn  in  it,  Jctfery  might  have  ground  his  heart 
out  before  he  Avould  have  disturbed  him.  It  was 
plaiidy  a  Jacobite  goblin,  and  seldom  suffi?red  Mr. 
Wesley  to  pray  for  the  King  and  the  Prince  of  Wales 
without  disturbing  the  family  prayers.  Mr.  Wesley 
was  sore  upon  this  subject,  and  became  angry,  and 
therefore  repeated  the  prayer.  But  when  Samuel 
was  informed  of  this,  his  remark  was,  "  As  to  the  de- 
vil's being  an  enemy  to  king  George,  were  1  the  king 
myself,  I  should  rather  Old  Nick  should  be  my  enemy 
than  my  friend."  The  children  were  the  only  persons 
who  were  distressed  by  those  visitations;  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  were  affected  is  remarkable :  when 
the  noises  began  they  appeared  to  be  frightened  in 
their  sleep,  a  sweat  came  over  them,  and  they  pant- 
ed and  trembled  till  the  disturbance  was  so  loud  as 


FAMILY  OP  THE  WESLEYS. 


53 


to  awaken  them.  Before  it  ceased,  the  family  had 
become  quite  accustomed  to  it,  and  were  tired  with 
hearing  or  speaking  of  it.  "  Send  me  some  news," 
said  one  of  the  sisters  to  her  brother  Samuel,  "for 
we  are  secluded  from  the  sight  or  hearing  of  any  vcr- 
sal  thing,  exept  Jeffery." 

An  author  who  in  this  age  relates  such  a  story,  and 
treats  it  as  not  utterly  incredible  and  absurd,  must 
expect  to  be  ridiculed ;  but  the  testimony  upon 
which  it  rests  is  far  too  strong  to  be  set  aside  be- 
cause of  the  strangeness  of  the  relation.  The  letters 
which  passed  at  the  time  between  Samuel  Wesley 
and  the  family  at  Epworth,  the  journal  which  Mr. 
Wesley  kept  of  these  remarkable  transactions,  and 
the  evidence  concerning  them  which  John  after- 
wards collected,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Priestley, 
and  were  *  published  by  him  as  being  "  perhaps  the 
best  authenticated  and  best  told  story  of  the  kind 
that  is  any  where  extant."  He  observes  in  favour 
of  the  story,  "  that  all  the  parties  seem  to  have  heen 
sufficiently  void  of  fear,  and  also  free  from  credulity, 
except  the  general  belief  that  such  things  were  su- 
pernatural." But  he  argues,  that  where  no  good 
end  was  to  be  answered,  we  may  safely  conclude 
that  no  miracle  was  wrought;  and  he  supposes,  as 
the  most  probable  solution,  that  it  was  a  trick  of 
the  servants,  assisted  by  some  of  the  neighbours,  for 
the  sake  of  amusing  themselves  and  puzzling  the  fa- 
mily. In  reply  to  this  it  may  be  safely  asserted,  that 
many  of  the  circumstances  cannot  be  explained  by 
any  such  supposition,  nor  by  any  legerdemain,  nor 
by  ventriloquism,  nor  by  any  secret  of  acoustics. 
The  former  argument  would  l>c  valid,  if  the  term 
miracle  were  applicable  to  the  case;  but  by  mira- 
cle Dr.  Priestley  evidently  intends  a  manifestation  of 
Divine  power,  and  in  the  present  instance  no  such 
manifestation  is  supposed,  any  more  than  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  departed  spirit    Such  things  may  be 

*  These  papers  are  inserted  among  the  Notes  and  Illustrations 
at  the  end  of  the  Volume,  that  the  reader  may  have  before  him 
the  original  documents  relating  to  this  remarkable  aflair. 


54 


FAMILY  OF  tHE  WESLEYS. 


preternatural  and  yet  not  miraculous:  they  may  be 
iiot  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature,  and  yet  imply  j 
no  alteration  of  its  laws.  And  with  regard  to  the  i 
good  end  which  they  may  be  supposed  to  answer,  it 
would  be  end  sufficient  if  sometimes  one  of  those  un- 
happy persons  who,  looking  through  the  dim  glass 
of  infidelity,  see  nothing  beyond  this  life,  and  the 
narrow  sphere  of  mortal  existence,  should,  from  the 
well-established  truth  of  one  such  story,  (trifling  and 
objectless  as  it  might  otherwise  appear,)  be  led  to  a 
conclusion  that  there  are  more  things  in  heaven  and 
earth  than  are  dreamt  of  in  their  philosophy. 

John  suffered  at  the  Charter-house  under  the  ty- 
ranny which  the  elder  boys  were  permitted  to  exer- 
cise. This  evil  at  one  time  existed  very  generally 
in  English  schools,  through  the  culpable  negligence 
of  the  masters ;  and  perhaps  may  still  continue  to 
exist,  though  if  a  system  were  designed  for  cultivat- 
ing the  worst  dispositions  of  human  nature,  it  could 
not  more  effectually  answer  the  purpose.  The  boys 
of  the  higher  forms  of  the  Charter-house  were  then 
in  the  practice  of  taking  their  portion  of  meat  from 
the  younger  ones,  by  the  law  of  the  strongest;  and 
during  great  part  of  the  time  that  Wesley  remained 
there,  a  small  daily  portion  of  bread  was  his  only 
food.  Those  theoretical  physicians  who  recommend 
spare  diet  for  the  human  animal,  might  appeal  with 
triumph  to  the  length  of  days  which  he  attained,  and 
the  elastic  constitution  which  he  enjoyed.  He  him- 
self imputed  this  blessing,  in  great  measure,  to  the 
strict  obedience  with  which  he  performed  an  injunc- 
tion of  his  fathers,  that  he  should  run  round  the 
Charter-house  garden  three  times  every  morning. 
Here,  for  his  quietness,  regularity,  and  application, 
he  became  a  favourite  with  the  master.  Dr.  Walker; 
and  through  life  he  retained  so  great  a  predilection 
for  the  place,  that  on  his  annual  visit  to  London  he 
made  it  a  custom  to  walk  through  the  scene*  of  his 

*  Good  old  Izaak  Walton  has  preserved  a  beautiful  speech  of 
that  excellent  man,  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  when,  in  his  old  age,  he 
was  returning  from  a  visit  to  Winchester,  where  he  had  been 


FAMILY  OP  THE  WESLEYS. 


55 


boyhood.  To  most  men  every  year  would  render  a 
pilgrimage  of  this  kind  more  painful  than  the  last ; 
but  Wesley  seems  never  to  have  looked  back  with 
melancholy  upon  the  days  that  were  gone ;  earthly 
regrets  of  this  kind  could  find  no  room  in  one  who 
was  continually  pressing  onward  to  the  goal. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  removed  from  the 
Charter-house  to  Christ  Church,  Oxford. 


educated.  "  How  useful,"  he  said  to  a  friend,  his  compaaion  in 
that  journey,  "  how  useful  was  that  advice  of  a  holy  monk,  who 
persuaded  his  friend  to  perform  his  customary  devotions  in  a  con- 
stant place,  because  in  that  place  we  usually  meet  with  those  verj- 
thoughts  which  poseessed  us  at  our  last  being  there.  ,  And  I  find  it 
thus  far  experimentally  true,  that  my  now  being  in  that  school, 
and  seeing  that  very  place  where  I  sate  when  I  was  a  boy,  occa- 
sioned me  to  remember  those  very  thoughts  of  my  youth  which 
then  possessed  me  ;  sweet  thoughts,  indeed,  that  promised  my 
growing  years  numerous  pleasures,  without  mixtures  of  cares  ; 
and  those  to  be  enjoyed  when  time  (which  I  therefore  thought 
slow-paced)  had  changed  my  youth  into  manhood  :  but  age  and 
experience  have  taught  me,  that  those  were  but  empty  hopes  : 
for  I  have  always  found  it  true,  as  my  Saviour  did  foretell,  '  suf- 
ficient for  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.'  Nevertheless,  1  saw  there 
a  succession  of  boys  using  the  same  recreations,  and  questionless 
possessed  with  the  same  thoughts  that  then  possessed  me.  Thus 
one  generation  succeeds  another,  both  in  their  hves,  recreations, 
hopes,  fears,  and  death." 


CHAPTER  II. 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 

Before  Wesley  went  to  the  university,  he  had  ac- 
quired some  knowledge  of  Hebrew  under  his  brother 
Samuel's  tuition.  At  college  he  continued  his  stu- 
dies with  all  diligence,  and  was  noticed  there  for  his 
attainments,  and  especially  for  his  skill  in  logic,  by 
which  he  frequently  put  to  silence  those  who  con- 
tended with  him  in  after  life.  No  man,  indeed,  was 
ever  more  dexterous  in  the  art  of  reasoning.  A  charge 
was  once  brought  against  him  that  he  delighted  to 
perplex  his  opponents  by  his  expertness  in  sophistry ; 
he  repelled  it  with  indignation;  "It  has  been  my 
first  care,"  said  he,  "  to  see  that  my  cause  was  good, 
and  never,  either  in  jest  or  earnest,  to  defend  the 
wrong  side  of  a  question  ;  and  shame  on  me  if  I  can- 
not defend  the  right  after  so  much  practice,  and  af- 
ter having  been  so  early  accustomed  to  separate 
truth  from  falsehood,  how  artfully  soever  they  are 
twisted  together."  Like  his  father,  and  both  his  bro- 
thers, he  was  no  inexpert  versifier  in  his  youth  ;  this, 
however,  was  a  talent  which  he  forebore  to  use, 
when  ascetic  opinions  began  to  influence  him, — and 
the  honour  of  being  the  sweet  singer  of  Methodism 
was  reserved  for  his  brother  Charles. 

When  he  was  an  under-graduate,  his  manners'were 
free  and  cheerful ;  and  that  activity  of  disposition 
which  bore  him  afterward  through  such  uninterrupt- 
ed labour,  displayed  itself  in  wit  and  vivacity.  But 
when  the  time  of  hfe  arrived  at  which  he  might  have 
taken  orders,  he,  who  was  not  a  man  to  act  lightly 
upon  any  occasion,  and  least  of  all  upon  so  solemn  a 
one,  began  to  reflect  seriously  upon  the  importance  of 
the  priestly  office,  and  to  feel  some  scruples  concerning 
the  motives  by  which  the  person  ought  to  be  influenc- 
ed who  determines  to  take  upon  himself  so  awful  a 


1725.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


57 


charge.  These  scruples  he  communicated  to  his  fa- 
ther, who  answered  them  sensibly;  but  agreed  with 
him  in  not  liking  "  a  callow  clergyman and  hinting 
that  he  thought  it  too  soon  for  him  to  be  ordained, 
exhorted  him  to  work  while  he  could.  The  letter 
was  written  with  a  trembling  pen ;  "  You  see,"  said 
the  old  man,  Time  has  shaken  me  by  the  hand,  and 
Death  is  but  a  little  way  behind  him.  My  eyes  and 
heart  are  now  almost  all  I  have  left,  and  I  bless  God 
for  them."  The  mother,  however,  was  of  opinion, 
that  the  sooner  he  entered  into  deacon's  orders  the 
better,  because  it  might  be  an  inducement  to  greater 
application  in  the  study  of  practical  divinity.  "  And 
now,"  snid  she.  in  good  earnest  resolve  to  make  re- 
ligion  the  business  of  your  life  :  for,  after  all,  that^is 
thejjQg^  tiling  that,  strictly  speaking,  is  necessary ; 
all  things  beside  are  comparatively  httle  to  the  pur- 
goses^riiie.  I  heartily  wish  you  Avould  now  enter 
upon  a  strict  examination  of  yourself,  that  you  may 
know  whether  you  have  a  reasonable  hope  of  salva- 
tion by  Jesus  Christ.  If  you  have,  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  it  will  abundantly  reward  your  pains;  if 
you  have  not,  you  will  find  a  more  reasonable  occa- 
sion for  tears  than  can  be  met  with  in  a  tragedy." 

In  conformity  to  this  advice  he  applied  himself 
closely  to  theological  studies ;  his  devotional  feelings 
thus  fostered,  soon  acquired  the  predominance  in  a 
frame  of  mind  like  his,  and  he  now  became  desirous 
of  entering  upon  his  ministerial  career.  The  father 
understanding  this,  judged  it  advisable  that  he  slijwild 
be  ordained  in  the  ensuing  summer;  "  but,  in  the 
first  place,"  said  he,  "  if  you  love  yourself  or  fne,  pray 
heartily."  Two  books  which  he  read  in  the  course 
of  this  preparation  laid  strong  holH  upon  him.  The 
first  was  the  famous  treatise  De  ImilaJi&ne-Gkn^ti.  com- 
monly ascribed  upon  insuthcient  and  disputed  evi- 
dence to  Thomas  a  Kempis.  The  view  which  is  ta- 
ken in  th^t  work  of  human  life  and  of  Christian  duties 
revolted  him  at  tirst.  Upon  this,  as  upon  all  other 
subjects,  he  consulted  his  parents  as  his  natural  and 
best  counsellors,  and  represented  it  ''  ''-^  \.,.^:\:  -' 

\0L.   I.  i> 


58 


WESLEV   AT  OXFORD. 


[1725. 


a  misfortune  that  he  differed  from  the  writer  in  some 
main  points.  "  I  cannot  tliink,"  said  he,  "  that  when 
God  sent  us  into  the  world,  he  had  irreversibly  de- 
creed that  we  should  be  perpetually  miserable  in  it. 
IfoinMUddQ^jiptl^^  Cross  imply  our  bidding  adieu  to 
all^joy  and  satisl'actioii,  how  is  it  reconcileable  with 
what  Solomon  expressly  affirms  of  religion,  that  her 
ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace 
Another  of  his  tenets  is,  that  mirth  or  pleasure  is  use- 
l^ssX-jf  not  sinful ;  and  that  nothing  is  an  affliction  to 
a^pod  man, — that  he  ought  to  thank  God  even  for 
sending  him  misery.  This,  in  my  opinion,  says  Wes- 
ley, is  contrary  to  God's  design  in  afflicting  us;  for 
though  he  chasteneth  those  whom  he  loveth,  yet  it  is 
in  order  to  humble  them.  His  mother  agreed  with 
him  that  the  author  of  this  treatise  had  more  zeal  than 
knowledge,  and  was  one  of  those  men  who  would  un- 
necessarily strew  the  way  of  life  with  thorns.  "Wx>iild 
/^ou  judge  of  the  lawfulness  or  unlawfulness  of  plea- 
^re,"  she  said,  "  take  this  rule: — whatever  weakens 
your  reason,  impairs  the  tenderness  of  your  consciejice, 
I  obscures  your  sense  of  God,  or  takes  off  the  relish  of  ' 
!  spiritual  things  ;— in  short,  whatever  increases^,£he 
strength  and  authority  of  your  body  over  your  miuil, 
that  thing  is  sin  to  you,  however  innocent  it  may  be 
Vin  itself"  Well  might  Wesley  consult  upon  such 
questions  a  mother  who  was  capable  of  reasoning 
and  writing  thus.  His  father  expressed  a  different 
opinion  ;  "  All  men,"  he  said,  "  were  apt  to  verge  to- 
wards extremes,  but  mortification  was  still  an  indis- 
pensible  Christian  duty.  If  the  young  man  will  re- 
joice in  his  youth,  let  him  take  care  that  his  joys  be  in- 
nocent ;  and  in  order  to  this,  remember,  that  for  all 
these  thiiigs  God  will  bring  him  into  judgment."  The 
book  had  been  his  "  great  and  old  companion,"  and 
he  thought  that  "  making  some  grains  of  allowance, 
it  might  be  read  to  great  .advantage, — nay,  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  peruse  it  seriously  without  ad- 
miring, and  in  some  measure  imitating,  its  heroic 
strains  of  humility,  piety,  and  devotion."  But  he  re- 
ferred him  to  his  mother,  saying,  that  "  she  had  lei- 


1725.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


59 


sure  to  boult  the  matter  to  the  bran.'"  This  refer- 
ence to  the  judgment  of  a  woman  upon  such  a  subject 
will  appear  less  extraordinary,  if  it  be  remembered 
that  the  practice  of  giving  girls  a  learned  education, 
which  began  in  England  with  the  Reformation,  had 
not  been  laid  aside  in  Mrs.  Wesley's  youth — that 
she  understood  Greek  and  Latin,  and  that  her  early 
studies  had  been  directed  to  theology.  Her  attain- 
mejits,  however,  had  not  made  her  pedantic ;  neither 
had  her  talents,  and  the  deference  which  was  paid 
to  them  by  her  husband  and  her  children,  rendered 
her  in  any  degree  presumptuous.  She  speaks  of 
herself  in  this  correspondence  as  being  infirm  and 
slow  of  understanding;  but  expressess  the  delight 
which  it  gave  her  to  correspond  with  her  son  upon 
such  subjects. 

The  treatise  De  Imitatione  appears  to  have  offend- 
ed Wesley's  reason,  as  well  as  the  instincts  of  hilarity 
and  youth.  But  the  impression  which  this  writer 
(whoever  he  be)  failed  to  make,  was  produced  by 
the  work  of  a  far  more  powerful  intellect,  and  an 
imagination  infinitely  more  fervent — Jjerem^LXaylof^ 
]5jjlea_pilJHgl^  Li V invalid- -Dyiag.  He  had  been 
trained  up  in  religious  habits ;  and  when  his  reli- 
gious feelings  were  once  called  into  action,  they  soon 
became  pre-eminent  above  all  others.  Thatpart  in 
particular  of  this  splendid  work  which  reTatesT  to 
pjirity-of  intention,  affected  him  exceedingly^^l.';^  In- 
stantly." he  says,  "  1  resolved  to  dedicate  o// joy  life 
to^God,— a//  my  thoughts  and  words,  and  actions, 
Being  thoroughly  convinced  there  was  no  medium  ; 
but  that  every  part  of  my  life  (not  some  only)  must 
either  be  a  sacrifice  to  God,  or  myself,— thatis in 
effect  to  the  Devil."  XheJmitaticui^jdaidiJie.._had 
found  repuki^e  at  first,  appeared  so  uo  longer  now  : 
BishopjTaylor  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  ascetic 
aujjior,  and  he  began  to  find  in  the  perusal  sensible 
comlort,  such  as  he  was  an  utter  stranger  to  before. 
His  _,father,  who  had  once  thought  him  wanting  in 
ffieopatljiy,  and  probably  for  that  reason  had  advised 
Himtodelay  his  ordination,  perceived  the  change 


60 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1725. 


with  joy.  "  God  fit  you  for  your  great  work  !"  he 
said  to  him:  "  Fast,  watch,  and  pray;  believe,  love, 
endure,  and  be  happy,  towards  which  you  shall  never 
want  the  most  ardent  prayers  of  your  atfectionate 
father."'  He  removed  some  scruples  which  his  son 
expressed  concerning  the  damnatory  clauses  of  the 
Athanasian  creed, — that  creed  of  which  Tillotson 
wished  the  church  of  England  were  "  well  rid." 
"  Their  point,"  he  said,  "  was  levelled  only  against 
obstinate  heretics ;  and  a  distinction  was  undoubt- 
edly to  be  made  between  what  is  wilful  and  what  is 
in  some  measure  involuntary.  God  certainly  will 
make  a  difTerence,  and  to  him  it  must  be  left ;  our 
business  is  to  keep  to  the  rule  which  he  has  given 
us.  As  to  the  main  of  the  cause,"  he  continues, 
"  the  best  way  to  deal  with  our  adversaries  is  to  turn 
the  war  and  their  own  vaunted  arms  against  them. 
From  balancing  the  schemes  it  will  appear,  that 
there  are  many  irreconcileable  absurdities  and  con- 
tradictions in  theirs,  but  none  such  (though  indeed 
some  difficulties)  in  ours.  They  can  never  prove  a 
contradiction  in  our  Three  and  One,  unless  we  affirm 
them  to  be  so  in  the  same  respect,  which  every  child 
knows  we  do  not.  But  we  can  prove  there  is  one  in 
a  creature's  being  a  creator,  which  they  assert  of 
our  Lord." 

It  is  curious  to  observe  the  opinions  of  the  young 
theologian  at  this  time  upon  some  of  those  topics, 
whereon  he  enlarged  so  copiously,  and  acted  so  de- 
cisively in  after-life.  Jeremy  Taylor  had  remarked 
that  we  ought,  in  some"  sense  or  other,  toJhink 
ourselves  the  worst  in  every  company  where  we 
corrie."  The  duty  of  absolute  humility  Wesley  at 
once  acknowledged  ;  but  he  denied  that  this  compa- 
rative humility,  as  he  called  i(,  was  in  our  power;  it 
could  not  be  reasonable,  or  sincere,  and  therefore  it 
could  not  be  a  virtue.  The  bishop  had  affirmed, 
that  we  know  not  whether  God  has  forgiven  us. 
Wesley  could  not  assent  to  this  position.  "  If,"  said 
he,  "  we  dwell  in  Christ  and  Christ  in  us,  which  he 
will  not  do  unless  we  are  regenerate,  certainly  we 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


61 


must  be  sensible  of  it.  If  we  can  never  have  any 
certaifity  of  our  being  in  a  state  of  salvation,  good 
reason  it  is  that  every  moment  should  be  spent,  not 
in  joy,  but  in  fear  and  trembhng;  and  then  undoubt- 
edly in  this  life  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable. 
God  deliver  us  from  such  a  fearful  expectation  ! 
Humility  is  undoubtedly  necessary  to  salvation,  and 
if  all  these  things  are  essential  to  humility,  who  can 
be  humble  ?  who  can  be  saved  ?  That  we  can  never 
be  so  certain  of  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  as  to  be  as- 
sured th(;y  will  never  rise  up  against  us,  I  firmly 
believe.  We  know  that  they  will  infallibly  do  so  if 
we  apostatize  ;  and  I  am  not  satisfied  what  evidence 
there  can  be  of  our  final  perseverance,  till  we  have 
finished  our  course.  But  I  am  persuaded  we  may 
know  if  we  are  7iow  in  a  state  of  salvation,  since  that 
is  expressly  promised  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  our 
sincere  endeavours,  and  we  are  surely  able  to  judge 
of  our  own  sincerity."  He  was  startled  at  that  part 
of  our  articles  which  bears  a  Calvinistic  appearance. 
"  As  I  understand  faith,"  said  he,  "  to  be  an  assent 
to  any  truth  upon  rational  grounds,  I  do  not  think  it 
possible,  without  perjury,  to  swear  I  believe  any 
thing,  unless  I  have  reasonable  grounds  for  my  per- 
suasion. Now,  that  which  contradicts  reason  cannot 
be  said  to  stand  upon  reasonable  grounds,  and  such, 
undoubtedly,  is  every  proposition  which  is  incom- 
patible with  the  divine  justice  or  mercy.  What  then 
shall  I  say  of  predestination  ?  If  it  was  inevitably 
decreed  from  eternity  that  a  determinate  part  of 
mankind  should  be  saved,  and  none  beside  them,  a 
vast  majority  of  the  world  were  only  born  to  eternal 
death,  without  so  much  as  a  possibility  of  avoiding  it. 
How  is  this  consistent  with  either  the  divine  justice 
or  mercy  ?  Is  it  merciful  to  ordain  a  creature  to 
everlasting  misery  Is  it  just  to  punish  man  for 
crimes  which  he  could  not  but  commit  ?  That  God 
should  be  the  author  of  sin  and  injustice,  which 
must,  I  think,  be  the  consequence  of  maintaining  this 
opinion,  is  a  contradiction  to  the  clearest  ideas  we 
have  of  the  divine  nature  and  perfections."  His 


62 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1725. 


mother,  to  whom  these  feehngs  were  imparted, 
agreed  with  hiai  that  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination was  shocking,  and  ought  utterly  to  be 
abhorred.  The  church  doctrine,  she  argued,  if  it 
were  properly  understood,  in  no  wise  derogated  from 
God's  free  grace,  nor  impaired  the  liberty  of  man ; 
for  there  could  be  no  more  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  prescience  of  God  is  the  cause  why  so  many 
finally  perish,  than  that  our  knowing  the  sun  will  rise 
to-morrow  is  the  cause  of  its  rising.  But  she  won- 
dered why  men  would  amuse  themselves  with  search- 
ing into  the  decrees  of  God,  which  no  human  art 
could  fathom,  and  not  rather  employ  their  time  and 
powers  in  making  their  own  election  sure.  "  Such 
studies,"  she  said,  "  tended  more  to  confound  than 
to  inform  the  understanding:  but  as  he  had  entered 
upon  it,  if  her  thoughts  did  not  satisfy  him,  he  had 
better  consult  his  father,  who  was  surely  much  better 
qualified  for  a  casuist  than  herself." 

The  course  of  these  studies,  aided  also  by  his 
meeting,  for  the  first  time,  with  a  religious  friend, 
produced  a  great  change  in  Wesley's  frame  of  mind. 
He  began  to  alter  the  whole  form  of  his  conversa- 
tion, and  to  set  in  earnest  upon  a  new  life.  He  com- 
municated every  week,  and  began  to  pray  for  that 
inward  holiness,  of  the  necessity  of  which  Bishop 
Taylor  had  convinced  him,  and  to  aim  at  it  with  his 
utmost  endeavours.  Thus  prepared  in  heart  as  well 
as  in  knowledge,  he  was  ordained  in  the  autumn  of 
the  year  1725  by  Dr.  Potter,  then  bishop  of  Oxford, 
and  afterwards  primate.  In  the  ensuing  spring  he 
offered  himself  for  a  fellowship  at  Lincoln  College. 
Even  in  college  elections  there  is  play  enough  for 
evil  p:issions,  and  too  much  license  allowed  them. 
Tlioiigh  Wesley  was  not  jot  eccentric  in.his  habijts 
o£lTre,~the  strictness  of  his  religious  princij>les  was 
suf?iclently  remarkable  to  afford  subject  fbr^^ire ; 
andjiis  opponents  hoped  to  prevent  his  success  by 
inakingjijm  rid  this  occasion  his  Ja- 

ther^tpld  him  it  was  a  callow  Virtue  that  could  not 
bear  being  laughed  at.    His  mother  encouraged liim 


1726.] 


AVESLEY   AT  OXFOKD. 


63 


in  a  different  manner.  "  If,"  said  she,  "  it  be  a  weak 
virtue  that  cannot  bear  being  laughed  it,  I  am  sure 
it  is  a  strong  and  well-confirmed  virtue  that  can  stand 
the  test  of  a  brisk  buffoonery.  MarrQ)ejy3le,  though 
\S£li4fi«liiied>-haYe  yet  made  shipwreck  orfaitirand 
a ^pjpd  .cpnscience,  merely  because  they  cpuld  not 
Searxaiijery.  .I  -  would  t.here^^  ajtlyise  those  who 
are^injthe  beginning  of  a  Christian  course,  to  shun 
the_company  of  profane  witSi__ais_thej_  would  the 
plagiie^fin^ioyerty :  ^^d^  nfiYer  to  contract  an  inti- 
tgacy  with  any  but  such  as  have  a  good  sense  pX 
religion."  Notwithstanding  this  kind  of  opposition, 
he  attained  the  object  in  view,  and  was  elected  fel- 
low in  March,  1726,  having  been  much  indebt- 
ed to  his  brother  Samuel's  influence,  and  to  the 
good  will  of  the  rector  of  the  college.  Dr.  Morley. 
This  was  a  great  joy  to  his  father,  who  was  now  far 
advanced  in  the  vale  of  years.  In  writing  to  con- 
gratulate him  he  says,  "  What  will  be  my  own  fate 
before  the  summer  be  over,  God  knows :  sed  passi 
gravtora. — Wherever  I  am,  my  Jack  is  Fellow  of 
Lincoln." 

This  removal  enabled  him  to  rid  himself  of  all 
unsympathizing  acquaintance,  in  a  manner  which  he 
related,  sixty  years  afterwards,  in  his  sermon  on 
leaving  the  world.  "  When  it  pleased  God,"  he 
says,  "  to  give  me  a  settled  resolution  to  be  not  a 
nominal,  but  a  real  Christian,  (being  then  about 
twenty-two  years  of  age,)  my  acquaintance  were  as 
ignorant  of  God  as  myself  But  there  was  this  dif- 
ference:  I  knew  my  own  ignorance;  they  did  not 
know  theirs.  I  faintly  endeavoured  to  help  them, 
but  in  vain.  Meantime  I  found,  by  sad  experience, 
that  even  their  harmless  conversation,  so  called, 
damped  all  my  good  resolutions.  But  how  to  get 
rid  of  them  was  the  question  which  1  revolved  in  my 
mind  again  and  again.  I  saw  no  possible  way,  un- 
less it  should  please  God  to  remove  me  to  another 
College.  He  did  so,  in  a  manner  utterly  contrary  to 
all  human  probability.  1  was  elected  fellow  of  a 
cnlloo-e.  where  I  knew  not  one  person.    I  foresaw 


64 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1727. 


abundance  of  people  would  come  to  see  me,  either 
out  of  friendship,  civility,  or  curiosity,  and  that  1 
should  have  offers  of  acquaintance  new  and  old ;  but 
I  had  now  fixed  my  plan.  Entering  now,  as  it  Avere, 
into  a  new  world,  I  resolved  to  have  no  acquaintance 
by  chance,  but  by  choice,  and  to  chooge  such  only 
as  I  had  reason  to  believe  would  help  me  on  my  way 
to  heaven.  In  consequence  of  this,  I  narrowly 
observed  the  temper  and  behaviour  of  all  that  visit- 
ed me.  I  saw  no  reason  to  think  that  the  greater 
part  of  these  truly  loved  or  feared  God.  Such  ac- 
quaintance, therefore,  I  did  not  choose  :  I  could  not 
expect  they  would  do  me  any  good.  Therefore, 
when  any  of  these  came,  I  behaved  as  courteously  as 
I  could  :  but  to  the  question,  '  When  will  you  come 
to  see  me  I  returned  no  answer.  When  they  had 
come  a  few  times,  and  found  I  still  declined  return- 
ing the  visit,  I  saw  them  no  more.  And  I  bless  God," 
he  adds,  "  this  has  been  my  invariable  rule  for  about 
threescore  years.  I  knew  many  reflections  would 
follow  ;  but  that  did  not  move  me,  as  I  knew  full  well 
it  was  my  calling  to  go  through  evil  report  and  good 
report.'"' 

From  this  time  Wesley  began  to  keep  a  diary,  ac- 
cording to  a  practice  which  at  one  time  was  very 
general  among  persons  religiously  disposed.  To  this 
practice  the  world  owes  some  valuable  materials  for 
history  as  well  as  individual  biography;  but  perhaps 
no  person  has,  in  this  manner,  conveyed  so  lively  a 
picture  of  himself  as  Wesley.  During  a  most  rest- 
less life  of  incessant  occupation,  he  found  time  to 
register  not  only  his  proceedings,  but  his  thoughts, 
his  studies,  and  his  occasional  remarks  upon  men 
and  books,  and  not  unfrequently  upon  miscellaneous 
subjects,  with  a  vivacity  which  characterised  him  to 
the  last.  Eight  months  after  his  election  to  a  fellow- 
ship, he  was  appointed  Greek  lecturer  and  moderator 
of  the  classes.  At  that  time  disputatious  were  held 
six  times  a  week  at  Lincoln  (.'ollege ;  and  however 
the  students  may  have  profited  by  them,  the>  were 
of  singular  use  to  the  morlp'-'^+'-r.         could  not 


1727.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


avoid,"  he  says,  "acquiring  hereby  some  degree  ol" 
expertness  in  arguing;  and  especially  in  discerning 
and  pointing  out  well-covered  and  plausible  fallacies. 
I  have  since  found  abundant  reason  to  praise  God  for 
giving  me  this  honest  art.  By  this,  wlien  men  have 
hedged  me  in  by  what  they  called  demonstrations,  1 
have  been  many  times  able  to  dash  them  in  pieces: 
in  spite  of  all  its  covers,  to  touch  the  very  point 
where  the  fallacy  lay,  and  it  flew  open  in  a  moment." 
He  now  formed  for  himself  a  scheme  of  studies,  re- 
solving not  to  vary  from  it  for  some  years  at  least. — 
Mondays  and  Tuesdays  were  allotted  for  the  classics ; 
Wednesdays  to  logic  and  ethics  ;  Thursdays  to  He- 
brew and  Arabic;  Fridays  to  metaphysics  and  natu- 
ral philosophy ;  Saturdays  to  oratory  and  poetry,  but 
chiefly  to  composition  in  those  arts ;  and  tlie  Sabbath 
to  divinity.  It  appears  by  his  diary,  also,  that  he 
gave  great  attention  to  mathematics.  But  he  had 
come  to  that  conclusion,  at  which,  sooner  or  later, 
every  studious  man  must  arrive, — that  life  is  not  long 
enough  for  the  attainment  of  general  knowledge,  and 
that  there  are  many  things  of  which  the  most  learned 
must  content  themselves  to  be  ignorant.  He  says  to 
his  mother,  "  I  am  perfectly  come  over  to  your  opi- 
nion, that  there  are  many  truths  it  is  not  worth  while 
to  know.  Curiosity,  indeed,  might  be  a  sufficient 
plea  for  our  laying  out  some  time  upon  them,  if  we 
had  half  a  dozen  centuries  of  lives  to  come ;  but  me- 
thinks  it  is  great  ill  husbandry  to  spend  a  considera- 
ble part  of  the  small  pittance  now  allowed  us,  in  what 
makes  us  neither  a  quick  nor  a  sure  return."  Full 
of  business  as  he  now  was,  he  found  time  for  writing, 
by  rising  an  hour  earlier  in  the  morning,  and  going 
into  company  an  hour  later  in  the  evenir)g. 

As  his  religious  feelings  grew  upon  him,  that  state 
of  mind  came  on  which  led  the  enthusiasts  of  early 
ages  into  the  wilderness.  He  began  to  think  that 
such  society  as  that  wherein  he  was  placed,  hinder- 
ed his  progress  in  spiritual  things.  He  thought  it 
"  the  settled  temper  of  his  soul,"  that  he  should,  for 
some  time  at  least,  prefer  such  a  retirement  as  might 

VOL.  I.  9 


n-ESLEY   AT  OXFORD. 


[1728. 


seclude  Imn  from  all  the  world,  where  he  might  con- 
firm in  himself  those  habits  which  he  thought  best, 
before  the  flexibihty  of  youtli  should  be  over.  A 
school  was  proposed  to  him,  with  a  good  salary  an- 
nexed to  it,  in  one  of  the  Yorkshire  dales.  Some 
persons,  who  knew  the  place,  gave  him  what  they 
thought  a  frightful  description  of  it,  according  to  the 
fashion  of  an  age  in  which  the  sense  of  picturesque 
beauty  seems  hardly  to  have  existed.  They  told 
liim  that  it  was  a  little  vale,  so  pent  up  between  two 
hills,  that  it  was  scarcely  accessible  on  any  side ; 
little  company  was  to  be  expected  from  without,  and 
there  was  none  within.  "  I  should  therefore,"  says 
he,  "  be  entirely  at  liberty  to  converse  with  company 
of  my  own  choosing,  whom,  for  that  reason,  I  would 
bring  with  me;  and  company  equally  agreeable, 
\vherever  1  fixed,  could  not  put  me  to  less  expense. 

"  The  sun  that  walks  his  airy  way, 
To  cheer  the  world  and  bring  the  day  : 
The  moon  that  shines  with  borrowed  light. 
The  stars  that  gild  the  gloomy  night ; 
All  of  these,  and  all  I  see, 
Should  be  sung,  and  sung  by  me  : 
These  praise  their  Maker  as  they  can, 
But  want  and  ask  the  tongue  of  man." 

The  option  of  this  retirement,  to  which  he  seems 
at  this  time  to  have  been  so  well  inclined,  was  not 
given  him,  and  his  motiier  was  not  sorry  that  the 
school  was  otherwise  disposed  of :  "  That  way  of 
life,"  she  said,  "  would  not  agree  with  your  constitu- 
tion, and  I  hope  God  has  better  work  for  you  to  do ;" 
words  which,  perhaps,  in  after  years,  carried  with 
them  a  prophetic  import  and  impulse  to  his  imagina- 
tion. The  elder  Wesley  was  now,  from  age  and  in- 
firmity, become  unequal  to  the  duty  of  both  his  liv- 
ings, especially  as  the  road  between  them  was  bad, 
and  sometimes  dangerous  in  the  winter.  John  there- 
fore, at  his  desire,  went  to  reside  at  Wroote,  and  oflS- 
ciated  there  as  his  curate.  Though  a  native  of  the 
county,  he  did  not  escape  the  ague,  which  was  then 


1728.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


67 


its  endemic  malady ;  and  perhaps  it  was  fortunate 
for  him,  after  two  years,  to  be  summoned  to  his  col- 
lege, upon  a  regulation  that  the  junior  fellows,  who 
might  be  chosen  moderators,  should  attend  in  person 
the  duties  of  their  office.  It  was  while  he  held  this 
curacy,  that  he  obtained  priest's  orders  from  the  same- 
prelate  who  had  ordained  him  deacon  three  years 
before. 

In  coilseqnence  of  this  summons,  he  once  more 
took  up  his  abode  at  Lincoln  College,  became  a  tu- 
tor there,  and  presided  as  moderator  at  the  disputa- 
tions w^iich  were  held  six  times  a  week  in  the  hall; 
an  office  which  exercised  and  sharpened  his  habits 
of  logical  discrimination.  Some  time  before  his  re- 
*'^''n_toJhe  University,  he  had  travelled  many  miles 
to  see  what  is  called  "  a  serious  man."'  This  person 
said  to  him,  "  Sir,  you  wish  to  serve  God  and  go  to 
heaven.  Remember,  you  cannot  serve  him  alone; 
you  must  either  find  companions  or  make  them;  the 
Bible  knows  nothing  of  solitary  religion."  Wesley 
never  forgot  these  words  ;  and  it  happened  that  while 
he  was  residing  upon  his  curacy,  such  a  society  was 
prepared  for  him  at  Oxford  as  he  and  his  serious  ad- 
viser would  have  wished. 

While  Charles  Wesley  was  at  Westminster  under 
his  brother,  a  gentleman  of  large  fortune  in  Ireland, 
and  of  the  same  family  name,  wrote  to  the  father,  and 
inquired  of  him  if  he  had  a  son  named  Charles;  for 
if  so,  he  would  make  him  his  heir.  Accordingly  his 
school  bills,  during  several  years,  were  discharged  by 
his  unseen  namesake.  At  length  a  gentleman,  who 
is  supposed  to  have  been  this  Mr.  Wesley,  called  up- 
on him,  and  after  much  conversation,  asked  if  he  was 
willing  to  accompany  him  to  Ireland:  the  youth  de- 
sired to  write  to  his  father  before  he  could  make  an- 
swer; the  father  left  it  to  his  own  decision,  and  he. 
M'ho  was  satisfied  with  the  fair  prospects  whichChrist 
Church  opened  to  him,  chose  to  stay  in  England. 
John  Wesley,  in  his  account  of  his  brother,  calls  this 
a  fair  escape  ;  the  fact  w  as  more  remarkable  than  he 
was  aware  of:  for  the  perso.M  who  inherited  the  pro- 


68 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1728. 


perty  intended  for  Charles  Wesley,  and  w  lio  took  the 
name  of  Wesley,  or  Wellesley,  in  consequence,  was 
the  first  Earl  of  Mornington,  grandfather  of  Marquis 
Wellesley  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  Had  Charles 
made  a  different  choice,  there  might  have  been  no 
Methodists,  the  British  Empire  in  India  might  still 
have  been  menaced  from  Seringapatam,  and  the  un- 
disputed tyrant  of  Europe  might  at  this  time  have  in- 
sulted and  endangered  us  on  our  own  shores. 

Charles,  then  pursuing  contentedly  his  scholastic 
course,  had  been  elected  from  Westminster  to  Christ 
Church,  just  after  his  brother  John  obtained  his  fel- 
lowship. He  was  diligent  in  study,  and  regular  in 
his  conduct;  but  when  John  sought  to  press  upon 
him  the  importance  of  austerer  habits,  and  a  more 
active  devotion,  he  protested  against  becoming  a 
saint  all  at  once,  and  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  admo- 
nitions. While  John,  however,  resided  at  Wroote, 
the  process  which  he  had  vainly  sought  to  accelerate 
in  his  brother,  was  going  on.  His  disposition,  his 
early  education,  the  example  of  his  parents,  and  of 
both  his  brethren,  were  in  unison;  not  knowing  how 
or  when  he  m  oke  out  of  his  lethargy,  he  imputed  the 
change  to  the  efficacy  of  another's  prayers, — most 
likely,  he  said,  his  mother's;  and  meeting  with  two 
or  three  undergraduates,  whose  inclinations  and 
principles  resembled  his  own,  they  associated  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  religious  improvement,lived 
by  rule  and  received  the  sacrament  weekly.  Such 
conduct  would  at  any  time  have  attracted  observa- 
tion in  an  English  university;  it  was  peculiarly  no- 
ticeable at  that  time,  when  a  laxity  of  opinions  as  well 
as  morals  obtained,  and  infidelity,  a  plague  which 
had  lately  found  its  way  into  the  country,  was  be- 
coming so  prevalent,  that  the  vice-chancellor'  had, 
in  a  progrmnma,  exhorted  the  tutors  to  discharge 
their  duty  by  double  diligence,  and  had  forbidden  the 
undergraduates  to  read  such  books  as  might  tend  to 
the  weakening  of  their  faith.  The  greatest  prudence 
would  not  have  sufficed  to  save  men  from  ridicule, 
^vho  at  such  an  age,  and  in  such  a  scene,  professed  to 


1728.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


69 


make  religion  the  great  business  of  their  lives;  and 
prudence  is  rarely  united  with  enthusiasm.  They 
w£j:p  railed  in  derision  the  SacraiDeDtarians,  Bible- 
bjgpls^,  Bible-moths,  the  Holy  or  the  Godly  Chib. 
Ope  person,  with  less  irreverence  and  more  learning, 
observed,  in  reference  to  their  methodical  manner  of 
lye^^at  s  new  sect,  of  Method  w^as  sprung  up,  al- 
luding to  the  ancient  school  of  physicians  known  by 
that  name.  Appellations,  even  of  opprobrious  origin, 
have  often  been  adopted  by  the  parties  to  which 
they  were  applied,  as  well  as  by  the  public,  conveni- 
ence legitimating  the  inventions  of  malice.  In  this 
instance  there  was  neither  maliciousness  nor  wit,  but 
there  was  some  fitness  in  the  name;  it  obtained* 
vogue  ;  and  though  long,  and  even  still  sometimes,  in- 
discriminately applied  to  all  enthusiasts,  and  even  to 
all  who  observe  the  forms  of  religion  more  strictly 
than  their  neighbours,  it  has  become  the  appropriate 
designation  of  the  sect  of  which  Wesley  is  the 
founder. 

It  was  to  Charles  Wesley  and  his  few  associates 
thaOhelname  was  first  given.  When  John  returned 
to  Oxford,  they  gladly  placed  themselves  uuder.His 
Erection;  their  meetings  acquired  more  form  and 
regularity,  and  obtained  an  accession  of  numbers. 
His  standing  and  character  in  the  university  gave 
him  a  degree  of  credit ;  and  his  erudition,  his  keen 
logic,  and  ready  speech,  commanded  respect  wherev- 
er he  was  known.  But  no  talents,  and,  it  may  be 
added,  no  virtues,  can  protect  the  possessor  from  the 
ridicule  of  fools  and  profligates.  1  hear,"  says  Mr. 
Wesley,  "  my  son  John  has  the  honour  of  being  styled 
the  Father  of  the  Holy  Club;  if  it  be  so,  I  am  sure  I 
must  be  the  grandfather  of  it ;  and  I  need  not  say, 
that  1  had  rather  any  of  my  sons  should  be  so  digni- 
fied and  distinguished,  than  to  have  the  title  of  His 
Holiness." 

*  The  Rev.  J.  Chapman  say?,  in  a  letter  to  Wesley,  "  The 
name  of  Methodist  is  not  a  new  name,  never  before  siiven  to  any 
reliffious  people.  Dr.  Calamy,  in  one  of  his  volumes  of  the  Eject- 
ed Ministers,  observes,  they  called  those  who  stood  up  for  God. 
Methodists." 


70 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1728. 


One  of  the  earliest  members  of  this  little  society, 
Mr.  Morgan,  seems  to  have  been  morbidly  constitut- 
ed both  in  body  and  mind ;  and  by  the  practice  of  ri- 
gorous fasting, he  injured  a  constitution  which  requir- 
ed a  very  different  treatment.  Bat  if  his  religion,  in 
this  point  erroneous,  led  him  to  impose  improper  pri- 
vations upon  himself,  it  made  him  indefatigable  in 
acts  of  real  charity  toward  others  ;  his  heart  and  his 
purse  were  open  to  the  poor  and  needy  ;  he  instruct- 
ed little  children,  he  visited  the  sick,  and  he  prayed 
with  the  prisoners.  In  these  things  he  led  the  way  ; 
and  the  Wesleys  who  were  not  backward  in  follow- 
ing, have  commemorated  his  virtues  as  they  deserve, 
Morgan  died  young,  after  a  long  illness,  in  which  the 
misery  of  a  gloomy  and  mistaken  religion  aggravated 
the  sufferings  of  disease.  Wesley  was  accused  of 
having  been  the  cause  of  his  death,  by  leading  him  in- 
to those  austerities  which  undoubtedly  had  accele- 
rated it ;  but  in  these  practices  Wesley  had  been  the 
imitator,  not  the  example  ;  and  the  father,  who  had 
at  first  expressed  great  indignation  at  the  extrava- 
gances of  his  son's  associates,  was  so  well  convinced 
of  this  at  last,  that  he  placed  one  of  his  children  un- 
der his  care.  Two  others  of  the  party  were  men 
who  afterwards  acquired  celebrity.  James  Hervey 
was  one,  author  of  the  Meditations,  a  book  which  has 
been  translated  into  most  of  the  European  languages, 
and  for  the  shallowness  of  its  matter,  its  superficial 
sentimentality,  and  its  tinsel  style,  as  much  as  for  its 
devotional  spirit,  has  become  singularly  popular. 
WhitjjSieJd  was  the  other,  a  man  so  eminently  con- 
nected wi  th  the  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism,  that 
his  history  cannot  be  separated  from  that  of  Wesley. 

George  Whitefield  was  born  at  the  Bell  Inn,  in  the 
city  of  Gloucester,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1714. 
He  describes  himself  as  froward  from  his  mother's 
womb ;  so  brutish  as  to  hate  instruction ;  stealing 
from  his  mother's  pocket,  and  frequently  appropri- 
ating to  his  own  use  the  money  that  he  took  in  the 
house.  "  If  1  trace  myself,"  he  says,  "  from  my  cra- 
dle to  my  manhood,  I  can  see  nothing  in  me  but  a 


T728.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


71 


fitness  to  be  damned  ;  and  if  the  Almighty  had  not  pre- 
vented me  by  his  grace,  I  had  now  either  been  sitting  in 
darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  or  condemned, 
as  the  due  reward  of  my  crimes,  to  be  for  ever  hft- 
ing  up  my  eyes  in  torments."  Yet  Whitefield  could 
recollect  early  movings  of  the  heart,  which  satisfied 
him  in  after  hfe,  that  "  God  loved  him  with  an  ever- 
lasting love,  and  had  separated  him  even  from  his 
mothers  womb,  for  the  work  to  which  he  afterwards 
was  pleased  to  call  him."  He  had  a  devout  disposition, 
and  a  tender  heart.  When  he  was  about  ten  years 
old,  his  mother  made  a  second  marriage :  it  proved 
an  unhappy  one.  During  the  affliction  to  which  this 
led,  his  brother  used  to  read  aloud  Bishop  Ken's 
Manual  for  Winchester  Scholars.  This  book  affect- 
ed George  Whitefield  greatly ;  and  when  the  corpo- 
ration, at  their  annual  visitation  of  St.  Mary  de 
Crypt's  school,  where  he  was  educated,  gave  him, 
according  to  custom,  money  for  the  speeches  which 
he  was  chosen  to  deliver,  he  purchased  the  book, 
and  found  it,  he  says,  of  great  benefit  to  his  soul. 

Whitefield's  talents  for  elocution,  which  made  him 
afterwards  so  great  a  performer  in  the  pulpit,  were 
at  this  time  in  some  danger  of  receiving  a  theatrical 
direction.  The  boys  at  the  grammar-school  were 
fond  of  acting  plays  :  the  master  "  seeing  how  their 
vein  ran,"  encouraged  it,  and  composed  a  dramatic 
piece  himself,  which  they  represented  before  the 
corporation,  and  in  which  Whitefield  enacted  a  wo- 
man's part,  and  appeared  in  girl's  clothes.  The  re- 
membrance of  this,  he  says,  had  often  covered  him 
with  confusion  of  face,  and  he  hoped  it  would  do  so 
even  to  the  end  of  his  life  !  Before  he  was  fifteen, 
he  persuaded  his  mother  to  take  him  from  school, 
saying,  that  she  could  not  place  him  at  the  universi- 
ty, and  more  learning  would  only  spoil  him  for  a 
tradesman.  Her  own  circumstances,  indeed,  %vere 
by  this  time  so  much  on  the  decline,  that  his  menial 
services  were  required :  he  began  occasionally  to 
assist  her  in  the  public  house,  till  at  length  he  "  put 


72 


WESLEY   AT  OXFORD. 


[1728. 


on  his  blue  apron  and  his  snuffers*,  washed  mops, 
cleaned  rooms,  and  became  a  professed  and  com- 
mon drawer."  In  the  little  leisure  which  such  em- 
ployments allowed,  this  strange  boy  composed  two 
or  three  sermons;  and  the  romances,  which  had 
been  his  heart's  delight,  gave  place  for  awhile  to 
Thomas  a  Kempis. 

When  he  had  been  about  a  year  in  this  servile 
occupation,  the  inn  was  made  over  to  a  marrljd 
brother,  and  George,  being  accustomed  to  the  house, 
continued  there  as  an  assistant ;  but  he  could  not 
agree  with  his  sister-in-law,  and  after  much  uneasi- 
ness gave  up  the  situation.  His  mother,  though  her 
means  were  scanty,  permitted  him  to  have  a  bed  up- 
on the  ground  in  her  house,  and  live  with  her,  till 
Providence  should  point  out  a  place  for  him.  The 
way  was  soon  indicated.  A  servitor  of  Pembroke 
College  called  upon  his  mother,  and  in  the  course 
of  conversation  told  her,  that  after  all  his  college  ex- 
penses for  that  quarter  were  discharged,  he  had  re- 
ceived a  penny.  Slie  immediately  cried  out,  this 
will  do  for  my  son  ;  and  turning  to  him  said.  Will 
you  go  to  Oxford,  George  }  Happening  to  have  the 
same  friends  as  this  young  man,  she  waited  on  them 
without  delay  ;  they  promised  their  interest  to  obtain 
a  servitor's  place  in  the  same  college,  and  in  reli- 
ance upon  this  George  returned  to  the  grammar- 
school.  Here  he  applied  closely  to  his  books,  and 
shaking  off,  by  the  strong  effort  of  a  religious  mind, 
all  evil  and  idle  courses,  produced,  by  the  influence 
of  his  talents  and  example,  some  reformation  among 
his  school-fellows.  He  attended  public  service  con- 
stantly, received  the  sacrament  monthly,  fasted  often, 
and  prayed  often  more  than  twice  a  day  in  private. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  removed  to  Oxford ; 
the  recommendation  of  his  friends  was  successful ; 
another  friend  borrowed  for  him  ten  pounds,  to  de- 

*  So  the  word  is  printed  in  his  own  account  of  hii5  life  ;  it  seems 
to  mean  the  sleeves  which  are  worn  by  cleanly  men  in  dirty  em- 
ployments, and  may  possibly  be  a  misprint  for  scoggers,  as  such 
sleeves  are  called  in  some  parts  of  England. 


1728.] 


WESLEY   AT  OXFORD. 


73 


fray  the  expense  of  entering;  and  with  a  good  for- 
tune beyond  his  hopes,  he  was  admitted  servitor 
immediately. 

Servitorships  are  more  in  the  spirit  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  than  of  an  English  estabhshment.  Among 
the  Catholics  religions  poverty  is  made  respectable, 
because  it  is  accounted  a  virtue :  and  humiliation  is 
an  essential  part  of  monastic  discipline.  But  in  our 
staie  of  things  it  cannot  be  wise  to  brand  men  with 
the  mark  of  inferiority ;  the  line  is  already  broad 
enough.  Oxford  w  ould  do  well  if,  in  this  respect,  it 
imitated  Cambridge,  abolished  an  invidious  distinc- 
tion of  dress,  and  dispensed  with  services  which, 
even  when  ihey  are  not  mortifying  to  those  who  per- 
(brm  them,  are  painful  to  those  to  whom  they  are 
performed.  Whitefield  found  the  advantage  of  hav- 
ing been  used  to  a  pubhc  house;  many  who  could 
choose  their  servitor  preferred  him,  because  of  his 
diligent  and  alert  attendance  ;  and  thus,  by  help  of 
the  profits  of  the  place,  and  some  little  presents 
made  him  by  a  kind-hearted  tutor,  he  was  enabled 
to  live  without  being  beholden  to  his  relations  for 
more  than  four  and-twenty  pounds  in  the  course  of 
three  years.  Little  as  this  is,  it  shows,  when  com- 
pared with  the  ways  and  means  of  the  elder  Wesley 
;it  college,  that  half  a  century  had  greatly  enhanced 
t  he  expenses  of  Oxford.  At  first  he  was  rendered 
uncomfortable  by  the  society  into  which  he  was 
thrown  ;  he  had  several  chamber  fellows,  who  would 
lain  have  made  him  join  them  in  their  riotous  mode 
of  life  ;  and  as  he  could  only  escape  from  their  per- 
secutions by  sitting  alone  in  his  study,  he  was  sorae- 
limes  benumbed  with  cold  ;  but  when  they  perceiv- 
ed the  strength  as  w  ell  as  the  singularity  of  his  cha- 
racter, they  suffered  him  to  take  his  own  way  in 
peace. 

Before  Whitefijgld  went  to  Oxford,  he  had  heard 
of  tlTc^mmgmen  there  who  lived  by  rule  and  me- 
Uiod.*'  and  were  therefore  called  Method isls,,  TJjig^ 
wrio  now  much  talked  of  and  genera! ly.dg^J^ised. 
II f.  however,  was  drawn  toward  them  by  kindred 

^OI..  ..  10 


74 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1728 


feelings,  defended  them  strenuously  when  he  heard 
them  reviled,  and  when  he  saw  them  go  through  a 
ridiculing  crowd  to  receive  the  sacrament  at  St.  Ma- 
ry's, was  strongly  inclined  to  follow  their  example. 
For  more  than  a  year  he  yearned  to  be  acquainted 
with  them;  and  it  seems  that  the  sense  of  his  inferi- 
or condition  kept  him  back.  At  length  the  great  ob- 
ject of  his  desires  was  effected.  A  pauper  had  at- 
tempted suicide,  and  Whitefield  sent  a  poor  woman 
to  inform  Charles  Wesley  that  he  might  visit  the  per- 
son, and  administer  spiritual  medicine;  the  messen- 
ger was  charged  not  to  say  who  sent  her  ;  contrary 
to  these  orders,  she  told  his  name,  and  Charles  Wes- 
ley, w  ho  had  seen  him  frequently  walking  by  himself, 
and  heard  something  of  his  character,  invited  him  to 
breakfast  the  next  morning.  An  introduction  to  this 
little  fellowship  soon  followed ;  and  he  also,  like 
them,  "  began  to  live  by  rule,  and  to  pick  up  the 
very  fragments  of  his  time,  that  not  a  moment  of  it 
might  be  lost." 

They  wei;e,  now  aM^^  in  number:  when 

fust  they  began  to  meet,  they  read  divinity  on  Sun- 
day evenings  only,  and  pursued  their  classical  stu- 
dies on  other  nights ;  but  r^igion  soon  became  the 
sjulc  business  of  their  meetings:  they  now  regularly 
visited  the  prisoners  and  the  sick,  communicated 
once  a  week,  and  fasted  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays, 
the  stationary  days  of  the  Ancient  Church,  which 
were  thus  set  apart,  because  on  those  days  our  Sa- 
viour had  been  betrayed  and  crucified.  They,  also 
drew  up  a  scheme  of  self-examination,  to  assist  them- 
selves, by  means  of  prayer  and  meditation,  in  attain^ 
ing  the  simplicity  and  love  of  God.  Except  that  it 
speaks  of  obeying  the  laws  of  the  Church  of  England, 
it  might  filly  be  appended  to  the  spiritual  exercises 
ofSt.  Ignatius  Loyola.  Its  obvious  faults  were,  that 
self-examination  would  leave  little  time  for  any  thing 
else;  that  the  habits  of  life  which  it  requires  and 
pre-supposes  would  be  as  burthensome  as  the  rules 
of  the  monastic  orders ;  and  that  the  proposed  sim- 
plicity would  generally  end  in  producing  the  worst 


172«.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFOR*). 


75 


of  artificial  characters ;  for  where  it  made  one  out  of 
a  thousand  a  saint,  it  would  make  the  rest  inevita- 
bly formalists  and  hypocrites,  lieligion  is  defined  in 
thjs^.scheme  to  be  a  recover]/  of  J  he  image  of  God.  It 
cannot  be  doubted  that  they  who  framed  it  were  fdl- 
ed  with  devotion  the  most  fervent,  and  charity  the 
most  unbounded,  however  injudicious  in  many  res- 
pects the  means  were  whereby  they  thought  to  pro- 
mote and  strengthen  such  dispositions  within  them- 
selves. But  Wesley,  when  he  had  advanced  in  his 
career,  looked  back  upon  himself  as  having  been  at 
this  time  in  a  state  of  great  spiritual  ignorance  ;  and 
the  two  leading  mitiisters,  who  drew  up  tor  the  use 
of  the  Methodists,  and  under  the  sanction  of  the  col- 
lected preachers,  the  life  of  their  founder,  remark, 
that  in  this  scheme  the  great  sincerity  and  earnest- 
ness of  Wesley  and  his  friends  are  discernable,  but 
that  "the  darkness  of  their  minds  to  gospel  truths  is 
very  evident  to  those  who  are  favoured  with  true 
evangelical  views." 

Tithe,  yfi.unger  members-of-4be.-XlBiv^raity  their 
conduct,  which  now  rather  affected  singularity  than 
avoided  it,  was  matter^of  general  ridiculej  and  there 
were  older  and  wj se r  h e ad s_wh ojd i sapp r  ed  t hen- 
couj;;sej_asj£adiflg  fa  enthusiasm  and  extra- 

v^agance.  Wesley  had  not  yet  that  confidence  in  bis 
own  judgment  by  which  he  was  afterwards  so  strong- 
ly characterized,  and  he  wrote  to  his  father  for  ad- 
vice. The  principles  upon  which  he  proceeded  were 
unexceptionable,  the  motives  excellent ;  and  the  cir- 
cumstatices  which  gave  offence,  and  excited  just  ap- 
prehension, would  not  only  be  unintentionally  sof- 
tened in  his  own  representation,  but  would  lose  much 
of  their  weight  when  reported  from  a  distance,  and 
through  this  channel,  to  one  who  was  prepossessed 
by  natural  affection.  The  father  says  in  reply,  "  As 
to  your  designs  and  employments,  what  can  I  say  less 
of  them  than  vahleproho  :  and  that  I  have  the  highest 
reason  to  bless  God  for  giving  me  two  sons  together 
at  Oxford,  to  whom  he  has  given  grace  and  courage 
to  turn  the  war  against  the  World  and  the  Devil, 


76 


n;ESLEV   AT  OXFORD. 


[1728. 


which  is  the  best  m  ay  to  conquer  them."  He  advis- 
ed them  to  obtain  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop  for 
visiting  the  prisoners  ;  and  encouraged  them  by  say- 
ing, that  when  he  was  an  under-graduate  he  had 
performed  this  work  of  charity,  and  reflected  on  it 
with  great  conifort  now  in  his  latter  days.  "  You 
have  reason,"  he  says,  "  to  bless  God,  as  1  do,  that 
you  have  so  fast  a  triend  as  Mr.  Morgan,  who  I  see, 
in  the  most  dillicult  service,  is  ready  to  break  the 
ice  for  you.  I  think  I  must  adopt  him  to  be  my  son 
together  with  you  and  your  brother  Charles ;  and 
when  I  have  such  a  Ternion  to  prosecute  that  war, 
wherein  I  am  now  miles  emeritus^  I  shall  not  be 
ashamed  when  they  speak  with  their  enemies  in  the 
gate.  If  it  be  possible,  I  should  be  glad  to  see 
you  all  three  here  in  the  fine  end  of  the  summer. 
But  if  I  cannot  have  tliat  satisfaction,  I  am  sure  I 
can  reach  you  every  day,  tliough  you  were  beyond 
the  Indies."  He  exhorted  them  to  walk  prudently, 
though  not  fearfully  ;  and  prayed  that  God  would 
keep  them  humble.  "  Be  not  high  minded,"  said 
he;  "  preserve  an  equal  temper  of  mind  under  what- 
ever treatment  you  meet  with  from  a  not  very  just 
or  well-natured  world.  Bear  no  more  sail  than  is 
necessary,  but  steer  steady.  The  less  you  value 
yourselves  for  these  unfashionable  duties,  (as  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  works  of  supererogation,)  the 
more  all  good  and  wise  men  will  value  you,  il"  they 
see  your  actions  are  of  a  piece  ;  and  what  is  infinitely 
more,  He  by  whom  actions  and  intentions  are  weigh- 
ed will  both  accept  and  reward  you." 

Thus  encouraged  and  thus  advised,  Wesley  con- 
sulted the  Bishop,  who  sanctioned  and  approved 
their  visiting  the  prisons.  This  was  no  doubtful 
matter;  the  parts  of  their  conduct  which  he  might 
have  regarded  with  disapprobation,  were  precisely 
those  upon  which  it  would  not  be  thought  necessary 
to  consult  him.  About  this  time  Wesley  becanje 
personally  acquainted  with  William  Law,  a  I3fian_ 
whose  writings  completed  what  Jeremy  Taylorj  and 
the  treatise      Imitatione  Christie  had  begun.  When 


1728.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


77 


firsUiejisii*ulJmQjJie^\\^ 

vjp^vfi  nf  Cliristian  duty  as^loo  elgxaUul.  tQJie.a.ttain- 
able  ;.i2uLLa}v  silcncetT^ml  salisticd  him  by  reply- 

well  to  aim  at  the  higliest  degrees  i 
oTpertiecUon,  il  w  e  may  thereby  at  least  attain  To  \ 
meoiocni^'.^    Law  is  a  powerful  writer^  jt  is  said 
tTi^  few  j7onks  baye  ever  made  so  mar)y  religious 
enthusja^^i.-'i^  biS-Ciiristian  Perfection  and  his  Seri- 
ou£Call :  indeed  the  youth  who  should  read  them 
without  being  perilously  affected,  must  have  either 
a  light  mind  or  an  unusually  strong  one.    But  Law 
himself,  who  has  shaken  so  many  intellects,  sacrificed 
his  own  at  last  to  the  reveries  and  rhapsodies  of 
Jacob  Behmen.    Perhaps  the  art  of  engraving  was 
never  applied  to  a  more  extraordinary  purpose,  nor 
in  a  more  extraordinary  manner,  than  when  the  non- 
sense of  the  German  shoemaker  was  elucidated  in 
a  series  of  prints  after  Law's  designs,  representing 
the  anatomy  of  the  spiritual  man.    His  own  happi- 
ness, however,  was  certainly  not  diminished  by  the 
change:  the  system  of  the  ascetic  is  dark  and  cheer- 
less ;  but  mysticism  lives  in  a  sunshine  of  its  own, 
and  dreams  of  the  light  of  heaven,  while  the  A  isions 
of  the  ascetic  are  such  as  the  fear  of  the  devil  pro- 
duces, rather  than  the  love  of  God.    It  was  in  his 
happier  state  of  mind  that  Law  was  found  by  Wes- 
ley, and  in  this  spirit  he  said  to  him,     You  would 
have  a  philosophical  religion,  but  there  can  be  no 
such  thing.    Religion  is  the  most  plain,  simple  thing 
in  the  world.    It  is  only,  we  love  Him  because  He  first 
loved  lis.''''    Wesley  on  one  occasion  confessed  to  him 
that  he  felt  greatly  dejected,  because  he  saw  so  little 
fruit  from  his  labours.       My  dear  friend,"  replied 
Law,  "  you  reverse  matters  from  their  proper  order. 
You  are  to  follow  the  Divine  Light,  wherever  it  leads 
you,  in  all  your  conduct.    It  is  God  alone  that  gives 
the  blessing.    I  pray  you  always  mind  your  own 
work,  and  go  on  with  cheerfulness ;  and  God,  you 
may  depend  upon  it,  will  take  care  of  his.  Besides, 
Sir,  I  perceive  you  would  fain  convert  the  world ! 
but  you  must  wait  God's  own  time.    Nay,  if  after  all 


78 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1728. 


he  is  pleased  to  use  you  only  as  a  hewer  of  wood  or 
a  drawer  of  water,  you  should  submit, — yea,  you 
should  be  thankful  to  him  that  he  has  honoured  you 
so  far." 

These  visits  to  Law,  wlio  at  that  time  resided  near 
London,  were  performed  on  foot,  the  VVesleys  tra- 
velling in  this  manner  that  they  might  save  the  more 
money  for  the  poor.  It  was  so  little  the  custom  in 
that  age  for  men  in  their  rank  of  life  to  walk  any  dis- 
tance, as  to  make  them  think  it  a  discovery  that  four 
or  five-and-twenty  miles  are  an  easy  and  safe  day's 
journey.  They  discovered  also,  with  equal  surprise, 
that  it  is  easy  to  read  while  walking,  and  that  it  nei- 
ther made  them  faint,  nor  produced  any  other  symp- 
tom of  weariness.  Some  years  afterwards,  when 
John  carried  his  economy  of  time  to  the  utmost,  he 
used  to  read  on  horseback,  till  some  severe  falls, 
which  he  met  with  in  consequence,  convinced  him 
that  this  practice  might  probably  cost  him  his  life. 
The  brothers  also  accustomed  themselves  to  con- 
verse together  in  Latin,  whenever  they  were  alone  : 
when  they  had  subsequently  much  inlercouse  with 
the  Moravians,  they  found  the  great  advantage  of 
having  acquired  this  power,  ft  is  indeed  a  notorious 
defect  in  modern  education,  that  the  habit  of  speak- 
ing a  language,  which  is  every  wiiere  understood  by 
all  educated  men,  should  no  where  be  taught  in 
schools  as  a  regular  part  of  the  course  of  instruction. 
Yet  Wesley's  mind  was  now  in  that  perturbed  and 
restless  state,  that  he  began  to  doubt  the  utility,  and 
even  the  lawfulness,  of  carnal  studies.  In  a  letter  to 
his  mother,  written  under  evident  disquietude,  he 
says,  "  To  all  who  give  signs  of  (heir  not  being  stran- 
gers to  it,  I  propose  this  question, — and  why  not  to 
you  rather  fh;in  any.''  — shall  I  quite  break  ofT  my 
pursuit  of  all  learning,  but  what  immediately  tends 
to  practice  ?  I  once  desired  to  make  a  fair  show  in 
languages  and  philosophy;  but  it  is  past:  there  is  a 
more  excellent  way,  and  if  I  cannot  attain  to  any 
progress  in  the  one,  without  throwing  up  all  thoughtfe 
of  the  other,  why,  fare  it  well !    Yet  a  little  while. 


1728.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORfc. 


79 


and  we  shall  all  be  equal  in  knowledge  if  we  are  in 
virtue."  In  the  same  letter  he  says,  I  am  to  re- 
nounce the  world, — to  draw  off  my  affections  from 
this  world,  and  fix  them  on  a  better:  but  how?  what 
is  the  surest  and  the  shortest  way  ?  Is  it  not  to  be 
humble?  surely  this  is  a  large  step  in  the  way.  But 
the  question  occurs,  how  am  I  to  do  this  ?  To  own 
the  necessity  of  it  is*not  to  be  humble.  In  many 
things  you  have  interceded  for  me  and  prevailed : 
who  knows  but  in  this  too  you  may  be  successful  ? — 
If  you  can  spare  me  only  that  litile  part  of '1  hursday 
evening  which  you  formerly  bestowed  upon  me  in 
another  manner,  I  doubt  not  but  it  would  be  as  use- 
ful now  for  correcting  my  heart,  as  it  was  then  for 
forming  my  judgment. — When  I  observe  how  fast  life 
flies  away,  and  how  slow  improvement  comes,  I  think 
one  can  never  be  too  much  afraid  of  dying  before 
one  has  learned  to  live." 

Tii£_good  intei^ijjjans  of  W  esley  and  his  associates 
could  noFlbe  questioned ;  but  they  were  now  run- 
iiuig  fast  into  fanaticism;  and  a  meeting  was  held  at 
Christ  Church,  by  the  Seniors  of  the  College,  to  con- 
sult in  what  maimer  the  evil  might  be  checked.  The 
l  egoxLiii^Oxford  was,  that  the  Dean  and  the  Censors 
Jl^^o w  up  the  Godly  CTiib.  When  Sa- 
mu^TWesley  heard  of  this,  he  called  it  an  execrable 
consultation,  in  order  to  stop  the  progress  of  religion, 
by  giving  it  a  false  name.  He  did  not  like,  he  said, 
that  they  should  be  "called  a  club,  for  that  name 
was  really  calculated  to  do  mischief:  but  the  charge 
of  enthusiasm  could  weigh  with  none  but  such  as 
drink  away  their  senses,  or  never  had  any  ;  for  surely 
activity  in  social  duties,  and  a  strict  attendance  on 
ihe  ordained  means  ol'grace,  are  the  slrou^ost  guards 
imaginable  against  it."  However,  it  was  not  long 
before  Samuel,  who  was  of  riper  judgment  than  his 
fuother,  and  of  a  less  ardent  disposition,  began  to 
perceive  that  .Tohn  was  carrying  his  principles  to 
excess,  and  that  he  excited  injurious  prejudices 
agaijist  himself,  by  affecting  singularity  in  things 
which  were  of  no  importance.    Wesley,  in  defend- 


80 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[172«. 


ing  himself,  observed,  that  the  most  unpopular  of  his 
habits  were  those  of  early  rising  and  keeping  little 
company,  in  the  propriety  of  which  there  could  be 
no  difference  of  opinion  between  them.  "  Is  it  not 
hard,""  he  says,  "  that  even  those  who  are  with  us 
should  be  against  us : — that  a  man's  enemies,  in  some 
degree,  should  be  those  of  the  same  household  of 
faith  ?  Yet  so  it  is.  From  tfie  time  that  a  man  sets 
himself  to  this  business,  very  many  even  of  those  who 
travel  the  same  road, — many  of  those  who  are  before 
as  well  as  behind  him, — will  lay  stumbling  blocks  in 
his  way.  One  blames  him  for  not  going  fast  enough, 
another  for  having  made  no  further  progress,  another 
for  going  too  far,  which,  perhaps,  strange  as  it  is,  is 
the  more  common  charge  of  the  two :  for  this  comes 
from  all  people  of  all  sorts ;  not  only  infidels,  not  only 
half  Christians,  but  some  of  the  best  of  men  are  very 
apt  to  make  this  reflection:  'he  lays  unnecessary 
burdens  upon  himself;  he  is  too  precise;  he  does 
what  God  has  no  where  required  to  be  done.'  True, 
all  men  are  not  required  to  use  all  means,  but  every 
man  is  required  to  use  those  which  he  finds  most  use- 
ful to  himself  It  will  be  said,"  he  pursued,  "  I  am 
whimsical.  If  by  whimsical  be  meant  simply  singu- 
lar^ 1  own  it;  if  singular  without  any  reason,  I  deny  it 
with  both  my  hands,  and  am  ready  to  give  a  reason, 
to  any  that  asks  me,  of  every  custom  wherein  I  differ 
from  the  world.  As  to  my  being  formal,  if  by  that 
be  meant  that  I  am  not  easy  and  unaffected  enough  in 
my  carriage,  it  is  very  true ;  but  how  shall  I  help  it.'* 
If  by  formal  be  meant  that  I  am  serious,  this,  too,  is 
very  true;  but  why  should  I  help  it.-*" 

Wesley  would  not  be  at  the  expense  of  havingjiis 
hair  dressed,  in  order  tliat  the  money  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  employed  in  this  vjle  fasfiion 
mi^ht  be  given  to  the  poor :  he  wore  it  remarkably 
long,  and  flowing  loose  upon  his  shoulders.  "  As  to 
my  hair,"  he  said,  "  I  am  much  more  sure  that  what 
this  enables  me  to  do  is  according  to  the  Scripture, 
than  I  am  that  the  length  of  it  is  contrary  to  it."  His 
mother  fancied  that  this  fashion  injured  his  health, 


I728.j 


WESLEY  AT  OXFOKD. 


81 


for  he  was  often  indisposed  ;  and  therefore  she  urged 
him  to  have  it  taken  ofT  To  this  he  objected,  be- 
cause it  wouKl  cause  an  addiiiiiliaLejqijeiise,  which 
w^uld  Jessen  his  means  of  reheving.  the  needy.— 
Samuel  proposecT  the  middle  course  of  cutting  it 
shorter,  by  which  means  the  singularity  of  his  appear- 
ance would  be  lessened,  without  intrenching  upon 
his  meritorious  economy.  This  was  the  only  instance 
in  which  he  condescended,  in  any  degree,  to  the  opi- 
nion of  others.  Soon  afterwards  Samuel  went  to 
Oxford,  that  he  might  form  a  better  opinion  of  his 
brethren's  demeanour  upon  the  spot,  than  could  be 
formed  from  tlie  contradictory  accounts  which  reach- 
ed him.  Their  general  conduct,  and  all  their  prin- 
ciples, received  his  unqualified  approbation  :  but  he 
perceived  that  Morgan  was  far  gone  in  his  fatal  ma- 
lady, was  diseased  in  mind  as  well  as  body,  and  had 
fallen  into  that  wretched  state  of  weakness  in  which 
religion,  instead  of  food  and  support,  was,  by  a  de- 
plorable perversion  of  its  nature,  converted  into 
poison.  He  perceived  also  that  John  was  pursuing 
habits  of  austerity  in  such  disregard  of  health,  as  if 
he  were  eager  for  death,  and  was  an  enemy  to  his 
own  frail  carcass.  Morgan  did  not  live  long;  and  it 
appeared  probable  that  Wesley  would  soon  follow 
him  to  that  world,  the  preparatioti  for  which  they 
.^ecmed  to  consider  not  merely  as  the  most  important, 
but  as  the  sole  business  of  this.  Hard  study,  exer- 
cise carried  sometimes  in  his  journeys  beyond  his 
strength,  the  exertion  of  iTcquent  preaching  and 
earnest  discourse,  fasting  upon  all  the  appoiiitcd 
days  of  the  Ancient  Church,  and  a  most  abst(;mious 
diet  at  all  times,  had  reduced  him  to  an  alarming 
condition.  Frequent  spitting  of  blood  indicated  the 
consequences  whic'.i  might  be  apprehended;  at 
length  he  was  awakened  at  midnight  by  the  breaking 
ol  a  blood-vessel :  and  ho  has  recorded  in  his  private 
diary,  that  thinking  himself  at  that  moment  on  the 
Ir.iiik  of  eternity,  he  cried  to  God,  "Oh  prepare  me 
lor  thy  coming,  and  come  when  thou  wilt  I"  This 
attack  compelled  him  to  nut  himself  under  ihe  direc- 
\oi..  r.  'j  I 


WtSLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


[1733. 


don  of  medical  men,  and  after  awhile  he  thoroughly 
recovered. 

About  this  time  Samuel  finding  that  promotion  at 
Westminster  was  hopeless,  on  account  of  his  con- 
nexion with  a  party  who  were  deservedly  obnoxious 
to  government,  accepted  the  mastership  of  Tiverton 
school.  Before  he  removed  so  far  westward,  he  went 
to  visit  his  parents  at  Epworth,  and  there  his  two 
brothers  met  him,  that  the  whole  family  might,  for 
the  last  time  in  this  world,  be  gathered  together. — 
Among  the  many  solemn  circumstances  of  human 
life,  few  can  be  more  solemn  than  such  a  meeting. — 
For  some  years  their  father  had  been  declining  ;  and 
he  was  very  solicitous  that  the  cure  in  which  he  had 
laboured  faithfully  during  so  long  a  course  of  years 
should  be  obtained  for  his  son  John,  if  possible,  from 
an  anxious  desire  that  the  good  which  he  had  eflfect- 
ed  might  not  be  lost  through  the  carelessness  of  a 
lukewarm  successor;  and  that  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ters might  not  be  dispossessed  of  the  home  wherein 
the  one  had  lived  so  long,  and  the  others  had  been 
born  and  bred.  Wesley,  who  had  not  before  thought 
of  such  a  proposal,  gave  no  opinion  upon  it  now;  but 
in  the  ensuing  year  liis  father  pressed  him  to  apply 
for  the  next  presentation,  and  Samuel  urged  him  to 
the  same  effect.  At  first  he  seems  to  have  hesitated 
how  to  decide.  "  I  know,"  says  he,  writing  from  Ox- 
ford upon  the  subject,  "  if  I  could  stand  my  ground 
here,  and  approve  myself  a  faithful  minister  of  our 
blessed  Jesus,  by  honour  and  dishonour,  through 
evil  report  and  good  report,  then  there  would  not  be 
a  place  under  heaven  like  this  for  improvement  in 
every  good  work."  An  absence  of  some  little  time 
from  Oxford  had  shown  how  soon  the  effects  of  all 
his  exertions  might  be  counteracted.  One  of  his 
pupils  confessed  that  he  was  becoming  more  and 
more  afraid  of  singularity  ;  another  had  studied  some 
of  Mr.  Locke's  writings,  which  had  convinced  him  of 
the  mischief  of  regarding  authority;  a  third  had 
been  converted  from  fasting  by  a  fever  and  a  physi- 
cian.   The  little  body  of  his  associates  had  diminish 


1731.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


83 


ed  in  number  from  seven-and-twenty  to  five.  These 
things  made  him  reflect  closely:  the  ill  consequen- 
ces of  his  singularity  were  diminution  of  fortune,  loss 
of  friends  and  of  reputation.  "  As  to  my  fortune," 
said  he,  "  I  well  know,  though  perhaps  others  do  not, 
that  1  could  not  have  borne  a  larger  than  I  have. — 
For  friends,  they  were  either  trifling  or  serious :  if 
triflers,  fare  them  well,  a  noble  escape ;  if  serious, 
those  who  are  more  serious  are  left.  And  as  for  re- 
putation, though  it  be  a  glorious  instrument  of  ad- 
vancing our  Master's  service,  yet  there  is  a  better 
than  that,  a  clean  heart,  a  single  eye,  and  a  soul  full 
of  God.  A  fair  exchange,  if,  by  the  loss  of  reputa- 
tion, we  can  purchase  the  lowest  degree  of  purity  of 
heart." 

These  considerations  led  to  the  conclusion,  that 
there  was  little  prospect  of  doing  any  lasting  good 
in  his  present  situation ;  and  when  the  fitness  of 
settling  at  Epworth,  if  the  succession  could  be  ob- 
tained, was  pressed  upon  him,  he  considered  it  not 
so  much  with  reference  to  his  utility,  as  to  his  own 
well-being  in  spiritual  things.  The  question,  as  it 
appeared  to  him,  was  not  whether  he  could  do  more 
good  to  others  there  or  at  Oxford,  but  whether  he 
could  do  more  good  to  himself,  seeing  that  wherever 
he  could  be  most  holy  himself,  there  he  could  most 
promote  holiness  in  others ;  but  he  could  improve 
himself  more  at  Oxford  than  at  any  other  place,  and 
at  Oxford  therefore  he  determined  to  remain.  This 
reasoning  was  well  answered  by  his  father;  who  told 
him,  that  even  at  Oxford  he  might  have  promoted  ho- 
liness much  more  than  he  had  done,  if  he  had  taken 
the  right  method,  "  for  there  is  a  particular  turn  of 
mind  for  these  matters,  great  prudence  as  well  as 
great  fervour.  I  cannot,"  he  said,  "  allow  austerity 
or  fasting,  considered  by  themselves,  to  be  proper 
acts  of  holiness,  nor  am  I  for  a  solitary  life.  God 
made  us  for  a  social  life.  We  are  to  let  our  light 
shine  before  men,  and  that  not  barely  through  the 
chinks  of  a  bushel  for  fear  the  wind  should  blow  it 
out :  the  design  of  lighting  it  was,  that  it  might  give 


8-1 


WESLEY  AT  OXFOHD, 


[1734, 


light  to  all  who  went  into  the  house  of  God,  And  to 
this  academical  studies  are  only  preparatory."  He 
concluded,  with  singular  force  and  eloquent  earnest- 
ness, in  these  words  :  "  We  are  not  to  fix  our  view 
on  one  single  point  of  duty,  but  to  take  in  the  com- 
plicated view  of  all  the  circumstances  in  every  state 
of  life  that  oflf(?rs.  Thus  is  the  case  before  us:  put 
all  the  circumstances  together:  if  you  are  not  indif- 
ferent whether  the  labours  of  an  aged  father,  for 
above  forty  years  in  God\s  vineyard,  be  lost,  and  the 
fences  of  it  trodden  down  and  destroyed ; — if  you 
consider  that  Mr.  M.  must  in  all  probability  succeed 
me  if  you  do  not,  and  that  the  prospect  of  that  mighty 
Nimrod's  coming  hither  shocks  my  soul,  and  is  in  a 
fair  way  of  bringing  down  my  gray  hairs  with  sorrow 
to  the  grave  ; — if  you  have  any  care  for  our  family, 
which  must  be  dismall}'  shattered  as  soon  as  I  am 
dropt; — if  you  reflect  on  the  dear  love  and  longing 
which  this  poor  people  has  for  you,  whereby  you  will 
be  enabled  to  do  God  the  more  service,  and  the  plen- 
teousness  of  the  harvest,  consisting  of  near  two 
thousand  souls,  whereas  you  have  not  many  more 
souls  in  the  University, — you  may  perhaps  alter  your 
mind,  and  bend  your  will  to  His,  who  has  promised 
if  in  all  our  ways  we  acknowledge  Him,  He  w  ill  di- 
rect our  paths."' 

Samuel,  when  he  heard  that  his  brother  had  declar- 
ed himself  unalterably  resolved  not  to  accept  the 
living  if  he  could  get  it,  krjew  him,  as  he  said,  well 
enough  to  believe  that  no  one  could  move  his  mind, 
except  He  who  made  it.  Without,  therefore,  draw- 
ing the  saw  of  controversy,  as  he  called  it,  he  set 
before  him  his  own  example.  "  1  left  Oxford,"  said 
he,  "  with  all  its  opportunity  of  good,  on  a  worldly 
account,  at  my  father's  desire.  1  left  my  last  settle- 
ment by  the  same  determination,  and  should  have 
thought  I  sinned  both  times,  if  I  had  not  followed  it." 
And  he  pressed  upon  John  the  simple  proposition, 
that  having  taken  orders,  he  was  solemnly  engaged 
to  undertake  the  cure  of  souls  before  God,  and  his 
High  Priest,  and  his  Church.    Wesley  replied  both 


1734.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD, 


to  his  father  and  his  brother  in  a  manner  more  cha- 
racteristic of  the  man  than  creditable  to  his  judg- 
ment. Ho  argued  as  if  his  own  salvation  would  be 
rendered  impossihle  at  Epworth :  he  could  not,  he 
said,  stand  his  ground  there  for  a  month,  against  in- 
temperance in  sleeping,  eating,  and  drinking;  his 
spirit  would  thus  be  dissolved  :  the  cares  and  de- 
sires of  the  world  would  roll  back  with  a  full  tide 
upon  him,  and  while  he  preached  to  othcKS,  he  should 
be  a  cast-away  himself.  Uninterrupted  freedom 
from  trifling  acquaintance  was  necessary  for  him: 
he  dreaded,  as  the  bane  of  piety,  the  company  of 
good  sort  of  men,  lukewarm  Christians,  persons  that 
have  a  great  concern  for  religion,  but  no  sense  of  it. 
"  They  undermine  insensibly,"  says  he,  "  all  my  re- 
solutions, and  quite  steal  from  me  the  little  fervour  I 
have.  I  never  come  from  among  these  saints  of  the 
world  (as  John  Valdesso  calls  them)  faint,  dissipat- 
ed, and  shorn  of  all  my  strength,  but  I  say,  God  de- 
liver me  from  a  half  Christian !"  Jigitur  de  vita  et 
sanguine  Tumi:  the  point  was,  whether  he  should 
serve  Christ  or  Belial.  He  stood  in  need  of  persons 
nearly  of  his  own  judgment,  and  engaged  in  the  same 
studies ;  persons  who  were  awakened  into  a  full  and 
lively  conviction  that  they  had  only  one  work  to  do 
upon  earth ;  who  had  absolutely  devoted  themselves 
to  God  ;  who  took  up  their  cross  daily  ;  who  would 
constantly  watch  over  his  soul,  and,  according  to  the 
occasion,  administer  reproof,  advice,  or  exhortation 
with  all  plainness  and  all  gentleness.  But  this  was 
a  blessing  which  he  could  enjoy  no  where  but  at 
Oxford.  There  also  he  knew  none  of  the  cares  ol 
the  world  ;  he  heard  of  such  things,  and  read  of  them, 
but  he  knew  them  not:  whatever  he  wanted  was 
provided  for  him  there,  without  any  expense  of 
thought.  There,  too,  he  endured  that  contempt 
which  is  a  part  of  the  cross,  that  every  man  who 
would  follow  his  Saviour  must  bear.  Every  true 
Christian,  he  said,  is  contemned  by  all  who  arc  not 
so,  and  who  know  him  to  be  such:  until  he  be  thus 
contemned  no  man  is  in  a  state  of  salvation ;  for 


8b 


WESLEY    AT  OXFORD. 


[1734. 


though  a  man  may  be  despised  without  being  saved, 
yet  he  cannot  be  saved  without  being  despised. 
More  good  also,  he  averred,  w  as  to  be  done  to  others 
by  his  continuance  at  Oxford ;  the  schools  of  the 
prophets  were  there ;  was  it  not  a  more  extensive 
benefit  to  sweeten  the  fountain,  than  to  purify  a  par- 
ticular stream  ?  And  for  the  argument,  that  Epworth 
was  a  wider  sphere  of  action,  where  he  would  have 
the  charge  of  two  thousand  souls,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Two  thousand  souls !  I  see  not  how  any  man  living 
can  take  care  of  an  hundred."  If  any  stress  be  laid 
upon  the  love  of  the  people  at  Epworth, — "  I  ask  how 
long  will  it  last Only  till  I  come  to  tell  them  plain- 
ly tliat  their  deeds  are  evil,  and  to  make  a  particular 
application  of  tliat  general  sentence,  to  say  to  each, 
Thou  art  the  man  !  Alas,  Sir,  do  1  not  know  what  love 
they  had  for  you  at  first  ?  And  how  have  they  used 
you  since  }  Why,  just  as  every  one  will  be  used 
whose  business  it  is  to  bring  light  to  them  that  love 
to  sit  in  darkness  !"  To  the  concluding  part  of  his 
father's  letter  he  replied  thus :  "  As  for  the  flock 
committed  to  your  care,  whom  for  many  years  you 
have  diligently  fed  with  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word, 
I  trust  in  God  your  labour  shall  not  be  in  vain,  either 
to  yourself  or  them.  Many  of  them  the  Great  Shep- 
herd has,  by  your  hand,  delivered  from  the  hand  of 
the  destroyer,  some  of  whom  are  already  entered  in- 
to peace,  and  some  remain  unto  this  day.  For  your- 
self, 1  doubt  not,  but  M'lien  your  warfare  is  accom- 
plished, when  you  are  made  perfect  through  suffer- 
ings, you  shall  come  to  your  grave,  not  with  sorrow, 
but  as  a  ripe  shock  of  corn,  full  of  years  and  victo- 
ries. And  He  that  took  care  of  the  poor  sheep  be- 
fore you  were  born,  will  not  forget  them  when  you 
are  dead." 

This  letter  convinced  Samuel  how  unavailing  it 
must  needs  be  to  reason  further  with  one  who  was 
possessed  by  such  notions.  Nevertheless,  as  John 
had  requested  to  know  his  further  thoughts,  he  ask- 
ed him  if  all  his  labours  were  come  to  this,  that  more 
was  absolutely  necessary  for  the  very  being  of  his 


1734.] 


WESLEY  AT  OXFORD. 


87 


Christian  life,  than  for  the  salvation  of  all  the  parish 
priests  in  England.  What  jou  say  of  contempt," 
said  he,  " is  nothing  to  the  purpose:  for  if  you  will 
go  to  Epworth,  I  will  answer  for  it  you  shall,  in  a 
competent  time,  be  despised  as  much  as  your  heart 
can  wish."  But  he  maintained  that  there  was  not 
in  Euclid  a  proposition  more  certain  than  this,  that 
a  man  must  be  esteemed  in  order  to  be  useful ;  and 
he  rested  the  case  upon  his  former  argument,  that  a 
general  resolution  against  undertaking  the  cure  of 
souls,  was  contrary  to  his  engagement  at  ordination  : 
"The  order  of  the  Church,"  said  he,  "stakes  you 
down,  and  the  more  you  struggle  will  hold  the  faster. 
You  must,  when  opportunity  offers,  either  perform 
that  promise  or  repent  it:  f rum  mavis '^^  which  do 
you  prefer.'^"  Wesley  admitted  the  force  of  his  or- 
dination oath,  but  denied  that  it  had  this  meaning. 
But  acknowledging  the  established  principle,  that 
the  mode  and  extent  of  the  obligation  which  an  oath 
imposes  are  not  to  be  determined  by  him  who  takes, 
but  by  him  who  requires  it,  he  wrote  to  the  Bishop 
who  ordained  him,  proposing  this  single  question, 
whether,  at  ordination,  he  had  engaged  himself 
to  undertake  the  cure  of  a  parish  or  not?  The 
Bishop's  answer  was  in  these  words,  "  It  doth  not 
seem  to  me  that,  at  your  ordination,  you  engaged 
yourself  to  undertake  the  cure  of  any  parish,  pro- 
vided you  can,  as  a  clergyman,  better  serve  God  and 
his  Church  in  your  present  or  some  other  station.  ' 
Wesley  believed  he  had  all  reasonable  evidence 
that  this  was  the  case,  anil  here  the  discussion  end- 
ed. He  had  made  it  an  affair  of  religious  casuistry, 
and  therefore  the  interest  of  liis  mother  and  sisters 
in  the  decision,  nearly  as  this  point  lay  at  the  fathers 
heart,  seems  to  have  been  totally  disregarded  by  him 
as  unworthy  of  any  consideration. 


CHAPTER  III. 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 

Weslev  the  father  died  in  the  ensuing  April,  at  a 
good  old  age,  and  ripe  for  immortality.  John  and 
Charles  were  with  him  during  the  last  stage  of  his 
illness.  A  few  days  before  his  departure,  he  said  to 
them,  "  The  weaker  I  am  in  body,  tlie  stronger  and 
1  more  sensible  support  I  feel  from  God.  There  is 
but  a  step  between  me  and  death.  To-morrow  I 
would  see  you  all  with  me  round  this  table,  that  we 
may  once  more  drink  the  Cup  of  Blessing,  before  we 
drink  it  new  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Witli  desire 
have  I  desired  to  eat  this  passovcr  with  you  before  I 
die."  On  the  morrow  he  was  so  exceeding  weak  and 
full  of  pain,  that  he  could  not  receive  the  elements 
without  difficulty,  and  often  repeated,  "  Thou  shakest 
me,  thou  shakest  me !"  He  had  no  fear  of  death, 
and  the  peace  of  God  which  he  enjoyed  appeared 
sometimes  to  suspend  his  bodily  sufferings,  and  when 
they  recurred,  to  sustain  his  mind  above  them.  When, 
as  nature  seemed  spent,  and  his  speech  was  failing, 
his  son  John  asked  him  whether  he  was  not  near  hea- 
ven, he  answered,  "Yes,  I  am,"  distinctly,  and  with 
a  voice  of  hope  and  joy.  After  John  had  used  the 
commendatory  prayer,  he  said,  "  Now  you  have  done 
all !"  these  were  his  last  words,  and  he  passed  away 
so  peacefully  and  insensibly,  that  his  children  con- 
tinued over  him  a  considerable  time,  in  doubt  whe- 
ther or  not  the  spirit  was  departed.  Mrs.  Wesley, 
who  for  several  days,  whenever  she  entered  his  cham- 
ber, had  been  carried  out  of  it  in  a  fit,  recovered  her 
fortitude  now,  and  said  her  prayers  were  heard,  for 
God  had  granted  him  an  easy  death, and  had  strength- 
ened her  to  bear  it. 

The  mother  and  daughter  were  left  with  little  or 
no  provision;  and  a  brutal  woman,  of  wiiomMr.  Wes- 


1735,] 


AVESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


89 


ley  rented  a  few  fields,  seized  the  live  stock  on  the 
very  day  of  his  funeral,  for  a  debt  of  fifteen  pounds. 
Samuel  was  now  their  support ;  "  If  you  take  London 
in  your  way,"  said  Charles  to  him,  "  my  mother  de- 
sires you  would  remember  she  is  a  clergyman's  wi- 
dow. Let  the  Society  give  her  what  they  please,  she 
must  be  still,  in  some  degree,  burthensome  to  you,  as 
she  calls  it.  How  do  I  envy  you  that  glorious  bur- 
then, and  wish  I  could  share  in  it !  You  must  put  me 
into  some  way  of  getting  a  little  money,  that  I  may  do 
something  in  this  shipwreck  of  the  family." 

The  latest  human  desires  of  this  good  man  were, 
that  he  might  complete  his  work  upon  the  book  of 
Job,  pay  his  debts,  and  see  his  eldest  son  once  more. 
The  first  of  these  desires  seems  to  have  been  nearly, 
if  not  wholly  accomplished  ;  and  John  was  charged 
to  present  the  volume  to  Queen  Caroline.  Going  to 
London,  on  this  commission,  he  found  that  the  trus- 
tees of  the  new  colony  of  Georgia  were  in  search  of 
persons  who  would  preach  the  gospel  there  to  the 
settlers  and  the  Indians,  and  that  they  had  fixed  their 
eyes  upon  him  and  his  associates,  as  men  who  ap- 
peared to  possess  the  habits  and  qualities  required 
for  such  a  service.  Dr.  Burton,  of  Corpus  Christi 
College,  was  one  of  the  trustees ;  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  Wesley,  and  being  at  this  time  in  Lon- 
don, introduced  him  to  Mr.  Oglethorpe,  the  founder 
of  the  colony.  At  first  when  it  was  proposed  to  him 
to  go  upon  this  mission,  he  peremptorily  refused. 
Arguments  were  adduced  which  made  him  less  reso- 
lute in  his  refusal;  objections  which  he  started  were 
obviated ;  and  when  he  spake  of  the  grief  which  it 
must  give  his  mother  if  he  were  to  accept  the  propo- 
sal, saying  he  was  the  staff  of  her  age,  her  chief  sup- 
port and  comfort,  it  was  evident  that  he  was  shaken. 
He  was  asked,  in  reply,  whether  he  would  go  if  his 
mother's  approbation  could  be  obtained }  this  he 
thought  impossible,  but  he  consented  that  the  trial 
should  be  made,  and  secretly  determined,  that,  if  she 
were  willing,  he  would  receive  her  assent  as  the  call 
of  God.    Her  answer  was,  "  Had  I  twenty  sons,  I 

VOL.  I.  12 


WESLEY    Hi  AHULRICA. 


l1  73j. 


should  rejoice  that  they  were  all  so  employed,  though 
1  should  never  see  them  more.*' 

He  did  not,  however,  resolve  finally  upon  this  mea- 
sure without  consulting  those  persons  whose  opi- 
nions had  most  weight  with  him,  among  whom  were 
WiUiam  Law,  and  .{oivn  Byrom  the  poet.  Their  ap- 
probation confinned  him  in  his  intention,  though 
their  dissent  might  not  have  shaken  his  purpose. 
His  brother  Samuel  also  was  content  that  he 
should  go :  perhaps  he  thought  it  well  that  he 
should  engage  in  a  service  wherein  so  much  zeal  w^as 
required,  that  the  excess,  which  now  led  him  into 
extravagancies,  might  find  lull  employment.  It  was, 
indeed,  his  growing  attachment  to  ascetic  principles 
and  habits  which  m.ade  him  desirous  of  removing 
from  the  temptations  of  the  world.  He  looked  for- 
ward to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  as  compara- 
tively an  easy  task ;  there  he  said,  he  should  have 
the  advantage  of  preaching  to  people  not  yet  beguil- 
ed by  philosophy  and  vain  deceit ;  and  might  enforce 
to  them  the  plain  truth  of  God,  without  its  being 
softened  and  rendered  useless  by  the  comments  of 
men.  Little  had  he  read  of  missionary  labours,  and 
less  could  he  have  retlected  upon  them  when  he 
reasoned  thus!  But  to  an  unbeliever,  who  said  to 
him,  "  What  is  this,  Sir;  are  you  one  of  the  knights 
errant  ?  How,  I  pray,  got  Quixotism  into  your  head  ? 
You  want  nothing;  you  have  a  good  provision  for 
life,  and  are  in  a  way  of  preferment :  and  must  you 
leave  all  to  fight  windmills, — to  convert  savages  in 
America !"  he  answered  feelingly  and  calmly,  "  Sir, 
if  the  Bible  be  not  true,  I  am  as  very  a  fool  and  mad- 
man as  you  can  conceive;  but  if  it  be  of  God,  I  am 
Bobor  minded.  For  he  has  declared,  '  There  is  no 
man  that  hath  left  house,  or  friends,  or  brethren,  for 
the  kingdom  of  God's  sake,  who  shall  not  receive 
manifold  more  in  the  present  time,  and  in  the  world 
to  come  everlasting  life  '  " 

It  had  been  Charles  Wesley's  intention  to  spend 
all  his  days  at  Oxford  as  a  tutor,  for  he  dreaded  ex- 
ceedingly to  enter  into  orders:  now,  however,  he 


1735.] 


AVESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


91 


determined  to  accompany  his  brother.  This  was 
strongly  opposed  by  Samuel,  but  in  vain :  he  was 
more  docile  towards  John,  whom  he  always  regarded 
as  his  guide,  and  in  deference  to  his  judgment  con- 
sented to  be  ordained ;  but  he  went  out  in  the  capa- 
city of  secretary  to  Mr.  Oglethorpe.  Their  com- 
panions were  Charles  Delamotte,  the  son  of  a  Lon- 
don merchant,  and  Beiijamin  Ingham,  who  was  one 
of  the  little  community  at  Oxford.  "  Our  end,"  says 
Wesley,  "  in  leaving  our  native  country,  was  not  to 
avoid  want,  (God  having  given  us  plenty  of  tempo- 
ral blessings,)  nor  to  gain  the  dung  and  dross  of 
riches  and  honour;  but  singly  this,  to  save  our  souls; 
to  live  wholly  to  the  glory  of  God."  They  embark- 
ed at  Gravesend  on  the  14th  of  October,  ITS.O,  and 
from  that  day  the  series  of  his  printed  journals  com- 
mences. Oh  that  all  men  w  ho  have  produced  great 
effects  in  the  world  had  left  such  memoirs  of  them- 
selves !*  ^ 
On  board  the  same  vessel  tj^ere  werg  sj^  ^j^^j^^ 
twenty  Moravians,  going  to  join  a  party  of  their 
brethren  from  Herrnhut,  who  had  gone  out  the  pre- 
ceding year  under  the  sanction  of  the  British  govern- 
ment, and  with  the  approbation  of  the  English 
church;  some  of  our  bishops,  indeed,  having,  of  their 
own  accord,  ortbred  to  ordain  tlieir  pastors.  The 
conductor  of  this  second  detachment  was  David 
Nitschmann,  one  of  a  family  distinguished  for  their 
sufferings  and  their  zeal :  he  was  afterwards  the  first 
bishop  of  the  revived  Church  of  the  Brethren,  the 
appellation  by  which  the  Moravians  designate  them- 
selves. The  rise  and  institutions  of  (his  remarkable 
people,  with  whom  Wesley  was  for  some  time  inti- 
mately connected,  and  from  whom  much  of  the 
oeconomy  of  the  Methodists  has  been  derived,  will 
be  described  hereafter.  VYedi£y„wa^jLjLpeed^^^ 
impressed  with  the  piety,  the  simplicit^,_  aii^id^the 

*  A  short  time  before  he  left  England  he  seems  to  have  pub- 
lisiied  a  corrected  version  of  Thomas  a  kempis,  and  to  have 
translated  a  Preface  which  had  not  appeared  befor.;  in  any  English 
edition. 


92 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1735. 


equanimity  of  these  his  shipmates  :  he  applied  him- 
self to  the  German  language,  that  he  might  converse 
with  them  the  more  freely,  and  Nitschmann  and  the 
others  began  to  learn  English. 

While  he  resided  at  Oxford  he  had  always  hitherto 
been  restrained,  perhaps  unconsciously,  by  some  re- 
gard to  appearances ;  that  restraint  was  no  longer 
felt,  and  he  and  his  companions  began  to  put  their 
ascetic  principles  in  full  practice.  Beheving,  he 
says,  the  denying  ourselves,  even  in  the  smallest 
instances,  might,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  helpful 
to  us,  we  wholly  left  off  the  use  of  flesh  and  wine, 
and  confined  ourselves  to  vegetable  food,  chiefly  rice 
or  biscuit.  After  a  while  they  persuaded  themselves 
that  nature  did  not  require  such  frequent  supplies  as 
they  had  been  accustomed  to, — so  they  agreed  to 
leave  off  supper :  and  Wesley  having  slept  on  the 
floor  one  night,  because  his  bed  had  been  wetted  in 
a  storm,  thought  he  should  not  find  it  needful  to  sleep 
in  a  bed  any  more.  His  next  experiment  was,  whe- 
ther life  might  not  as  well  be  sustained  by  one  sort  of 
food  as  by  variety :  he  and  Delamotte  accordingly 
tried  with  bread,  as  being  the  staff  of  life  in  Europe, 
and  they  found  themselves  never  more  vigorous  and 
hearty.  Upon  this  he  exclaims,  "  Blessed  are  the 
pure  in  heart ;  to  them  all  things  are  pure  :  every 
creature  is  good  to  them,  and  nothing  to  be  rejected. 
But  let  them  who  are  not  thus  pure  use  every  help 
and  remove  every  hindei'ance,  always  remembering, 
that  he  that  despiseth  little  things  shall  fall  by  little 
and  little."  "  At  this  time,"  his  oflScial  biographers 
say,  "  he  had  only  attained  to  the  spirit  of  bondage 
unto  fear,  and  he  found  that  all  his  senses  were  ready 
to  betray  him  into  sin,  upon  every  exercise  of  them." 
In  a  spirit  akin  to  this,  and  derived  from  the  same 
source,  he  wrote  from  on  board  to  his  brother  Sa- 
muel, beseeching  him,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  to 
banish  all  such  poison  from  his  school  as  the  classics 
which  were  usually  read  there,  and  introduce  Chris- 
tian authors  in  their  place;  for  it  was  his  duty  to 
instruct  his  scholars,  "  not  only  in  the  beggarly  ele- 


1735.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


93 


ments  of  Greek  and  Latin,  but  much  more  in  the  > 
Gospel."    Fanaticism  always  comes  to  this  in  its 
progress:  first  it  depreciates  learning,  then  it  would 
destroy  it.    There  have  been  Christians,  as  they! 
believed  themselves,  who  would  have  burnt  thel 
Alexandrian  library  upon  the  same  logic  as  the! 
Caliph  Omar,  with  no  other  difference  than  that  ot  i 
calling  their  book  by  a  Greek  name  instead  of  an  \ 
Arabic  one. 

The  course  of  life  which  they  adopted  on  board 
was  as  regular  as  the  circumstances  of  a  voyage 
would  allow,  and  as  severe  as  the  rule  of  a  monastic 
order.    From  four  in  the  morning  till  five  they  used 
private  prayer :  from  five  till  seven  they  read  the 
Bible  together,  carefully  comparing  it  with  the  writ- 
ings of  the  earliest  ages,  that  they  might  not  lean  to 
their  own  understandings.    At  seven  they  breakfast- 
ed, and  they  had  public  prayers  at  eight.    From  nine 
till  twelve  John  Wesley  was  employed  in  learning 
German,   Delamotte  pursued  his  Greek  studies, 
Charles  wrote  sermons,  and  Ingham  instructed  the 
children  :  and  at  twelve  they  met  to  give  an  account 
to  one  another  of  M  hat  they  had  done  since  their 
last  meeting,  and  of  what  they  intended  to  do  before 
their  next.    They  dined  about  one,  and  from  dinner 
till  four  the  time  was  spent  in  reading  to  those  of 
whom  each  had  taken  especial  charge,  or  in  exhort- 
ing them  severally,  as  the  case   might  require. 
There  were  evening  prayers  at  four,  when  the 
second  lesson  was  explained,  or  the  children  were 
catechised  and  instructed  before  the  congregation. 
From  six  to  seven  each  read  in  his  cabin  to  a  few  of 
the  passengers.    At  seven  Wesley  joined  wilh  the 
Germans  in  their  public  service,  and  Ingham  read 
between  the  decks  to  as  many  as  desired  to  hear. 
At  eight  they  met  again  to  instruct  and  exhort.  By 
this  time  they  were  pretty  well  wearied  with  exhor- 
tations and  instruction :  and  betweeri  nine  and  ten 
they  went  to  bed,  where,  as  Wesley  says,  neither 
the  waving  of  the  sea,  nor  the  motion  of  the  ship, 
could  take  away  the  refreshing  sleep  which  Cod 
gave  them. 


94 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1736. 


It  was  a  rough  season,  their  passage  was  tempest- 
uous ;  and,  during  the  storm,  Wesley  felt  that  he  was 
unfit,  because  he  was  unwilling  to  die.  Ashamed  of 
thib  unwillingness,  he  reproached  himself  as  if  he  had 
no  (liith,  and  he  admired  the  impassible  tranquillity 
to  which  the  Moravians  had  attained.  They  had 
evinced  that  they  were  delivered  from  pride,  anger, 
and  revenge ;  those  servile  offices,  which  none  of  the 
English  would  perform  for  the  other  passengers,  they 
offered  themselves  to  undertake,  and  would  receive 
no  recompense  ;  saying,  it  was  good  for  their  proud 
hearts,  and  their  Saviour  had  done  more  for  them. 
No  injury  could  move  their  meekness ;  if  they  were 
struck  or  thrown  down,  they  made  no  complaint,  nor 
suffered  the  slightest  indication  of  resentment  to  ap- 
pear. Wesley  was  curious  to  see  whether  they  were 
equally  delivered  from  the  spirit  of  fear,  and  this  he 
had  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  In  the  midst  of 
the  psalm  with  which  they  began  their  service,  the 
sea  broke  over,  split  the  main-sail,  covered  the  ship, 
and  poured  in  between  the  decks,  as  if,  he  says,  the 
great  deep  had  already  swallowed  us  up.  A  dread- 
ful screaming  was  heard  among  the  English  colonists  : 
the  Moravians  calmly  sung  on.  Wesley  afterwards 
asked  one  of  them,  if  he  was  not  afraid  at  that  time. 
He  replied,  "  I  thank  God,  no."  He  was  then  asked 
if  the  women  and  children  were  not  afraid.  His  an- 
swer was,  "No;  our  women  and  children  are  not 
afraid  to  die."  In  the  intervals  of  fine  weather  which 
they  enjoyed,  Wesley  said  he  could  conceive  no 
difference  comparable  to  that  between  a  smooth  and 
a  rough  sea,  except  that  which  is  between  a  mind 
calmed  by  the  love  of  God,  and  one  torn  up  by 
the  storms  of  earthly  passions.  On  the  5th  of  Feb- 
ruary they  anchored  in  the  Savannah  river. 

The  colony  in  Georgia,  the  last  which  the  English 
established  in  North  America,  had  been  only  three 
years  founded  at  this  time.  The  British  government 
had  encouraged  it,  with  wise  poHtical  views,  as  a  de- 
fence for  the  southern  provinces  against  the  Span- 
iards, and  for  the  purpose  of  occupying  a  critical  po- 


1733.] 


WESLEY   IN  AMERICA. 


95 


sition,  which  otherwise,  there  was  reason  to  believe, 
would  hive  been  occupied  by  the  Freuch,  to  the 
great  danger  and  detriment  of  the  British  settlements; 
but  it  had  been  projected  by  men  of  enlarged  be- 
nevolence, as  a  means  of  providing  for  the  employ- 
ment and  well-being  of  those  who  were  poor  and  dis- 
tressed at  home.  Twenty-one  persons  were  incor- 
porated as  trustees  for  twenty-one  years,  with  power 
during  that  time  to  appoint  all  the  officers,  and  re- 
gulate all  the  concerns  of  the  colony ;  and  they  were 
authorized  to  collect  subscriptions  for  fitting  out  the 
colonists  and  supporting  them,  till  they  couid  clear 
the  lands.  The  trustees  contributed  money  not  less 
liberally  than  time  and  labour;  the  bank  subscnbed 
largely,  and  parliament  voted  £10,009  for  tiie  ad- 
vancement of  a  design  which  was  every  way  condu- 
cive  to  the  interest  of  the  common  weal.  The  first 
expedition  consisted  of  an  hundred  and  sixteen  set- 
tlers. James  Oglethorpe,  one  of  the  trustees,  em- 
barked with  them ;  an  active,  enterprising,  and  zeal- 
ous man.  He  is  said  to  have  taken  with  him  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh's  original  Journals,  and  to  have  been 
guided  by  them  in  the  choice  of  a  situation  for  his 
settlement;  andthisisconfirmed  by  thetraditionof  the 
Indians  ;  their  forefathers,  they  said,  had  held  a  con- 
ference with  a  warrior  who  came  over  the  great  wa- 
ters, and  they  pointed  out  a  funeral  barrow,  under 
which  the  chief  who  had  conferred  w  ith  him,  was  bu- 
ried, by  his  own  desire,  in  the  spot  where  the  confer- 
ence had  been  held. 

The  site  of  the  new  settlement  was  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Savannah,  which  bends  like  a  sickle  in  that 
part ;  the  banks  are  about  forty  feet  high,  and  on  the 
top  is  what  in  the  language  of  the  colonies  is  called  a 
bluff, — plain  high  ground,  extending  about  half  a  mile 
along  the  river,  and  some  five  or  six  miles  up  the 
country.  Ships  drawing  twelve  feet  water  may  ride 
within  ten  yards  of  the  shore.  In  the  centre  of  the 
plain  the  town  was  marked  out,  opposite  an  island  of 
rish  pasturage.  From  the  key  there  was  a  fine 
prospect  of  the  coast  in  one  direction,  and  an  island 


96 


WESLEY   IN  AMERICA. 


[1733. 


called  Tjbee,  in  the  mouth  of  the  river;  on  the  oth- 
er the  wide  stream,  bordered  with  high  woods  on 
both  sides,  glittered  in  the  distance  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  The  country  belonged  to  the  Creek 
Indians  ;  they  were  computed  at  this  time  to  amount 
to  about  25,000  souls ;  war  and  disease,  and  the  vices 
ofsiavage  life,  having  greatly  reduced  their  numbers. 
An  Indian  woman  who  had  married  a  trader  from 
Carolina,  acted  as  interpreter  between  the  English 
and  her  countrymen  ;  her  services  were  at  first  pur- 
chased with  presents,  and  liberally  rewarded  after- 
wards by  an  annuity  of  an  hundred  pounds.  Fifty 
chieftains  and  elders,  from  the  eight  tribes  who  com- 
posed the  confederacy  of  the  Creeks,  were  deputed 
to  confer  with  Oglethorpe,  and  treat  of  an  alliance. 
In  the  name  of  these  confederated  tribes  Weeca- 
chumpa,  the  Long  Chief,  informed  the  British  ad- 
venturers what  was  the  extent  of  country  which  they 
claimed  as  their  inheritance ;  he  acknowledged  the 
superiority  of  the  white  men  to  the  red;  he  said  that 
they  were  persuaded  that  the  Great  Power,  who 
<:lwclt  in  heaven  and  all  around,  (and  he  threw  his 
hands  abroad,  and  prolonged  his  articulation  as  he 
spake,)  had  sent  the  English  thither  for  their  good, 
and  therefore  they  were  welcome  to  all  the  land 
which  the  Creeks  did  not  use  themselves. 

Tomo-cbichi,  to  whose  tribe  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try belonged,  then  presented  him  with  a  buffalo  skin, 
adorned  on  the  inside  with  the  head  and  feathers  of 
an  eagle.  The  eagle,  he  said,  signified  speed,  and 
the  buffalo  strength.  The  English  were  swift  as  the 
eagle,  and  strong  as  the  buffalo.  Like  the  eagle, 
they  flew  over  the  great  waters  to  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth ;  and  like  the  buffalo,  they  were  so 
strong  that  nothing  could  withstand  them.  The 
feathers  of  the  eagle,  he  said  were  soft,  and  signifi- 
ed love  ;  (he  skin  of  the  buffalo  was  warm,  and  signi- 
fied protection ;  therefore  he  hoped  the  English 
would  love  and  protect  the  little  family  of  the  Creeks. 
The  alliance  was  soon  concluded,  a  stipulation  be- 
ing made,  that  wherever  a  town  was  laid  out,  a  cer- 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


97 


tain  portion  of  land  should  be  allotted  to  the  natives. 
Oglethorpe  then  presented  each  of  their  Micoes,  or 
Kings,  with  a  shirt,  a  laced  coat,  and  a  laced  hat; 
each  of  the  warriors  with  a  gun,  and  each  of  their  at- 
tendants with  a  dulHe  cloak,  and  a  few  trifles. 

Oglethorpe  returned  to  England  the  following 
year,  and  took  with  him  Tomo-chichi,  Sonawki  his 
wife,  and  Tooanahowi  his  son,  with  seven  other  In- 
dians, They  were  presented  to  George  II.  at  Ken- 
sington, where  the  Micoe  ofTered  a  calumet  to  the 
king,  and  addressed  him  in  a  characteristic  and  not 
ineloquent  oration.  "  This  day  I  see  the  majesty  of 
your  face,  the  greatness  of  your  house,  and  the  num- 
ber of  your  people.  I  am  come  in  my  old  days, 
though  I  cannot  expect  to  see  any  advantage  to  my- 
self; I  am  come  for  the  good  of  the  children  of  all 
the  nations  of  the  Lower  and  Upper  Creeks,  that 
they  may  be  instructed  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Eng- 
lish. These  are  feathers  of  the  eagle,  which  is  the 
swiftest  of  birds,  and  which  flyeth  around  our  nations. 
These  feathers  in  our  land  are  a  sign  of  peace,  and 
have  been  carried  from  town  to  town  there.  VVe 
have  brought  them  over  to  leave  them  with  you,  O 
great  King,  as  a  token  of  everlasting  peace.  O  great 
King,  whatever  words  you  shall  say  unto  me,  I  will 
faithfully  tell  them  to  all  the  Kings  of  the  Creek  na- 
tions.'" The  orator  addressed  the  Queen  also  in 
these  words  :  I  am  glad  to  see  this  day,  and  to  have 
the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  mother  of  this  great 
people.  As  our  people  are  joined  with  your  majes- 
ty's, we  humbly  hope  to  find  you  the  common  mother 
and  protectress  of  us  and  all  our  children."  Tomo- 
t  hichi  and  his  companions  had  no  reason  to  be  dis- 
satisfied witli  their  reception  in  England.  They 
were  objects  not  only  of  curiosity,  but  of  kindness. 
A  weekly  allowance  was  assigned  them  of  twenty 
pounds,  during  their  stay  of  four  months:  they  lived 
during  most  of  the  time  at  the  tables  of  persons  of 
distinction,  liberal  presents  Avere  made  them,  and 
nhen  they  embarked  for  their  own  countr),  they 
VOL.  r.  1  :^ 


98 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1734. 


were  carried  in  one  of  the  king's  carriages  to  Graves- 
end.    A  number  of  protestant  Saltzburghers*,  ex- 

*  The  expulsion  of  these  Saltzburghers  was  the  last  wholesale 
act  of  intolerance  committed  by  a  Roman  Catholic  government. 
Of  all  acts  of  the  kind,  however,  it  was  executed  with  the  least  in- 
humanity, and  the  most  cause.  The  archbishop  was  a  humane 
and  conscientious  man,  and  endeavoured  by  all  means  of  gentle- 
ness and  persuasion  to  maintain  that  conformity  of  belief  in  his  do- 
minions, which,  both  as  prince  and  prelate,  according  to  the  laws 
and  the  faith  which  he  professed,  it  was  his  duty  to  preserve.  But 
the  spirit  of  reformation  which  had  arisen  was  not  to  be  suppress- 
ed by  the  preaching  of  Franciscan  friars  ;  and  in  a  country  where 
the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  were  passionately  attached  to 
the  religion  of  their  fathers,  with  all  its  forms  and  fables,  and  the 
rest  were  possessed  with  an  uncompromising  and  enthusiastic  de- 
termination of  worshipping  God  in  their  own  way,  the  only  means 
of  preventing  a  civil  war,  sooner  or  later,  was  to  make  the  minor- 
ity depart  in  peace,  and  this  was  not  done  till  they  had  threatened 
to  call  upon  a  foreign  power  for  support.  About  25,000  persons,  a 
tenth  part  of  the  population,  migrated  on  this  occasion.  Their 
property  was  sold  for  them  under  the  King  of  Prussia's  protection; 
some  injustice  and  considerable  loss  must  needs  have  been  suffer- 
ed by  such  a  sale,  and  the  chancellor,  by  whom  this  strong  mea- 
sure was  carried  into  effect,  is  accused  of  having  enriched  himself 
by  the  transaction.  Seventeen  thousand  of  the  emigrants  settled 
m  the  Prussian  states.  Their  march  will  long  be  remembered  in 
Germany.  The  Catholic  magistrates  at  Augsburg  shut  the  gates 
against  them,  but  the  Protestants  in  the  city  prevailed,  and  lodged 
them  in  their  houses.  The  Count  of  Stolberg  Warnegerode  gave 
a  dinner  to  about  900  in  his  palace  :  they  were  also  liberally  en- 
tertained and  relieved  by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  At  Leipsic  the 
clergy  met  them  at  the  gates,  and  entered  with  them  in  procession, 
singing  one  of  Luther's  hymns  ;  the  magistrates  quartered  them 
upon  the  inhabitants,  and  a  collection  was  made  for  them  in  the 
church,  several  merchants  subscribing  ^1,000  each.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Wittenberg  went  out  to  meet  them,  with  the  Rector  at 
their  head,  and  collections  were  made  from  house  to  house.  "  We 
thought  it  an  honour,"  says  one  of  the  Professors,  "  to  receive 
our  poor  guests  in  that  city  where  Luther  first  preached  the  doc- 
trines for  which  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  native  homes.'" 
These  demonstrations  of  the  popular  feeling  render  it  more  than 
probable  that,  if  a  rehgious  war  had  been  allowed  to  begin  in 
Saltzburg,  it  would  have  spread  throughout  Germany. 

Thirty-three  thousand  pounds  were  raised  in  London  for  the 
relief  of  the  Saltzburghers  ;  many  of  them  settled  in  Georgia, — 
colonists  of  the  best  description.  They  called  their  settlement 
Ebenezer.  Whitefield,  in  1738,  was  wonderfully  pleased  with 
their  order  and  industry.  "  Their  lands,"  he  says,  "  are  im- 
proved surprisingly  for  the  time  they  have  been  tliere,  and  I  be- 


1734.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


99 


pelled  by  their  own  government  on  account  of  reli- 
gion, went  over  with  them.  A  large  party  of  High- 
landers followed  in  the  year  ensuing,  and  the  pros- 
pects of  the  colony  were  so  promising,  that  parlia- 
ment granted  a  supply  of  £26,000.  And  when  Mr. 
Oglethorpe  returned  bringing  with  him  the  Wesleys, 
he  took  out  about  three  hundred  passengers  in  two 
ships. 

Such  was  the  history  of  the  settlement  to  which 
Wesley  went  out  as  Chaplain  and  Missionary ;  and 
such  had  been  its  progress  when  he  arrived  there. 
No  colony  was  ever  established  upon  principles 
more  honourable  to  its  projectors.  The  device  up- 
on their  seal  Avas  the  genius  of  the  colony  seated  be- 
tween the  two  rivers  which  were  its  boundaries,' with 
the  cap  of  liberty  on  his  head,  a  spear  in  one  hand, 
and  a  cornucopia  in  the  other :  on  the  reverse  were 
some  silk  worms  at  their  work,  with  the  words  JS'on 
sibi  sedaliis  for  the  motto.  The  conduct  of  the  trus- 
tees did  not  discredit  their  professions ;  they  looked 
for  no  emolument  to  themselves  or  their  representa- 
tives after  them ;  and  the  first  principle  which  they 
laid  down  in  their  laws  was,  no  slave  should  be  em-j 
ployed.  This  was  regarded  at  the  time  as  their  great 
and  fundamental  error  ;  it  was  afterAvards  repealed ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  colony,  being 
the  only  one  in  America  which  prohibited  slavery  in 
its  foundation,  was  the  last  which  gave  its  reluctant 
assent  to  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade.  But  there 
were  solid  political  reasons  for  the  prohibition,  even 
if  the  everlasting  principles  of  humanity  and  justice 
had  not  been  regarded ;  for  the  Spaniards,  who  have 
been  little  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  of  carrying  on 


lieve  they  have  far  the  best  crop  of  any  in  the  colony.  They  are 
blest  with  two  such  pious  ministers  as  I  have  not  often  seen. 
They  have  no  courts  of  judicature,  but  all  little  differences  are 
immediately  and  implicitly  decided  by  their  ministers,  whom  they 
look  upon  and  love  as  their  fathers.  They  have  likewise  an  or- 
phan house,  in  which  are  seventeen  children  and  one  widow,  and 
1  was  much  delighted  to  see  the  regularity  wherewith  it  is  man- 
aged." 


100 


WESLEV   in  AMERICA. 


[173G. 


war  in  the  new  world,  had  formed  a  regiment  of  re* 
fugee  negroes  from  Carolina,  who  were  paid  and 
clothed  like  the  Spanish  troops,  and  officered  from 
among  themselves;  they  had  proclaimed  freedom 
for  all  who  would  join  them,  and  had  emissaries  ac- 
tively employed  in  encouraging  them  to  escape  from 
slavery.  Some  other  regulations,  although  equally 
well  designed,  were  not  equally  wise.  None  of  the 
colonists  were  to  be  permitted  to  trade  with  the  In- 
dians, except  such  as  should  obtain  a  special  license 
for  that  purpose  : — this  was  placing  the  settlers  in  a 
worse  condition  than  any  other  colonists,  the  law 
therefore  was  sure  to  render  them  discontented,  and 
to  be  disobeyed.  The  lands  were  granted  upon  a 
feudal  principle,  the  possessors  being  bound  to  take 
the  field  Avhenever  the  public  service  might  require; 
but  as  if  the  evils  of  a  feudal  aristocracy  could  possi- 
bly arise  in  a  commercial  colony,  estates  were  to  be 
granted  only  in  tail  male,  lest  large  tracks,  by  descents 
and  intermarriages,  should  fi\\\  into  one  hand  ; — thus, 
from  the  apprehension  of  remote  and  imaginary  dan- 
ger, the  odious  injustice  of  a  Salic  law  in  private  pos- 
sessions was  introduced.  And  the  importation  of 
rum  was  prohibited  :  it  is  said  that  this  spirit,  when 
properly  diluted,  is  proved  by  experience  to  be  the 
wholesomest  nnd  most  refreshing  drink,  as  well  as 
the  cheapest,  for  workmen  in  that  foggy  and  burning 
climate ;  and  it  is  certain  that  to  forbid  the  use  of  a 
I  thing  good  in  itself,  because  it  is  liable  to  be  abused, 
lis  subjecting  the  worthy  part  of  the  community  to  a 
^privation  for  the  sake  of  the  worthless. 

The  ship  in  which  Wesley  was  embarked  cast  an- 
chor near  Tybee  island,  "  where  the  groves  of  pines, 
running  along  the  shore,  made,"  he  says,  "  an  agree- 
able prospect,  showing,  as  it  were,  the  bloom  of 
spring  in  the  depth  of  winter."  On  the  following 
morning  they  landed  on  a  small  uninhabited  island, 
where  Mr.  Oglethorpe  led  them  to  a  rising  ground, 
and  they  all  knelt  and  returned  thanks  to  God  for 
having  arrived  in  safety.  Mr.  Oglethorpe  went  that 
day  to  Savannah,  and  returned  the  next,  bringing 


1736.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


101 


with  him  Augustus  GottHeb  Spangenberg,  one  of  the 
pastors  of  the  Moravians.  Wefeley  perceiving  in  him 
th<^  same  character  which  in  his  fellow-passengers 
had  impressed  him  so  strongly,  asked  his  advice  con- 
cerning his  own  conduct  in  a  situation  which  was 
new  to  him ;  the  German  replied,  "  My  brother,  I 
must  first  ask  you  one  or  two  questions.  Have  you 
the  witness  within  yourself.'^  Does  the  Spirit  of 
God  bear  witness  with  your  spirit  that  you  are  a 
child  of  God  Wesley  had  hitherto  been  accus- 
tomed to  be  himself  the  teacher  :  it  was  the  first  time 
that  he  had  been  treated  as  a  novice  or  a  child  in 
spiritual  things :  he  was  surprised,  and  knew  not 
what  to  answer:  the  German  perceived  this,  and 
said,  "Do  you  know  Jesus  Christ.'^"  After  a  pause 
he  replied,  "I  know  he  is  the  .Saviour  of  the  world." 

True,"  rejoined  Spangenberg,  "  but  do  you  know 
he  has  saved  you?'"  Wesley  answered,  "  I  hope  he 
has  died  to  save  me."  The  Moravian  only  added, 
"  Do  you  know  yourself.''"  and  Wesley,  who  was  evi- 
dently awed  by  this  catechism,  confesses,  that  in  an- 
swering "  I  do,"  he  feared  he  was  but  uttering  vain 
words.  The  account  which  Spangenberg  gave  of 
himself  strengthened  the  impression  which  this  con- 
versation had  made.  He  had  spent  some  years  at 
the  university  of  Jena,  he  said,  in  learning  languages 
and  the  vain  philosophy,  which  he  had  now  long 
been  labouring  to  forget.  It  had  pleased  God  to 
overturn  his  heart  by  means  of  some  who  preached 
the  word  with  power,  and  he  tlien  immediately  threw 
aside  all  learning,  except  what  tended  to  salvation. 
He  then  began  teaching  poor  children,  and  having 
been  invited  to  Halle,  was  banished  from  thence,  be- 
cause many  faults  were  found  both  with  his  beha- 
viour and  his  preaching:  he  had  removed  accord- 
ingly to  Herrnhut,  and  had  been  sent  from  thence  to 
Georgia,  to  regulate  the  Moravian  establishment. — 
Wesley  inquired  whither  he  was  to  go  next ;  his  an- 
swer was,  "  I  have  thoughts  of  going  io  Pennsylvania : 
but  what  God  will  do  with  me  I  know  not.    I  am 


102 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1736. 


blind.  I  am  a  child.  My  Father  knows,  and  1  am 
ready  to  go  wherever  he  calls." 

The  brothers  now  separated.  Charles  went  with 
Ingham  to  Frederica,  a  settlement  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Island  of  St.  Simons,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Ala- 
tamaha.*  John  and  Delamotte  took  up  their  lodging 
with  the  Germans  at  Savannah,  till  the  house  which 
was  intended  for  them  should  be  erected.  "  We  had 
now,"  says  Wesley,  "  an  opportunity,  day  by  day,  of 
observing  their  whole  behaviour  ;  for  we  were  in  one 
room  with  them  from  morning  to  night,  unless  for  the 
little  time  spent  in  walking.  They  were  always  em- 
ployed, always  cheerful  themselves,  and  in  good  hu- 
mour with  one  another.  They  had  put  away  all  an- 
ger, and  strife,  and  wrath,  and  bitterness,  and  cla- 
mour, and  evil  speaking.  They  walked  worthy  of 
the  vocation  wherewith  they  were  called,  and  adorn- 
ed the  gospel  of  our  Lord  in  all  things."  And  having 
been  piesent  at  a  consultation  concerning  the  affairs 
of  their  church,  in  which,  after  several  hours  spent  in 
conference  and  prayer,  they  proceeded  to  the  elec- 
tion and  ordination  of  a  bishop,  he  says,  that  the 
great  simplicity,  as  well  as  solemnity  of  the  whole, 
almost  made  him  forget  the  seventeen  hundred  years 
between,  and  imagine  himself  in  one  of  those  assem- 
blies where  form  and  state  were  not,  but  Paul  the 
tent-maker,  or  Peter  the  fisherman  presided, — yel 
with  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power." 
Among  the  things  of  which  he  was  chiefly  afraid  upon 
leaving  England,  one  had  been,  that  he  should  never 
again  have  so  many  faithful  friends  as  he  left  there. 
He  now  exclaimed,  "  But  who  knoweth  the  mercy 
and  power  of  God  !  From  ten  friends  I  am  awhile 
secluded,  and  he  hath  opened  me  a  door  into  the 
whole  Moravian  church," 

When  Dr.  Burton  proposed  Wesley  as  a  proper 
person  for  the  mission  to  Georgia,  he  was  influenced 

*  The  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucault  Liancourt  says,  that  the  three 
branches  of  the  river  Alatamaha,  with  the  island  of  St.  Simons, 
which  lies  facing  them,  form  the  best,  deepest,  and  safest  harbour 
on  the  American  coast,  below  the  Chesapeake. 


1736.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


103 


bj  an  opinion,  that  the  more  men  were  inured  to  a 
contempt  of  the  conveniences  and  comforts  of  life, 
to  serious  thoughts  and  bodily  austerities,  the  fitter 
they  were  for  such  an  undertaking.  He  told  him 
that  the  apostolical  manner  of  preaching  from  house 
to  house  might  be  effectual,  and  turn  many  to  righte- 
ousness. He  reminded  him  (as  if  seeing  upon  what 
rock  he  was  most  likely  to  be  wrecked)  of  how  great 
importance  it  was  to  distinguish  with  prudence,  "  be- 
tween what  is  essential  and  what  is  merely  circum- 
stantial to  Christianity ;  between  what  is  indispen- 
sable and  what  is  variable  ;  between  what  is  of  di- 
vine and  what  is  of  human  authority and  he  warn- 
ed him,  that  the  people  among  whom  he  was  going 
were  "  babes  in  the  progress  of  their  Christian  life, 
to  be  fed  with  milk  instead  of  strong  meat."  In  one 
point  Dr.  Burton  judged  rightly;  no  man  was  more 
desirous  of  courting  discomfort,  or  more  able  to  en- 
dure privations  and  fatigue;  in  all  other  points  ne- 
ver was  man  more  thoroughly  unfit  for  the  service 
which  he  had  undertaken.  It  seems  at  first  to  have 
been  supposed  that  he  would  be  engaged  more  as  a 
missionary  than  as  a  chaplain,  and  he  thought  him- 
self called  to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  But 
when  Tomochichi  came  to  welcome  the  governor  on 
his  arrival,  and  was  introduced  to  the  intended  teach- 
er, it  appeared  that  unforeseen  obstacles  had  arisen. 
"  I  am  glad  you  are  come,"  said  the  chief,  speaking 
through  the  female  interpreter  to  Wesley  ;  "  when  I 
was  in  England,  I  desired  that  some  would  speak  the 
Great  Word  to  me:  and  my  nation  then  desired  to 
hear  it.  But  now  we  are  all  in  confusion.  Yet  I  am 
glad  you  are  come.  I  will  go  up  and  speak  to  the 
wise  men  of  our  nation,  and  I  hope  they  will  hear. 
But  we  would  not  be  made  Christians  as  the  Span- 
iards make  Christians:  we  would  be  taught  before 
we  are  baptized."  Wesley  made  answer,  "There 
is  but  One,  He  that  sitteth  in  Heaven,  who  is  able  to 
teach  man  wisdom.  Though  we  are  come  so  far,  we 
know  not  whether  He  will  please  to  teach  you  by 
us.  or  no.   If  lie  teaches  you.  you  will  learn  wisdom : 


104 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[173^. 


but  we  can  do  nothing."  Had  he  been  master  of 
their  language,  like  those  excellent  men  Eliot  and 
Roger  Williams,  the  manner  of  his  speech  indicates 
that  he  would  have  addressed  them  successfully  in 
their  own  style:  but  he  never  seems  to  have  at- 
tempted the  arduous  task  of  acquiring  it;  and  when 
an  opportunity  offered  of  going  among  the  Choc- 
taws,  and  Mr.  Oglethorpe  objected  to  it,  because 
there  was  danger  of  being  intercepted  or  killed  by 
the  French ;  and  still  more  because  of  the  inexpe- 
diency of  leaving  Savannah  without  a  minister,  the 
two  brethren  discussed  these  objections  with  the 
Moravians,  and  acceded  to  their  opinion,  that  they 
ought  not  yet  to  go.  In  Georgia,  indeed,  as  the  Je- 
suits had  found  it  in  South  America,  the  vicinity  of  a 
white  settlement  would  have  proved  the  most  formi- 
dable obstacle  to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians. 
When  Tomo-chichi  was  urged  to  listen  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Christianity,  he  keenly  replied,  "  Why,  these 
are  Christians  at  Savannah !  these  are  Christians  at 
Frederica !"  Nor  was  it  without  good  apparent  rea- 
son that  the  poor  savage  exclaimed,  "  Christian  much 
drunk  !  Christian  beat  men  !  Christian  tell  lies  !  De- 
vil Christian  !  Me  no  Christian  !" 

Wesley,  however,  was  well  pleased  at  first  with 
his  situation :  the  place,  he  said,  was  pleasant  be- 
yond imagination :  he  was  even  persuaded  that  it 
was  exceeding  healthful,  and  he  wrote  to  his  mother, 
saying,  he  should  be  heartily  glad  if  any  poor  and 
religious  men  or  women  of  Epworth  or  Wroote  could 
come  over  to  him  ;  inviting  them  with  a  promise  of 
land  enough,  and  of  provisions  till  they  could  live 
upon  its  produce.  He  was  satisfied  also  with  his 
reception,  and  the  effect  which  he  produced.  The 
people  crowded  to  hear  him ;  and  when  he  beheld 
the  deep  attention  with  which  they  received  the 
word,  and  the  seriousness  that  afterwards  sate  upon 
all  their  faces,  he  could  scarce  refrain  from  antici- 
pating a  continuance  of  the  impression,  "  in  spite," 
he  says,  "  of  experience,  and  reason,  and  Scripture 
altogether."'    One  of  the  ladies  to  whom  he  was  in- 


1736.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


105 


troduced  on  his  first  landing,  assured  him  that  he 
would  see  as  well-drest  a  congregation  on  Sunday, 
as  most  which  he  had  seen  in  London.  "  I  did  so," 
he  says,  "and  soon  after  took  occasion  to  expound 
those  Scriptures  which  relate  to  dress,  and  to  press 
them  I'reely  upon  my  audience,  in  a  plain  and  close 
application.  All  the  time  that  I  afterwards  minister- 
ed at  Savannah,  I  saw  neither  gold  in  the  Church,  nor 
costly  apparel ;  but  the  congregation  in  general  was 
almost  constantly  clothed  in  plain  clean  linen  or 
woollen.  All,"  he  said,  "  was  smooth,  and  fair,  and 
promising :  many  seemed  to  be  awakened  :  all  were 
full  of  respect  and  commendation,"  He  taught  one 
school  and  Delamotte  another  :  some  of  Delamotte's 
boys,  who  wore  shoes  and  stockings,  thought  them- 
selves superior  to  the  poor  fellows  who  went  bare- 
foot ;  and  Wesley  proposed  to  change  schools  for  a 
while,  that  he  might  endeavour  to  cure  an  evil  which 
his  friend  found  himself  unable  to  remedy.  To  ef- 
fect this,  he  went  into  the  school  without  shoes  and 
stockings  himself.  The  boys  stared  at  him  and  at 
each  other;  he,  of  course,  took  no  notice,  but  kept 
them  to  their  work  :  it  was  soon  evident  that  the  un- 
shod party  felt  the  comfort  of  being  thus  countenan- 
ced, and  before  the  week  was  over,  pride  stood  no 
longer  in  the  way  of  discipline  or  of  economy,  and 
many  of  the  others  came  to  school  bare-legged  also. 

This  was  not  the  only  instance  in  which  he  gained 
a  signal  victory  over  the  vanities  of  the  world :  one 
of  the  better  order  of  colonists  gave  a  ball ;  the  pub- 
lic prayers  began  about  the  same  time ;  the  church 
was  full,  and  the  ball-room  so  empty,  that  the  enter- 
tainment could  not  go  forward.  He  perceived  that 
this  made  many  persons  angry,  and  he  did  not  per- 
ceive that  it  would  have  been  prudent  as  well  as  ea- 
sy not  to  have  excited  such  feelings  on  such  an  oc- 
casion. All  might  have  continued  well,  could  he  but 
have  remembered  the  advice  of  Dr.  Burton,  to  consi- 
der his  parishioners  as  babes  in  their  progress,  and 
therefore  to  leed  them  with  milk.  Instead  of  this, 
he  drenched  them  with  the  physic  of  an  intolerant  dis- 
voi„  i.  M 


106 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


cipline.  Following  the  rubric  in  opposition  to  the 
practice  of  the  English  church,  he  insisted  upon 
baptizing  children  by  immersion,  and  refused  to  bap- 
tize them  if  the  parents  would  not  consent  to  this 
rude  and  perilous  method.  Some  persons  he  would 
not  receive  as  sponsors,  because  they  were  not  com- 
municants ;  and  when  one  of  the  most  pious  men  in 
the  colony  earnestly  desired  to  be  admitted  to  the 
commjLinion,  because  he  was  a  dissenter  he  refused 
to  adlninister  it  to  him,  unless  he  would  submit  to  be 
re-baptized  ;  and  he  would  not  read  the  burial-ser- 
vice over  another  for  the  same  reason,  or  for  some 
one  founded  upon  the  same  principle.  He  was  ac- 
cused of  making  his  sermons  so  many  satires  upon 
particular  persons,  and  for  this  cause  his  auditors 
fell  off ;  for  though  one  might  have  been  very  well 
pleased  to  hear  the  others  preached  at,  no  person 
liked  the  chance  of  being  made  the  mark  himself. 
AU  the  quarrels  which  had  occurred  since  his  arri- 
val, were  occasioned,  it  was  affirmed,  by  his  inter- 
meddling conduct.  Besides,"  said  a  plain  speaker 
lo  him,  "  the  people  say  they  are  Protestants,  but 
as  for  you  they  cannot  tell  what  religion  you  are 
of;  they  never  heard  of  such  a  religion  before,  and 
they  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it." 

It  was  not  merely  by  bis  austere  opinions  and  as- 
cetic habits  that  Wesley  gave  occasion  to  this  no- 
tion. With  all  his  rigid  adherence  to  the  letter  of 
the  rubric,  his  disposition  for  departing  from  the 
practices  of  the  church,  and  establishing  a  discipline 
of  his  own,  was  now  beginning  to  declare  itself.  He 
divided  the  public  prayers,  following,  in  this  respect, 
the  original  appointment  of  the  church,  which,  he 
said,  was  still  observed  in  a  few  places  in  England : 
so  he  performed  the  morning  service  at  five,  and  re- 
Bcrved  the  communion  office,  with  the  sermon,  for  a 
separate  service  at  eleven  :  the  evening  service  was 
at  three.  He  visited  his  parishioners  from  house  to 
house  in  order,  setting  apart  for  this  purpose  the 
hours  between  twelve  and  three,  when  they  could 
not  work  because  of  the  heat,   And  he  agreed  with 


1736.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMElllCA. 


107 


his  companions  to  form,  if  they  could,  the  more  seri- 
ous parishioners  into  a  little  society,  who  sho^ll  as- 
semhle  once  or  twice  a  week  for  the  purpos<rof  im- 
proving, instructing,  and  exhorting  each  other  :  from 
these  again  a  smaller  number  was  to  be  selected  for 
a  more  intimate  intercommunion,  which  might  be 
forwarded  partly  by  the  minister's  conversing  singly 
with  each,  and  partly  by  inviting  them  altogether  to 
the  minister's  house  on  Sunday  afternoons.  Mr. 
Oglethorpe  so  far  accorded  with  his  views  of  reform- 
ation, as  to  give  orders  that  no  person  should  profane 
the  Sabbath  by  fishing  or  fowling  upon  that  day;  but 
the  governor,  who  had  cares  enough  to  disquiet  him, 
arising  from  the  precarious  state  of  the  colony,  was 
teazed  and  soured  by  the  complaints  which  were 
now  perpetually  brought  against  the  two  brothers, 
and  soon  began  to  wish  that  he  had  brought  out  Ivith 
him  men  of  more  practicable  tempers. 

The  best  people  are  not  to  be  looked  for  in  new 
colonies; — formed  as  such  establishments  hitherto 
have  been  in  modern  times,  they  usually  consist  of 
adventurers,  who  have  either  no  fortune  to  lose,  or 
no  character, — the  most  daring,  or  the  most  despe- 
rate members  of  society.  Charles  W  esley  attempted 
tile  doubly  difficult  task  of  reforming  some  of  the 
lady  colonists,  and  reconciling  their  petty  jealousies 
and  hatreds  of  each  other;  in  which  he  succeeded 
no  further  than  just  to  make  them  cordially  agree  in 
hating  him,  and  caballing  to  get  rid  of  him  in  any 
way.  He  had  not  been  six  days  at  Frederica  be- 
fore he  was  involved  in  so  many  disputes  and  dis- 
agreeable circumstances,  that  he  declared  he  would 
not  spend  six  days  more  in  the  same  manner  for  all 
Georgia, — but  it  was  neither  in  his  power  to  change 
his  situation  so  soon,  nor  to  improve  it.  As  he  was 
at  prayers  in  a  myrtle  grove,  a  gun  was  fired  from 
the  other  side  of  the  bushes,  and  the  ball  passed 
close  by  him:  he  believed  it  was  aimed  at  him,  yet 
if  there  had  really  been  a  design  against  his  life,  they 
who  made  the  attempt  would  not  so  easily  have  given 
up  their  purpose.    Oglethorpe  was  at  this  time  gon** 


108 


WESLEV   IN  AMERICA. 


[1736 


inland  with  the  Indians,  to  see  the  limits  which  they 
claiined.  During  his  absence  the  doctor  chose  to 
shoorouring  service-time  on  the  Sunday,  in  the  midst 
of  th#  sermon,  and  so  near  the  church,  that  the  con- 
stable thought  it  his  duty  to  go  out  and  deliver  hira 
to  the  commanding  officer,  who  put  him  under  arrest 
in  the  guard-room.  This  was  of  course  imputed  to 
the  chaplain  ;  the  doctor's  wife  poured  out  a  torrent 
of  execrations  against  him  in  the  street ;  and  to 
heighten  the  indignation  which  was  excited,  the 
doctor  himself  refused  to  go  out  to  any  patient, 
though  his  services  were  w  anted  by  a  woman  at  the 
time.  When  Oglethorpe  returned,  he  found  Frede- 
rica  in  an  uproar,  and  he  was  informed  that  a  plan 
w  as  concerted  among  the  settlers  for  abandoning  the 
colony,  and  that  Charles  Wesley  was  the  prime 
mover  of  the  mischief  The  accusation  came  in  too 
authentic  a  manner  to  be  disregarded,  for  it  Avas 
made  by  the  spokesman  of  the  discontented,  who  in 
their  name  demanded  leave  to  depart.  Oglethorpe 
accordingly  sent  for  him,  and  charged  him  with  mu- 
tiny and  sedition,  yet  treated  him  with  some  remains 
of  kindness,  and  said,  that  he  should  not  scruple 
shooting  half  a-dozen  of  those  fellows  at  once,  but 
that  from  regard  to  him  he  had  spoken  to  him  first. 
A  cross-examination.  skilluUy  managed,  made  the 
accuser  himself  admit  that  Charles  Wesley  had  no 
otherwise  excited  the  mutineers  to  this  resolution 
than  by  forcing  them  to  prayers.  Still  an  uncom- 
fortable feeling  remained  in  Oglethorpe's  breast, 
which  no  explanation  could  remove : — he  had  ex- 
pected that  men  of  such  talents,  such  learning,  such 
piety,  and  such  zeal  as  the  Wesley s,  would  have 
contributed  essentially  to  the  good  order  of  the  colo- 
ny: and  he  complained  that  instead  of  love,  meek- 
ness, and  true  religion  among  the  people,  there  was 
nothing  but  mere  formal  prayers :  but  of  the  form, 
he  was  soon  convinced,  there  was  as  little  as  of  the 
reality,  seldom  more  than  half-a-dozen  attending  at 
the  pubhc  service.  Still  he  thought  Charles  had 
raised  these  disorders, — as  in  truth  he  had  been  the 


1736.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


109 


occasion  of  them  by  his  injudicious  zeal:  Charles 
asked  whether  it  was  his  wish  that  he  should  alto- 
gether forbear  from  conversing  with  the  parishioners. 
To  this  the  governor  would  give  no  answer;  but  he 
spoke  of  the  difficulties  of  his  own  situation ;  "  Every 
thing  was  in  confusion,"  he  said  :  "  it  was  much 
easier  to  govern  a  thousand  persons  than  threescore  ; 
and  he  durst  not  leave  them  before  they  were  set- 
tled." 

This  interview  left  neither  party  in  an  enviable 
state  of  mind.  Charles  wrote  to  his  brother,  the  let- 
ter was  intercepted,  and  the  scoundrel  who  opened 
it  proclaimed  its  contents :  instead  of  writing  again, 
he  resolved  to  send  Ingham  to  him.  There  was  one 
person  of  better  character  among  these  profligate 
settlers,  who  burst  into  tears  when  he  took  leave  of 
Ingham,  and  said,  "  One  good  man  is  leaving  us  al- 
ready ;  I  foresee  nothing  but  desolation.  Must  my 
poor  children  be  brought  up  like  these  savages?'" 
And  Charles  himself,  feeling  the  utter  loneliness  in 
which  he  was  left,  though  but  by  a  temporary  sepa- 
ration, exclaims  in  his  journal,  "•  O  happy,  happy 
friend  !  abiit^  erupit,  evasit ;  but  wo  is  me  that  I  am 
still  constrained  to  dwell  in  Meshech  !  I  languished,'" 
he  says,  *'  to  bear  him  company,  followed  him  with 
my  eye  till  out  of  sight,  and  then  sunk  into  deeper 
dejection  of  spirit  than  I  had  known  before."  Mr, 
Oglethorpe  now  began  to  manifest  his  displeasure  in 
a  manner  not  more  distressing  to  its  object  than  dis- 
honourable to  himself  Charles  Wesley,  expecting 
to  live  with  him  as  his  secretary,  had  taken  out  with 
him  from  England  no  furniture  of  any  kind  :  he  was 
now  informed  that  Mr.  Oglethorpe  had  given  orders 
that  no  one  should  use  his  things ;  and  upon  observ- 
ing that  he  supposed  the  order  did  not  extend  to  him, 
was  told  by  the  servant  that  he  was  particularly  in- 
cluded by  name.  "  Thanks  be  to  God,"  said  he,  "  it 
is  not  yet  made  capital  to  give  me  a  morsel  of  bread. 
I  begin  now,"  he  says  in  his  journal,  to  be  abused 
and  slighted  into  an  opinion  of  my  own  considerable- 
ncss,    I  could  not  be  more  trarnpled  Uj)on  were  I 

i 


no 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1736. 


a  fallen  minister  of  state.  The  people  have  found 
out  that  I  am  in  disgrace ;  my  few  well-wishers  are 
afraid  to  speak  to  me :  some  have  turned  out  of  the 
way  to  avoid  me  ;  others  have  desired  that  I  would 
not  take  it  ill  if  they  seemed  not  to  know  me  when 
we  should  meet.  The  servant  that  used  to  wash  my 
linen  sent  it  back  unwashed.  It  was  great  cause  of 
triumph  that  I  was  forbidden  the  use  of  Mr.  Ogle- 
thorpe's things,  which  in  effect  debarred  me  of  most 
of  the  conveniences,  if  not  the  necessaries  of  life.  I 
sometimes  pitied  them,  and  sometimes  diverted  my- 
self with  the  odd  expressions  of  their  contempt ;  but 
I  found  the  benefit  of  having  undergone  a  much  lower 
degree  of  obloquy  at  Oxford." 

Hitherto  he  had  lain  on  the  ground  in  the  corner 
of  a  hut :  some  boards  were  now  to  be  distributed 
from  the  public  stores,  and  he  applied  for  some  to 
use  as  a  bedstead,  but  they  were  given  to  every  per- 
son except  himself  Outward  hardships  and  inward 
conflicts,  above  all,  the  bitterness  of  reproach  from 
Mr.  Oglethorpe,  who  was  the  only  man  he  wished  to 
please,  wore  him  out  at  last,  and  he  was  forced  to  lie 
down  by  what  he  called  a  friendly  fever.  "  My  sick- 
ness," he  says,  "  1  knew  could  not  be  of  long  continu- 
ance, as  1  was  in  want  of  every  help  and  conven- 
ience:  it  must  either  soon  leave  me,  or  release  me 
from  further  sufferings."  Some  charitable  persons 
brought  him  gruel,  which  produced  a  salutary  per- 
spiration, and  being  a  little  relieved,  the  next  day  he 
was  able  to  bury  a  poor  man,  who  had  been  killed 
by  the  bursting  of  a  cannon,  but  in  a  state  of  such 
weakness,  that  he  was  led  out  to  perform  the  funeral 
service,  and  envied  the  man  his  quiet  grave.  On  the 
first  day  of  his  illness  he  got  the  old  bedstead  to  lie 
upon,  on  which  the  wounded  man  had  expired ;  he 
possessed  it  only  one  night;  Oglethorpe  was  brutal 
enough  to  give  it  away  from  under  him,  and  refused 
to  spare  one  of  the  carpenters  to  mend  him  up  an- 
other. 

John,  meantime,  being  relieved  by  Ingham,  at  Sa- 
vannah, embarked  in  a  sort  of  flat-bottomed  barge 


1736.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


Ill 


called  a  pcUiagaw,  for  Frederica.  At  night  he  wrapt 
himself  from  head  to  foot  in  a  large  cloak  to  keep  off' 
the  sand  flies  (for  they  were  anchored  near  an  island), 
and  lay  down  on  the  quarter-deck.   About  midnight 
he  was  greatly  astonished  by  finding  himself  under 
water,  he  had  rolled  overboard,  and  in  so  sound  a 
sleep  that  he  did  not  wake  while  falling;  his  pre- 
sence of  mind  which  never  forsook  him,  served  him 
here  in  good  stead,  and  swimming  round  to  the  other 
side  of  the  vessel  where  there  was  a  boat  tied,  he 
climbed  up  by  the  rope.    Contrary  winds  delayed 
him  six  days  on  the  passage.    Charles  began  to  re- 
cover from  the  moment  of  his  brother's  arrival.  In 
his  natural  indignation  at  the  treatment  which  he  re- 
ceived, he  had  resolved  rather  to  perish  for  want  of 
necessaries,  than  submit  to  ask  for  them ;  by  John's 
advice,  however,  he  departed  from  this  resolution, 
and  the  way  to  reconciliation  was  thus  opened. — 
Wesley  remained  about  a  week  at  Frederica.  A 
few  days  after  his  departure,  Mr.  Oglethorpe  sent  for 
Charles,  and  a  remarkable  scene  ensued.    The  go- 
vernor began  by  saying  he  had  taken  some  pains  to 
satisfy  his  brother,  but  in  vain.    "  It  matters  not," 
-aid  he.    "  I  am  now  going  to  death  :  you  will  see 
nie  no  more.    Take  this  ring,  and  carry  it  to  Mr.  V. : 
;t  there  be  a  friend  to  be  depended  on,  he  is  one. — 
His  interest  is  next  to  Sir  Robert's :  whatever  you 
ask  w  ithin  his  power,  he  will  do  for  you.  your  brother 
and  family.    1  have  expected  death  for  some  days. 
These  letters  show  that  the  Spaniards  have  long 
been  seducing  our  allies,  and  intend  to  cut  us  ofT at  a 
blow.    I  fall  by  my  friends  on  whom  I  depended  to 
send  their  promised  succours.    But  death  is  notiiing 
to  me :  he  will  pursue  all  my  designs,  and  to  him  I 
recommend  them  and  you."    He  then  gave  him  a 
diamond  ring.    Charles  Wesley,  who  had  little  ex- 
pected such  an  address,  took  it,  and  replied,  "If  I 
am  speaking  to  you  for  the  last  time,  hear  what  you 
will  quickly  know  to  be  a  truth,  as  soon  as  you  arc 
entered  on  a  separate  state.    This  ring  I  shall  never 
make  use  of  for  myself    I  have  no  worldly  hopes :  I 


112 


WESLEY   IN  AMERICA. 


[1736. 


have  renounced  the  world  :  life  is  bitterness  to  me : 
I  came  hither  to  lay  it  down.  You  have  been  deceiv- 
ed as  well  as  I.  I  protest  my  innocence  of  the  crimes 
[  am  charged  with,  and  think  myself  now  at  liberty 
to  tell  you  what  I  thought  never  to  have  uttered." — 
The  explanation  into  which  he  then  entered,  so  sa- 
tisfied Oglethorpe,  that  his  feelings  were  entirely 
changed  :  all  his  old  love  and  confidence  returned  ; 
and  he  embraced  Charles  and  kissed  him  with  the 
most  cordial  affection.  They  went  together  to  the 
boat,  where  he  waited  some  minutes  for  his  sword  : 
a  mourning  sword  was  twice  brought  him,  which 
he  twice  refused  to  take;  at  last  they  brought  his 
own  :  it  had  been  his  father's.  "  With  this  sword," 
said  he,  "  I  was  never  yet  unsuccessful."  When  the 
boat  pushed  off,  Charles  Wesley  ran  along  the  shore 
to  see  his  last  of  him.  Oglethorpe  seeing  him  and 
(wo  other  persons  run  after  him,  stopt  the  boat,  and 
asked  if  they  wanted  any  thing.  One  of  them,  the 
officer,  whom  he  had  left  with  the  command,  desired 
his  lait  orders :  Charles  then  said,  God  is  with 
you  :  go  forth  Christo  dncc  ct  auspice  Christo.''^  Ogle- 
thorpe replied,  "  You  have  some  verses  of  mine  : 
you  there  see  my  thoughts  of  success."  The  boat 
then  moved  off,  and  Charles  remained  praying  that 
God  would  save  him  from  death,  and  wash  away  all 
his  sins. 

On  the  fifth  day,  Oglethorpe  returned  in- safety. 
An  enemy's  squadron  of  three  large  ships,  and  four 
smaller,  had  been  for  three  weeks  endeavouring  to 
make  a  descent,  but  the  wind  continued  against  them, 
till  they  could  wait  no  longer.  Charles  returned 
him  the  ring.  "When  I  gave  it  you,"  said  the  go- 
vernor, "  I  never  expected  to  see  you  again,  but  I 
thouglit  it  would  be  of  service  to  your  brother  and 
you.  I  had  many  omens  of  my  death,  but  God  has 
been  pleased  to  preserve  a  life  which  was  never  va- 
luable to  me,  and  yet  in  the  continuance  of  it,  1  thank 
God,  I  can  rejoice."  He  then  talked  of  the  strange- 
ness of  his  deliverance,  when  betrayed  as  it  appear- 
ed, on  all  sides,  and  without  human  support ;  and  he 


1737.] 


WESLEY   IN  AMERICA. 


113 


condemned  himself  for  his  late  conduct,  imputing  it, 
however,  to  want  of  time  for  consideration,  and  the 
state  of  his  mind.  "  1  longed,  Sir,"  said  Charles,  "  to 
-co  you  once  more,  that  I  might  tell  you  some  things 
liefore  we  finally  parted  ;  but  then  I  considered,  that 
if  you  died,  you  would  know  them  all  in  a  moment." 
Oglethorpe  replied,  "  I  know  not  whether  separate 
spirits  regard  our  Httle  concerns;  if  they  do,  it  is 
as  men  regard  the  follies  of  their  childhood,  or  I 
my  late  passionateness."  About  three  months  after- 
wards, Mr.  Oglethorpe  sent  him  to  England  with  dis- 
patches, and  followed  him  thither  in  the  autumn  of  the 
same  year. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  ensuing  year,  it  was  deter- 
mined that  Ingham  should  go  to  England  also,  and  en- 
deavour to  bring  over  some  of  their  friends  to  assist 
them.  When  Wesley  had  been  twelve  months  in 
Georgia,  he  sent  to  the  trustees  an  account  of  the  ex- 
penses for  that  time,  for  himself  and  Delamotte, 
which,  deducting  building  and  journeys,  amounted 
to  only  £44.  4s.  4d.  A  salary  of  £50  was  allowed  for 
his  maintenance,  which  he  had  resolved  not  to  ac- 
cf^pt,  thinking  his  fellowship  sutRcient  for  him;  but 
his  brother  Samuel  expostulated  with  him  upon  the 
injustice  of  such  conduct,  both  to  himself  and  to 
those  who  should  come  after  him.  These  arguments 
were  too  reasonable  to  be  resisted,  especially  when 
Wesley  looked  to  an  event  which  would  have  de- 
prived him  of  his  income  from  college. 

Sophia  Causton,  the  niece  of  the  chief  magistrate 
at  Savannah,  had  fixed  her  eyes  upon  Wesley;  and 
it  is  said  that  Mr.  Oglethorpe  wjshed  to  bring  about 
a  marriage  between  them,  thinking  it  the  likeliest 
means  of  reclaiming  him  from  those  eccentricities 
which  stood  in  the  way  of  his  usefulness.  She  was  a 
woman  of  tine  person,  polished  manners,  and  cultivat- 
ed mind,  and  was  easily  led  to  bear  her  part  in  a  de- 
sign which  was  to  cure  an  excellent  man  of  his  extra- 
A  agancies,  and  give  her  a  good  husband.  Accord- 
ingly she  was  introduced  to  him  as  one  suffering  un- 
der a  wounded  spirit,  and  inquiring  after  the  way  of 


lU 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1737. 


eternal  life.  Nor  was  it  enough  to  place  herself 
thus  in  a  more  particular  manner  under  his  spiritual 
guidance;  she  became  his  pupil  also,  like  another 
Heloisa.  She  dressed  always  in  white,  and  with  the 
utmost  simplicity  to  please  his  taste;  and  when  in 
consequence  of  his  having  taken  meat  and  wine,  one 
day  at  the  General's  express  desire,  as  a  proof  that  he 
did  not  think  the  use  of  these  things  unlawful,  he  was 
seized  with  fever,  and  confined  to  his  bed,  she  at- 
tended him  night  and  day  with  incessant  and  sincere 
solicitude.  Wesley's  manner  of  life  had  hitherto  es- 
tranged him  from  women,  and  he  felt  these  attentions 
as  it  was  designed  he  should  feel  them.  But  she  had 
a  difficult  part  to  act,  and  might  well  doubt  whether 
with  all  his  virtues  it  was  Hkely  (hat  such  a  husband 
would  make  her  happy.  While  she  M  as  at  Frederi- 
ca,  he  wrote  to  his  brother  Charles,  concerning  her 
in  language  which  strongly  marks  his  anxiety  ;  the  let- 
ter was  partly  written  in  Greek,  that  it  might  not  be 
exposed  to  impertinent  curiosity.  It  was  to  this  pur- 
port : — "  I  conjure  you  spare  no  time,  no  address  or 
pains  to  learn  the  true  cause  of  my  friend's  former 
grief.  I  much  doubt  you  are  in  the  right.  God  for- 
bid that  she  should  again  err  thus.  Watch  over, 
guard  her  as  much  as  you  possibly  can.  Write  to  me, 
how  it  behooves  me  to  write  to  her."  Here  not  being 
under  Wesley's  eye,  her  life  was  not  regulated  with 
the  same  reference  to  his  opinion  ;  and  when  he 
went  to  Frederica,  some  weeks  after  his  brother's  de- 
parture, "  he  found  her,"  he  says,  "  scarce  the  sha- 
dow of  what  she  was,  when  he  had  left  her."  He 
endeavoured  to  convince  her  of  this  ;  the  kind  of  re- 
monstrance excited  some  pain  and  some  pride  ;  and 
in  her  resentment  she  told  him  she  would  return  to 
England  immediately.  "  I  was  at  first  litte  surpris- 
ed," says  he,  *'but  I  soon  recollected  my  spirits,  and 
remembered  my  calling*. 

 non  me,  qui  Cffitera  vincet 

Impetus  ;  at  rapido  contrarius  evehar  orbi." 


*  It  was  perhaps  on  this  occasion,  that  he  composed  these  lin,ess 


1737.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


115 


He  had  recourse  to  prayer,  however,  and  to  the  ex- 
hortations of  Ephrem  Syrus,  whom  he  thought  at  this 
lime  the  most  awakening  writer  of  all  the  ancients ; 
and  after  several  fruitless  attempts,  he  at  length  suc- 
ceeded in  dissuading  her  from  what  he  called  the  fa- 
tal resolution  of  going  to  England.  She  went  back 
with  him  to  Savannah,  and  in  a  short  time  he  believ- 
ed she  had  recovered  the  ground  which  she  had  lost. 
This  was  the  close  of  October.  "  In  the  beginning 
of  December,"  he  writes,  "I  advised  Miss  Sophy  to 
sup  earlier,  and  not  immediately  before  she  went  to 
bed.  She  did  so,  and  on  this  little  circumstance, 
what  an  inconceivable  train  of  consequences  depend  ! 
not  only  all  the  colour  of  remaining  life  for  her,  but 
perhaps  my  happiness  too." 

Notwithstanding  this  docility,  Delamotte  suspect- 
ed that  both  her  obedience  and  her  devotion  were 
merely  assumed  for  the  occasion  ;  he  therefore  told 
Wesley  what  he  thought  of  her  artfulness  and  his 
simplicity,  and  plairdy  asked  him  if  it  was  his  inten- 
tion to  marry  her.  That  he  had  formed  this  inten- 
tion in  his  heart  is  beyond  a  doubt,  but  he  had  not 
declared  it ;  the  question  embarrassed  him,  and  he 
made  no  decisive  answer ;  but  beitjg  staggered  by 
what  Delamotte  had  said,  he  called  upon  the  Mo- 
ravian Bishop.  The  Bishop  replied  thus  : — "  Mar- 
riage is  not  unlawful.  Whether  it  is  expedient  for 
you  at  this  time,  and  whether  this  lady  is  a  proper 
wife  for  you,  ought  to  be  maturely  considered."  The 
more  he  considered  the  more  he  was  perplexed,  so 
he  propounded  the  matter  to  the  elders  of  the  Mo- 
ravian Church.  Wlien  he  went  to  learn  their  deter- 
mination, he  found  Delamotte  sitting  with  the  elders 
in  full  conclave  assembled ;  and  upon  his  proposing 
the  question,  the  Bishop  replied  :  "  We  have  consi- 


which,  as  he  tells  us  in  his  "  Plain  Account  of  Christian  Perfoc 
tion,"  were  written  at  Savannah  in  the  year  1736  : 
is  there  a  thing  heneath  the  sun 

That  strives  with  thee  my  heart  to  share 
Ah  tear  it  thence,  and  reign  alone, 
Thf.  Lord  of  every  rnoliou  theru  I 


116 


WESLEV   IN  AMERICA. 


[1737. 


dered  your  case  ;  will  you  abide  by  our  decision  ?" 
He  made  answer  that  he  would.  Then,  said  the 
Bishop,  we  advise  you  to  proceed  no  further  in  this 
business.  Upon  this  Wesley  replied,  "  The  will  of 
the  Lord  be  done,"  and  from  that  time  in  perfect 
obedience  to  their  decision,  it  is  affirmed  that  he 
carefully  avoided  the  lady's  company,  though  he 
perceived  what  pain  this  change  in  his  conduct  gave 
her.  Had  the  lady  herself  known  that  a  consulta- 
tion of  Moravian  elders  had  been  held  upon  her  case, 
whatever  pain  and  whatever  love  she  might  have 
felt,  would  soon  have  given  place  to  resentment. 

Docile,  however,  as  he  had  shown  himself  to  his 
spiritual  directors,  his  private  diary  shows  what  pain 
he  felt  in  their  decision,  and  that  even  when  he 
thought  it  best  for  his  salvation  that  the  match  should 
be  broken  off^  he  had  not  resolution  to  break  it  off 
himself,  so  that  the  point  on  his  part  was  still  unde- 
cided, when  she  put  an  end  to  his  struggles  by  taking 
another  husband.  Passages  in  his  private  journal 
make  this  beyond  a  doubt:  "Feb.  .5.  1737.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable  dispensations  of  Providence 
towards  me  which  I  have  yet  known  began  to  show 
itself  this  day.  For  many  days  after  I  could  not  at 
all  judge  which  way  the  scale  would  turn  :  nor  was  it 
fully  determined  till  March  4,  on  which  God  com- 
manded me  to  pull  out  my  right  eye ;  and  by  his 
grace  I  determined  so  to  do ;  but  being  slack  in  the 
execution,  on  Saturday,  March  12,  God  being  very 
merciful  to  me,  my  friend  performed  what  I  could  not. 
I  have  often  thought  one  of  the  most  difficult  com- 
mands that  ever  was  given,  was  tliat  given  to  Ezekiel 
concerning  his  wife.  But  the  difficulty  of  obeying 
such  a  direction  appeared  to  me  now  more  than  ever 
before,  when  considering  the  character  I  bore,  I 
could  not  but  perceive  that  the  word  of  the  Lord 
was  come  to  me  likewise,  saying,  '  .Son  of  man,  be- 
hold I  take  away  from  thee  the  desire  of  thine  eyes 
with  a  stroke,  yet  neither  shalt  thou  mourn  nor  weep, 
neither  shall  thy  tears  run  down.'  "  The  fourth  of 
March  appears  to  have  been  the  day  on  which  the 


i737.]  WESLEY  IN  AMERICA.  1  l7 

consultation  was  held :  "  From  the  direction  1  re- 
ceived from  God  this  day,"  he  says,  "  touching  an 
afTair  of  the  last  importance,  I  cannot  but  observe, 
as  I  have  done  many  times  before,  the  entire  mistake 
of  many  good  men,  who  assert  that  God  will  not 
answer  your  prayer  unless  your  heart  be  wholly  re- 
signed to  his  will.  My  heart  was  not  wholly  resigned 
to  his  will ;  therefore,  I  durst  not  depend  on  my  own 
judgment;  and  for  this  very  reaso"  T  cried  to  him 
the  more  earnestly  to  supply  what  >vas  wanting  in 
me.  And  I  know,  and  am  assured,  that  he  heard  my 
voice,  and  did  send  forth  his  light  and  his  truth." 
The  twelfth  of  March  was  the  day  on  which  Sophia 
married  Mr.  Williamson,  "  beik)g,"  says  Wesley, 
"  the  day  which  completed  the  year  from  my  first 
speaking  to  her.  What  thou  doest,  O  God,  I  know 
not  now,  but  I  shall  know  hereafter."* 

*  Upon  this  part  of  Wesley's  private  history  Dr.  Whitehead 
says,  "  Mr.  Wesley  has  observed  a  silence  in  his  printed  journal 
on  some  circumstances  of  this  affair,  which  has  induced  many  per- 
sons to  suspect  the  propriety  of  his  conduct  in  this  business.  He 
has,  however,  been  more  open  in  his  private  journal,  which  was 
written  at  the  time  as  the  circumstances  arose.  And  as  this  pri- 
vate journal,  and  his  other  papers,  lay  open  to  the  inspection  of 
his  friends  for  several  years,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  it  would 
have  been  more  to  the  reputation  of  themselves  and  Mr.  Wesley 
to  have  openly  avowed  the  fact,  that  he  did  intend  to  marry  Miss 
Causton,  and  was  not  a  little  peiined  when  she  broke  off  the  con- 
nexion with  him.  From  a  careful  perusal  of  his  private  journal 
this  appears  to  me  to  have  been  the  case.  But,  whatever  may 
be  said  of  his  weakness,  (and  who  is  not  weak  in  something  or 
other  ?)  or  of  his  prudence  in  this  affair,  nothing  can  be  laid  to  his 
charge  in  point  of  criminality."  Wesley  would  naturally  say  as 
little  as  possible  upon  this  subject  in  his  printed  journal  ;  and  in 
private,  whether  he  remembered  the  lady  with  any  degree  ol 
tenderness  or  not,  he  must  have  been  conscious  of  much  eccen- 
tricity during  the  course  of  the  attachment,  and  great  indiscretion 
after  it  was  broken  off.  But  it  is  remarkable  that  his  private 
journal  should  only  hint  at  the  consultation  of  Moravians,  and  so 
remotely,  that  unless  the  fact  had  elsewhe -a  been  mentioned,  it 
could  never  have  been  inferred.  Dr.  Coke  tMi.i  Mr.  Moore  say, 
*'  There  is  a  silence  observed  in  Mr.  Wesley  's  journal  in  respect 
to  some  parts  of  this  event,  which  it  is  possible  has  caused  even 
friendly  readers  to  hesitate  concerning  the  propriety  of  his  con- 
duct, or  at  least  concerning  that  propriety  which  they  might  be  led 
to  expect  from  so  great  a  charactei-.    But  what  has  hitherto  been 


118 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1737. 


His  first  consolation  was  derived  from  reflecting 
upon  the  part  which  he  believed  himself  called  to 

defective,  we  are  happy  in  being  able  to  supply.  The  actors  in 
this  scene,  are  now,  we  may  hope,  in  a  better  world  ;  the  last  of 
them  died  but  a  few  years  siince.  We  are  not,  therefore,  bound, 
as  Mr.  Wesley  thought  himself  when  he  published  the  account,  to 
let  a  veil  be  thrown  over  this  transaction  :  rather  we  are  bound  to 
let  his  innocency  appear  as  the  light,  and  his  just  dealing  as  the  noon- 
day.'''' They  add  some  circumstances  which,  to  say  the  least,  are 
not  very  probable.  A  young  lady  who  had  married  after  her  ar- 
rival in  Georgia,  was  troubled  in  conscience,  and  told  Wesley, 
under  a  promise  of  seeresy,  the  plot  which  General  Oglethorpe 
had  laid  to  cure  him  of  his  enthusiasm,  adding  these  woi'ds  :  "  Sir, 
I  had  no  rest  till  I  resolved  to  tell  you  the  whole  affair.  I  have 
myself  been  urged  to  that  behaviour  towards  you,  which  I  am  now 
ashamed  to  mention.  Both  Miss  Sophia  and  myself  were  ordered, 
if  we  could  but  succeed,  even  to  deny  you  nothing.''^  These  bio- 
graphers say  further,  "  when  General  Oglethorpe  perceived  by 
Wesley's  altered  manner,  and  some  incautious  expressions,  that 
his  scheme  had  been  discovered,  he  gave  him  a  hint  that  there 
were  Indians  who  would  shoot  any  man  in  the  colony  for  a  bottle, 
of  rum,  and  actually  sent  an  Indian  to  intimidate  if  not  to  murder 
him. 

Surely  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  Wesley  would  have  persisted 
in  his  wish,  if  not  in  his  purpose,  of  marrying  Sophia  Causton,  after 
he  was  fully  assured  that  she  had  designed  to  entrap  him  by  such 
means.  Yet  it  is  certain  that  he  persevered  in  that  mind  three 
months  after  Mr.  Oglethorpe's  departure,  and  that  the  connexion 
was  not  broken  off  by  him  at  last.  Dr.  Whitehead,  who  has 
printed  from  the  private  journal  Wesley's  own  remarks,  written 
as  the  events  occurred,  censures  with  great  justice  the  official 
biographers,  saying,  "  I  cannot  help  thinking  it  would  have  been 
more  to  the  reputation  of  themselves  and  Mr.  Wesley,  to  have 
openly  avowed  the  fact  that  he  did  intend  to  marry  Miss  Causton, 
and  was  not  a  little  pained  when  she  broke  off  the  connexion  with 
him."  With  regard  to  the  young  lady's  curious  confession,  Mr. 
Wesley  seems  not  to  have  asked  himself  the  question  whether  it 
were  more  likely  that  General  Oglethorpe  would  give  such  in- 
structions to  two  young  women  under  his  protection,  or  that  one 
of  those  women  should  have  invented  the  story  for  purposes  of 
mischief,  at  a  time  when  it  was  wished  to  drive  the  obnoxious 
minister  out  of  the  colony.  Mr.  Moore  believes  that  Mr.  Wes- 
ley never  related  these  circumstances  to  any  person  but  himself ; 
Dr.  Coke  was  wholly  ignorant  of  them  ;  and  he  supposes  that  Mr. 
Wesley  forbore  to  publish  the  whole  account,  chiefly  through  ten- 
derness to  GeTieral  Oglethorpe.  There  was  indeed  sufficient 
reason  for  not  bringing  forward  a  charge  at  once  so  vague  and  so 
atrocious  as  that  respecting  the  Indian  ;  for  though  Messrs.  Coke 
and  Moore  incline  to  think  the  man  was  sent  only  to  intimidate, 
the  story  is  not  related  so  as  to  leave  that  impression  upon  the 
reader. 


1737.] 


WESLEY  m  AMERICA. 


119 


perform.  Walking  to  one  of  the  newly  settled 
lots,  he  says,  "  I  plainly  felt  that  had  God  given 
me  such  a  retirement  with  the  companion  1  desired, 
I  should  have  forgotten  the  work  for  which  I  was 
born,  and  have  set  up  my  rest  in  this  world."  It 
was  not  long,  however,  before  he  bf:gan  to  find 
cause  for  consolation  from  the  lady's  character, 
which  took  its  natural  course,  when  she  no  longer 
acted  with  the  view  of  pleasing  him.  "  God,"  he 
says,  has  shown  me  yet  more  of  the  greatness  of 
my  deliverance,  by  opening  to  me  a  new  and 
unexpected  scene  of  Miss  Sophy's  dissimulation. — 
O  never  give  me  over  to  ray  own  heart's  desires,  nor 
let  me  follow  my  own  imaginations !"  Some  time 
afterwards,  immediately  after  the  communion,  he 
mentioned  to  her  some  things  in  her  conduct  which 
he  thought  reprehensible  ;  no  man  but  Wesley  would 
have  done  so,  after  what  had  passed  between  them, 
but  at  this  time  his  austere  notions  led  him  wrong  in 
every  thing.  The  reproof  irritated  her,  as  it  was 
likely  to  do,  and  she  replied  angrily,  that  she  did  not 
expect  such  usage  from  him,  and  turned  abruptly 
away.  At  this  lime  he  was  still  upon  friendly  terms 
with  her  uncle,  Mr.  Causton,  the  chief  magistrate  in 
the  colony,  and  one  who  had  hitherto  been  among 
his  best  friends :  he  had  attended  him  lately  during 
a  slow  illness,  with  a  kindness  of  which  that  gentle- 
man appeared  fully  sensible,  and  Mrs.  Causton  upon 
hearing  what  had  now  passed  with  her  niece,  endea- 
voured to  excuse  her  to  Wesley,  expressed  her  sor- 
row for  the  affair,  and  desired  him  to  tell  her  in  wri- 
ting what  it  was  which  he  disapproved.  The  matter 
might  easily  have  been  ended  here,  if  Wesley  had 
so  chosen;  but  his  notions  of  clerical  duty  during 
this  part  of  his  life,  would  have  qualified  him  in  other 
ages  to  have  played  the  part  of  Becket  or  of  Hilde- 
brand.  What  he  wrote  to  the  lady  has  never  been 
made  public;  the  temper  in  which  it  was  written 
may  be  estimated  by  the  letter  which  he  previously 
sent  to  her  uncle.  "  To  this  hour  you  have  shown 
yourself  my  friend ;  I  ever  have  and  ever  shall  ac- 


120 


WESLEY   IN  AMERICA. 


[1737. 


knowledge  it:  and  it  is  my  earnest  desire  that  he 
who  hath  heretofore  given  me  this  blessing  would 
continue  it  still.  But  this  cannot  be  unless  you  will 
aDow  me  osie  request,  which  is  not  so  easy  a  one  as  it 
appears, — dynH  condemn  me  for  doing  in  the  execution  of 
my  ojffice  what  I  think  it  my  duty  to  do.  If  you  can  pre- 
vail upon  yourself  to  allow  me  this,  even  when  I  act 
without  respect  of  persons,  I  am  persuaded  there  will 
never  be,  at  least  not  long,  any  misunderstanding  be- 
tween us.  f  or  even  those  who  seek  it,  shall,  I  trust, 
find  no  occasion  against  me,  except  it  be  concerning  the 
laiv  of  my  God."  This  curious  note  brought  Mr. 
Causton  to  his  house,  to  ask  how  he  could  possibly 
think  he  shouM  condemn  him  for  executing  any  part 
of  his  office.  Wesley  replied,  "  Sir,  what  if  I  should 
think  it  the  duty  of  my  office  to  repel  one  of  your  fa- 
mily from  the  Holy  Communion  ?"  "  If  you  repel  me 
or  my  wife,"  answered  Causton,  "  I  shall  require  a 
legal  reason,  but  I  shall  trouble  myself  about  none 
else;  let  them  look  to  themselves." 

These  circumstances  must  needs  have  thrown  the 
lady  into  considerable  agitation ;  she  miscarried : 
but  though  her  aunt  was  now  so  incensed  against  Mr. 
Wesley  as  to  impute  this  to  his  reproof  and  the  let- 
ter which  he  had  afterwards  written,  she  herself  was 
generous  or  just  enough  to  declare  that  it  was  occa- 
sioned by  anxiety  during  her  husband's  illness. — 
Causton  forbore  from  taking  any  part  in  the  affair, 
and  continued  his  usual  friendly  conduct  towards  the 
untractable  chaplain :  he,  however,  on  the  first  Sun- 
day in  the  ensuing  month  persisted  in  his  purpose, 
and  repelled  lier  from  the  communion.  The  next 
day  a  warrant  was  issued  against  him  for  defaming 
Sophia  Williamson,  and  refusing  to  administer  to  her 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  a  public  con- 
gregation without  cause;  for  which  injury  the  hus- 
band laid  his  damages  at  one  thousand  pounds.  Upon 
this  warrant  he  was  carried  before  the  Recorder  and 
one  of  the  Bailiffs :  there  he  maintained  that  the  giv- 
ing or  refusing  the  Lord's  Supper  was  a  matter  purely 
ecclesiastical ;  and,  therefore,  he  would  not  acknow- 


1737.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


121 


ledge  their  power  to  interrogate  him  concerning  it. 
The  Bailiff,  nevertheless,  said  he  must  appear  at  the 
next  Court  holden  for  Savannah ;  and  \\  illiamson 
desired  that  he  might  be  required  to  give  bail  for  his 
appearance;  but  the  Bailiff  replied,  that  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's word  was  sufficient.  Mr.  Causton,  still  profess- 
ing a  regard  to  the  friendship  which  had  hitherto 
-ubsfeted  between  them,  required  him  to  give  the 
reasons  lor  his  conduct  in  the  Court-house,  which 
Wesley  refused,  saying,  he  apprehended  many  ill 
consequences  might  arise  from  so  doing;  "Let  the 
cause,"  he  said,  "  be  laid  before  the  trustees."  The 
uncle  now  broke  off  all  terms,  and  entered  with 
Lreat  animosity  into  the  business  as  a  family  quar- 
rel, declaring  he  had  drawn  the  sword,  and  would 
never  sheath  it  till  he  had  obtained  satisfaction :  and 
lie  called  upon  Wesley  to  give  the  reasons  of  his  re- 
pelling her  before  the  whole  congregation.  This  he 
did  accordingly,  in  writing,  to  the  lady  herself,  and 
ill  these  words :  The  rales  whereby  I  proceed  are 
these  :  so  many  as  intend  to  be  partakers  of  the 
Holy  Communion,  shall  signify  their  names  to  the 
Curate,  at  least  some  time  the  day  before.  This  you 
(lid  not  do.  And  if  any  of  these  have  done  any 
NM  ong  to  his  neighbour  by  word  or  deed,  so  that  the 
congregation  be  thereby  offended,  the  Curate  shall 
ad\  ertise  him  that  in  any  wise  he  presume  not  to 
come  to  the  Lord's  Table,  until  he  hath  openly  de- 
i  lared  himself  to  have  truly  repented.  If  you  oflfer 
\ourself  at  the  Lord's  Table  on  Sunday,  I  will  adver- 
{ise  you  (as  1  have  done  more  than  ofice),  wiierein  you 
have  done  wrong.  And  when  you  have  openly  de- 
( lared  yourself  to  have  truly  repented,  1  will  admi- 
nister to  you  the  mysteries  of  God." 

This  affair  was  now  the  whole  business  of  Savan- 
iiah.  Causton  was  so  far  forgetlu!  of  what  is  due  from 
man  to  man  in  civilized  life,  as  to  read  Wesley's  let- 
i(  rs  to  the  lady  during  the  whole  course  of  their  in- 
timacy, before  all  who  chose  to  hear  them,  omitting 
such  passages  as  did  not  exactly  suit  his  purpose, 
and  helping  out  ofliei-.s  by  a  runiiing  cocniient.  Wes- 

vor,.  I.  IH 


122 


WESLEY  IN  ABIERICA. 


[1737. 


ley  on  his  part,  at  the  request  of  several  of  the  com- 
municants, drew  up  a  statement  of  the  case,  and  read 
it  after  the  evening  prayers  in  the  open  congrega- 
tion ;  a  conduct  not  less  extraordinary,  though  less 
i-eprehensible,  than  that  of  his  adversary.  An  affida- 
vit was  made  by  the  lady,  asserting  that  Mr.  Wesley 
had  many  times  proposed  marriage  to  her,  all  which 
proposals  she  had  rejected,  and  insinuating  rtkuch 
more  than  it  asserted.  He  desired  a  copy  of  it,  and 
was  told  by  Causton  that  he  might  have  one  from  any 
of  the  newspapers  in  America;  for  they  were  bent 
upon  the  double  object  of  blackening  his  character 
and  driving  him  from  the  colony.  A  grand  jury  was 
summoned,  consisting  of  fifty  persons,  no  trifling  pro- 
portion of  the  adult  male  population  of  Savannah  : 
four  and  forty  met ;  and  Wesley  complains  that  of 
these  one  was  a  Frenchman,  who  did  not  understand 
English,  one  a  Papist,  one  a  professed  infidel,  some 
twenty  were  dissenters,  (all  of  course  unfit  persons 
to  decide  upon  a  question  relating  to  church  disci- 
pline,) and  several  others,  persons  who  had  personal 
quarrels  with  him,  and  had  openly  threatened  to  be 
revenged.  Causton  addressed  them  in  an  earnest 
speech,  exhorting  them  to  beware  of  spiritual  tyran- 
ny, and  to  oppose  the  new  and  illegal  authority 
which  was  usurped  over  their  consciences :  he  then 
delivered  in  a  list  of  grievances,  which  with  some  im- 
material alterations  was  returned  as  a  true  bill,  cliarg- 
ing  John  Wesley  with  having  "  broken  the  laws  of 
the  realm,  contrary  to  the  peace  of  our  Sovereign 
Lord  the  King,  his  crown  and  dignity."  The  indict- 
ment contained  ten  counts,  of  which  the  first  was  for 
speaking  and  writing  to  Mrs.  Williamson  against  her 
husband's  consent;  the  others  related  to  his  repel- 
ling her  from  the  communion,  his  division  of  the  ser- 
vice, and  his  conduct  respecting  baptisms  and  buri- 
als. He  appeared  before  the  coui  t,  and  declared, 
that  as  nine  of  these  counts  related  to  ecclesiastical 
matters,  they  were  not  within  the  cognizance  of  that 
tribunal ;  but  that  which  concerned  speaking  and 
writing  to  Mrs.  Williamson  was  of  a  secular  nature, 


1737.] 


WESLEY   IN  AMERICA. 


123 


he  said,  and  therefore  he  desired  that  it  might  be 
tried  upon  the  spot  where  the  facts  complained  of 
had  occurred.  But  it  was  in  vain  that  he  repeated- 
ly demanded  a  hearing  on  this  charge ;  and  in  this 
manner  more  than  three  months  elapsed.  During 
that  time  a  donation  of  ten  pounds  from  the  Vice- 
Provost  of  Eton  reached  him,  designed  for  his  pri- 
vate use  and  for  works  of  charity  :  when  it  arrived 
he  had  been  several  months  without  a  shilling  in  the 
house,  but  not,  he  says,  without  peace,  health  and 
contentment. 

Indeed  he  had  still  zealous  friends  in  the  colony. 
Even  among  the  jurors,  though  every  means  was 
taken  to  select  men  Avho  were  likely  to  favour  his 
accusers,  and  no  means  for  prepossessing  them 
against  him  were  spared,  twelve  persons  were  found, 
who  in  a  paper  addressed  to  the  trustees,  protested 
against  the  indictment  as  a  scheme  for  gratifying- 
personal  malice  by  blackening  Mr.  Wesley's  charac- 
ter. The  indictment  was  found  toward  the  end  of 
August,  and  it  seems  that  its  tirst  effect  was  to  make 
him  think  of  leaving  Savannah:  but  on  the  tenth  of 
September  he  says  in  his  private  journal,  "I  laid 
aside  the  thoughts  of  going  to  England ;  thinking  it 
more  suitable  to  ray  calling,  still  to  commend  my 
cause  to  God,  and  )iot  to  be  in  haste  to  justify  my- 
self" When  however  another  month  had  elapsed, 
and  the  business  appeared  no  nearer  its  decision,  he 
consulted  his  friends,  "whether  God  did  not  call  him 
to  return  to  England  ?"  The  reason,  he  said,  for 
which  he  had  left  his  country  had  now  no  force ; 
there  was  as  yet  no  possibility  of  instructing  the  In- 
dians*, neither  had  he  found  or  heard  of  any  Indians 

*  Ingham  had  lived  among  the  Creek-Indiatis  for  a  few  months, 
and  had  begun  to  compose  a  grammar  in  their  languiige.  Wes- 
ley has  recorded  a  curious  dialogue  between  himself  and  some 
Chickasaws,  which  I  do  not  insert  in  this  place  because  it  is  print- 
ed among  the  notes  to  Madoc.  On  his  part  it  consisted  of  well  di- 
rected questions.  Whitefield  was  not  so  likely  to  have  led  these 
Indians  into  the  right  way,  if  we  may  judge  by  his  conference  with 
poor  Tomo-Chichi  when  that  chief  was  at  the  point  of  death.  I 
desired  his  nephew  Tooanoowee,  w  ho  could  talk  English,  he  says, 


124 


WESLEY   IN  AftJERICA. 


[1737. 


on  the  continent  of  America,  who  had  the  least  de- 
sire of  being  instructed. — But  it  is  not  for  their  de- 
sire, that  missionaries  whose  hearts  have  been  in- 
tently set  upon  this  good  work  have  waited  ;  and 
though  the  North  American  tribes  have  been  found 
far  less  docile  than  those  in  the  other  part  of  the  new 
continent,  still  sufficient  proof  had  been  given  both 
in  Canada  and  New  England,  that  the  labour  of  love 
was  not  lost  upon  them,  when  it  was  perseveringly 
pursued.  Wesley  could  not  find  what  he  did  not 
seek  ;  other  and  greater  labours  were  reserved  for 
him  :  he  was  not  tO:  be  a  missionary  himself,  but  a 
founder  of  missions,  in  which  men  more  suitable  for 
the  work  would  find  their  proper  and  most  meritori- 
ous employment.  It  will  not  be  deemed  supersti- 
tious thus  to  notice  as  remarkable  the  manner  in 
which  Wesley  gave  up  the  object  for  which  he  went 
to  Georgia,  without  one  serious  cflTort  for  its  accom- 
plishment, and  apparently  without  being  conscious 
of  any  want  of  eflfort,  or  any  change  in  himself 

As  to  Savannah,  he  said,  he  had  never  engaged 
himself  either  by  word  or  letter,  to  remain  thei  e  a 
day  longer  shan  he  should  judge  convenient;  nor 
had  he  taken  charge  of  the  people  any  otherwise 
than  as  in  his  passage  to  the  heathen ;  he  therefore 
looked  upon  himself  to  be  fully  discharged  from  that 
cure  by  the  vacating  of  his  primary  design  ;  and  be- 
sides, there  was  a  probability  of  his  doing  more  ser- 
vice to  that  unhappy  people  in  England,  than  he 
could  do  in  Georgia,  by  representing  the  real  state 
of  the  colony  to  the  trustees,  without  fear  or  favour. 


to  inq\nrc  of  his  uncle  "  whether  he  thought  he  should  die  ;"  he 
answered  "  he  could  not  tell."  I  then  asked  "where  he  thought 
he  should  go  after  death  ?"  He  replied,  '  To  Heaven."  But, 
alas,  how  can  a  drunkard  enter  there  !  I  then  exliorted  Tooanoo- 
wee,  who  is  a  tall  proper  youth,  not  to  get  drunk,  telling  him  he 
understood  English,  and  therefore  would  be  punished  the  more  if 
he  did  not  live  better.  I  then  asked  him  whether  he  believed  a 
Heaven  ?  He  answered,  "  Yes."  I  then  asked,  whether  he  be- 
lieved a  Hell  ?  and  described  it  by  pointing  to  the  fire  :  he  re- 
plied, "  No." 


1737.] 


WEStEY  IN  AMERICA. 


125 


His  friends,  of  whom  the  Moravians  were  probably 
the  greater  number,  listened  attentively  to  this  rea- 
soning; and  after  considering  it  well,  were  of  opi- 
nion tliat  he  ought  to  go,  but  not  yet.  So  for  the  pre- 
sent he  laid  aside  the  thought,  being  persuaded  that 
when  the  time  was  come,  God  would  make  the  way 
plain  before  his  face.  Another  six  weeks  elapsed, 
during  which  he  appeared  at  two  more  courts,  to  no 
other  purpose  than  to  hear  himself  reviled  in  calum- 
nious affidavits  by  Mr.  Causton.  Weary  of  this,  he 
laid  the  case  again  before  his  friends,  and  they 
agreed  with  him  now  that  it  was  proper  he  should 
depart.  Accordingly  he  called  upon  Causton  to  give 
him  notice  of  his  intention,  and  obtain  money  for  the 
expenses  of  his  voyage  ;  and  he  posted  up  a  paper 
in  the  great  square  with  these  words, — '  Whereas 
John  Wesley  designs  shortly  to  set  out  for  England, 
this  is  to  desire  those  who  have  borrowed  any  books 
of  him  to  return  them  as  soon  as  they  conveniently 
can.'  He  fixed  his  departure  for  the  2d  of  Decem- 
ber, when  he  proposed  to  set  out  for  Carolina  about 
noon,  the  tide  then  serving:  at  10  o'clock  on  that 
morning  the  magistrates  sent  for  him,  to  say  that  he 
must  not  quit  the  province,  because  he  had  not  an- 
swered the  allegations  brought  against  him.  He  re- 
plied, "  that  he  had  appeared  at  six  or  seven  courts 
successively  in  order  to  answer  them,  and  had  nol 
been  suffered  so  to  do,  when  he  desired  it  time  af- 
ter time."  They  insisted  nevertheless  that  he  should 
not  go  unless  he  would  gi\  e  security  to  answer  those 
allegations  in  their  court.  He  asked  what  secin-i- 
ty ;  and  after  they  had  consulted  together  some  two 
hours,  the  recorder  produced  a  bond  engaging  him 
under  a  penalty  of  fifty  pounds,  to  appear  in  (heir 
court  when  he  should  be  required  ;  and  he  added 
that  Mr.  Williamson  also  required  bail,  that  he  should 
answer  his  action.  Upon  this  he  replied  resolutely, 
that  he  would  neither  give  bond  nor  bail,  saying, 
"  You  know  your  business,  and  I  know  mine." 

It  is  very  certain  that  Ihc  magistrates  desired  no- 
thing more  than  to  make  him  withdraw;  but  in  or- 


126 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1737. 


tier  to  keep  up  appearances,  and  stigmatize  his  de- 

f)arture  as  if  it  were  a  flight  from  justice,  they  pub- 
ished  an  order  that  afternoon,  requiring  all  the  offi- 
cers and  sentinels  to  prevent  him  from  leaving  the 
colony,  and  forbidding  any  person  to  assist  him  so  to 
do.  This  order  was  not  meant  to  be  obeyed.  "Be- 
ing now,"  he  says,  "only  a  prisoner  at  large  in  a 
place  where  I  knew  by  experience  every  day  would 
give  fresh  opportunity  to  procure  evidence  of  words 
I  never  said,  and  actions  I  never  did,  I  saw  clearly, 
the  hour  was  come  for  leaving  this  place  ;  and  soon 
as  evening  prayers  were  over,  about  eight  o'clock, 
the  tide  then  serving,  I  shook  off  the  dust  of  my  feet, 
and  lelt  Georgia,  after  having  preached  the  gospel 
there  (not  as  I  ought,  but  as  I  was  able,)  one  year 
and  nearly  nine  months."  He  had  three  companions, 
one  of  whom  meant  to  go  with  him  to  England,  the 
other  two  to  settle  at  Carolina.  They  landed  at 
Purrysburg  early  in  the  morning,  and  not  being  able 
to  procure  a  guide  for  Port  Royal,  set  out  an  hour 
before  sun-rise  to  walk  there  without  one.  After  two 
or  three  hours  they  met  an  old  man,  who  led  them 
to  a  line  of  trees  which  had  been  marked  by  having 
part  of  the  bark  cut  oiY;  trees  so  marked  are  said  to 
be  blazed,  and  the  path  thus  indicated  is  called  ablaze ; 
by  following  that  line  the  old  man  said  they  might 
easily  reach  Port  Royal  in  five  or  six  hours.  It  led 
them  to  a  s\Vamp,  which  in  America  means  a  low 
watery  ground  overgrown  with  trees  or  canes  ;  here 
they  wandered  about  three  hours  before  they  disco- 
vered another  blaze,  which  they  follow  ed  till  it  divid- 
ed into  two  branches  ;  they  pursued  the  one  through 
an  almost  impassable  tliicket  till  it  ended  ;  then  they 
returned  and  took  the  other  with  no  better  success. 
By  this  time  it  was  near  sun-set,  and  with  a  strange  im- 
providence they  had  set  out  with  no  other  provision 
than  a  cake  of  gingerbread  which  Wesley  had  in  his 
pocket.  A  third  of  this  they  had  divided  at  noon,  and 
another  third  served  them  for  supper,  for  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  reserve  some  portion  for  the  morrow. 
They  were  in  want  of  drink;  so  thrusting  a  stick  in- 


1737.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


127 


to  the  ground  and  finding  the  end  moist,  they  dug 
with  their  hands,  till  at  about  three  feet  depth  they 
found  water ;  "We  thanked  God,"  he  says,  " drank, 
and  were  refreshed."  It  was  a  sharp  night ;  he  how- 
ever had  inured  himself  to  privations  and  physical 
hardships  ;  they  prayed,  lay  down  close  to  each  oth- 
er, and  slept  till  near  six  in  the  morning.  Then  they 
steered  due  east  for  Port  Royal,  till  finding  neither 
path  nor  blaze,  and  perceiving  that  the  woods  grew 
thicker  and  thicker,  they  thought  it  advisable  to  find 
their  way  back  if  they  could,  for  this  was  not  easy  in 
such  a  wilderness.  By  good  hap,  for  it  was  done 
without  any  apprehension  that  it  might  be  servicea- 
ble, Wesley  on  the  preceding  day  had  followed  the 
Indian  custom  of  breaking  down  some  young  trees  in 
the  thickest  part  of  the  woods ;  by  these  landmarks 
they  were  guided  whep.  there  was  no  other  indication 
of  the  way,  and  in  the  afternoon  they  reached  the 
house  of  the  old  man,  whose  directions  they  had  fol- 
lowed so  unsuccessfully.  The  next  day  they  obtain- 
ed a  guide  to  Port  Royal,  and  thence  they  took  boat 
for  Charles  Town. 

Having  remained  there  ten  days,  and  then  taking 
leave  of  America,  but  hoping  that  it  was  not  for  ever, 
he  embarked  for  England.  He  had  abated  some- 
what of  his  rigorous  mode  of  life;  now  he  returned 
to  what  he  calls  his  old  simplicity  of  diet,  and  imput- 
ed to  the  change  a  relief  from  sea-sickness,  which 
might  more  reasonably  have  been  ascribed  to  con- 
tinuance at  sea.  Wesley  was  never  busier  in  the 
work  of  self-examination  than  during  this  homeward 
voyage.  Feeling  an  apprehension  of  danger  from  no 
apparent  cause,  while  the  sea  was  smooth  and  the 
wind  light,  he  wrote  in  his  journal,  Let  us  observe 
hereon  ;  1.  That  not  one  of  these  hours  ought  to  pass 
out  of  my  remembrance  till  I  attain  another  manner 
of  spirit,  a  spirit  equally  willing  to  glorify  God  by  life 
or  by  death.  2.  That  whoever  is  uneasy  on  any  ac- 
count, (bodily  pain  alone  excepted,)  carries  in  him- 
self, his  own  conviction  that  he  is  so  far  an  unbeliever. 
Is  he  uueasy  at  the  apprehension  of  death  ?  Then  he 


128 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1738. 


belie  veth  not  that  to  die  is  gain.  At  any  of  the  events  of 
life  ?  Then  he  hath  not  a  firm  belief  that  all  things 
work  together  for  his  good.  And  if  he  bring  the  mat- 
ter more  close,  he  will  always  find,  besides  the  gen- 
eral want  of  faith,  every  particular  uneasiness  is  evi- 
dently owing  to  the  want  of  some  particular  Chris- 
tian temper."  He  felt  himself  sorrowful  and  heavy 
without  knowing  why  ;  though  what  had  passed,  and 
the  state  of  excitement  in  which  he  had  so  long  been 
kept,  might  well  have  explained  to  him  the  obvious 
cause  of  his  depression.  In  this  state,  he  began 
to  doubt  whether  his  unwillingness  to  discourse  ear- 
nestly with  the  crew  was  not  the  cause  of  his  uncom- 
fortable feelings,  and  went,  therefore,  several  times 
among  the  sailors  with  an  intent  of  speaking  to  them^ 
but  could  not.  "  I  mean,"  he  says,  "  I  M'as  quite 
averse  from  speaking ;  I  could  not  see  how  to  make 
an  occasion,  and  it  seemed  quite  absurd  to  speak 
without.  Is  this  a  sufficient  cause  of  silence,  or  no 
Is  it  a  prohibition  from  the  good  Spirit  or  a  tempt- 
ation from  nature  or  the  evil  one .''"  The  state  of  the 
pulse  or  the  stomach  would  have  afforded  a  safer  so- 
lution. 

At  this  time,  in  the  fulness  of  his  heart,  he  thus  ac- 
cused himself,  and  prayed  for  deliverance  :  "  By  the 
most  infallible  of  proofs — inward  feeling,  I  am  con- 
vinced, 1.  Of  unbelief,  having  no  such  faith  in  Christ 
as  will  prevent  my  heart  from  being  troubled  ;  which 
it  could  not  be  if  I  believed  in  God,  and  rightly  believ- 
ed also  in  Him  :  2.  Of  pride,  throughout  my  life  past, 
inasmuch  as  I  thought  I  had,  what  I  find  I  have  not ; 
3.  Of  gross  irrecollection,  inasmuch  as  in  a  storm  1 
cry  to  God  every  moment,  in  a  calm,  not ;  4.  Of  levi- 
ty and  luxuriancy  of  spirit,  recurring  whenever  the 
pressure  is  taken  off,  and  appearing  by  my  speaking 
words  not  tending  to  edify  ;  but  most  by  the  manner 
of  speaking  of  my  enemies.  Lord  save,  or  I  perish! 
Save  me,  i.  By  such  a  faith  as  implies  peace  in  life, 
and  in  death  :  2.  By  such  humility  as  may  fill  my 
heart  from  this  hour  for  ever,  with  a  piercing  uninter- 
rupted sense,  JS'ihil  est  quod  hactenus  feci,  having  evi- 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


129 


dently  built  without  a  foundation  :  3.  By  such  a  re- 
collection as  may  cry  to  thee  every  moment,  espe- 
cially when  all  is  calm  ;  give  me  faith,  or  I  die  !  give 
me  a  lowly  spirit !  otherwise  mihi  non  sit  suave  vioere  : 
4.  By  steadiness,  seriousness,  o-epoT);;,  sobriety  of 
spirit,  avoiding  as  fire  every  word  thattendeth  not  to 
edifying,  and  never  speaking  of  any  who  oppose  jne, 
or  sin  against  God,  witiiout  all  my  own  sins  set  in  ar- 
ray before  my  face."  In  this  state  he  roused  himself 
and  exhorted  his  fellow-travellers  with  all  his  might ; 
but  the  seriousness  with  which  he  impressed  them 
soon  disappeared  when  he  left  them  to  themselves. 
A  severe  storm  came  ou ;  at  first  he  was  afraid,  but 
having  found  comfort  in  prayer,  lay  down  at  night 
with  composure,  and  fell  asleep,  About  midnight," 
he  says,  we  were  awakened  by  a  confused  noise  of 
seas  and  wind  and  men's  voices,  the  like  to  which  I 
had  never  heard  belore.  The  sound  of  the  sea 
breaking  over  and  against  the  sides  of  the  ship,  I 
could  compare  it  to  nothing  but  large  cannon,  or 
American  thunder.  The  rebounding,  starting,  quiv- 
ering motion  of  the  ship  much  resembled  what  is  said 
of  earthquakes.  The  captain  was  upon  deck  in  an 
instant,  but  his  men  could  not  h(;ar  what  he  said.  It 
blew  a  proper  hurricane,  which  beginning  at  south- 
west, then  w^ent  west,  northwest,  north,  and  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  round  by  the  east  to  the  south- 
west point  again.  At  the  same  time  the  sea  running, 
as  they  term  it,  mountains  high,  and  that  from  many 
different  points  at  once,  the  ship  would  not  obey  the 
helm;  nor  indeed  could  the  steersman,  through  the 
violent  rain,  see  the  compass ;  so  he  was  forced  to 
let  lier  run  before  the  wind ;  and  in  half  an  hour  the 
gtress  of  the  storm  was  over.  About  noon  the  next 
day  it  ceased." 

While  it  continued  Wesley  made  a  resolution  to 
apply  his  spiritual  labours  not  only  to  the  whole 
crew  collectively,  but  to  every  separate  individual; 
and  in  the  performance  of  this  resolution  he  reco- 
vered his  former  elasticity  of  spirit,  feeling  no  more 
of  that  fearfulness  and  heaviness  which  had  lately 

VOL.  I,  17 


130 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


[1738. 


weighed  him  down.  Upon  this  change  he  says,  "  one 
who  thinks  the  being  in  Oreo,  as  they  phrase  it,  an  in- 
dispensable preparative  for  being  a  Christian,  would 
say  I  had  better  have  continued  in  that  state ;  and 
that  this  unseasonable  relief  was  a  curse,  not  a  bless- 
ing. Nay,  but  who  art  thou,  O  man,  who  in  favour 
of  a  wretched  hypothesis,  thus  blasphemest  the  good 
gift  of  God  ?  Hath  not  he  himself  said,  '  This  also  is 
the  gift  of  God,  if  a  man  have  power  to  rejoice  in  his 
labour  Yea,  God  setteth  his  own  seal  to  his  weak 
endeavours,  while  he  thus  '  answereth  him  in  the  joy 
of  his  heart.' " 

The  state  of  his  mind  at  this  time  is  peculiarly  in- 
teresting, while  it  was  thus  agitated  and  impelled  to- 
ward some  vague  object,  as  yet  he  knew  not  what, 
by  the  sense  of  duty  and  of  power,  and  while  those 
visitations  of  doubt  were  frequent,  which  darken  the 
soul  when  they  pass  over  it.  "  I  went  to  America," 
lie  says,  "  to  convert  the  Indians  ;  but  oh  !  who  shall 
convert  me  ?  Who,  what  is  he  that  will  deliver  me 
from  this  evil  heart  of  unbelief.'*  I  have  a  fair  sum- 
mer religion,  I  can  talk  well,  nay,  and  believe  myself, 
while  no  danger  is  near :  but  let  death  look  me  in 
the  face,  and  my  spirit  is  troubled ;  nor  can  I  say  to 
die  is  gain.  I  think  verily  if  the  Gospel  be  true,  I  am 
safe :  for  I  not  only  have  given  and  do  give  all  my 
goods  to  feed  the  poor;  I  not  only  give  my  body  to 
be  burnt,  drowned,  or  whatever  else  God  shall  ap- 
point for  me,  but  I  follow  after  charity  (though  not 
as  I  ought,  yet  as  I  can,)  if  haply  I  may  attain  it. 
I  now  believe  the  Gospel  is  true.  I  show  my  faith  by 
my  works,  by  staking  my  all  upon  it.  I  would  do  so 
again  and  again  a  thousand  times,  if  the  choice  were 
still  to  make.  Whoever  sees  me,  sees  I  would  be  a 
Christian.  Therefore,  are  my  ways  not  like  other  men's 
ways  :  therefore,  I  have  been,  I  am,  I  am  content  to 
be,  a  by-word,  a  proverb  of  reproach.  But  in  a  storm 
I  think,  what  if  the  Gospel  be  not  true  then  thou  art 
of  all  men  most  foolish.  For  what  hast  thou  given 
thy  goods,  thy  ease,  thy  friends,  thy  reputation,  thy 
country,  thy  life     For  what  art  thou  wandering 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IX  AMERICA. 


131 


over  the  face  of  the  earth  ?  a  dream  ?  a  cunningly 
devised f(thle?  Oh,  who  will  deliver  me  from  this  fear 
of  death!  What  shall  I  do  ?  Where  shall  I  fly  from  it 
Should  1  tight  against  it  b_y  thinking,  or  by  not  thinking 
of  it?  A  wise  man  advised  me  some  time  since,  'Be  still, 
and  go  on.'  Perhaps  this  is  best :  to  look  upon  it  as  my 
cross  ;  when  it  comes,  to  let  it  humble  me,  and  quick- 
en all  my  good  resolutions,  especially  that  of  pray- 
ing without  ceasing;  and  other  times  to  take  no 
thought  about  it,  but  quietly  to  go  on  in  the  w  ork  of  the 
Lord."  It  is  beautif  ully  said  by  Sir  Thomas  Brown, 
"There  is,  as  in  philosophy,  so  in  divinity,  sturdy 
doubts  and  boisterous  objections,  wherewith  the  un- 
bappiness  of  our  knowledge  too  nearly  acquainteth 
us:  more  of  these  no  man  hath  known  than  myself, 
which  I  confess  I  conquered,  not  in  a  martial  pos- 
ture, but  on  my  knees."  What  is  remarkable  in 
Wesley's  case  is,  that  these  misgivings  of  faith  should 
have  been  felt  by  him  chiefly  in  times  of  danger, 
which  is  directly  contrary  to  general  experience. 

And  now  he  reviewed  the  progress  of  his  own  re- 
ligious life.  "For  many  years  I  have  been  tossed 
about  by  various  winds  of  doctrine.  I  asked  long 
ago  '  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  The  Scripture 
answered,  Keep  the  commandments,  believe,  hope, 
love. — I  was  early  warned  against  laying,  as  the  Pa- 
pists do,  too  much  stress  on  outward  works,  or  on  a 
faith  M'ithout  works,  which  as  it  does  not  include,  so 
it  will  never  lead  to  true  hope  or  charity.  Nor  am  I 
sensible  that  to  this  hour  1  have  laid  too  much  stress 
on  either.  But  I  fell  among  some  Lutheran  and  Cal- 
vinist  authors,  who  magnified  faith  to  such  an  amaz- 
ing size,  that  it  hid  all  the  rest  of  the  commandments. 
I  did  not  then  see  that  this  was  the  natural  eflTect  of 
their  overgrown  fear  of  popery,  being  so  terrified 
with  the  cry  of  merit  and  good  works,  that  they  plung- 
ed at  once  into  the  other  extreme;  in  this  labyrinth 
I  was  utterly  lost,  not  being  able  to  find  out  what 
the  error  was,  nor  yet  to  reconcile  this  uncouth  hy- 
pothesis, either  with  Scripture  or  common  sense. 
The  English  writers,  such  as  Bishop  Beveridge, 


132 


WESLEY  IN'  AMERICA. 


[1738. 


Bishop  Taylor,  and  Mr.  Nelson,  a  little  relieved 
me  I'rom  these  well-meaning  wrong-headed  Germans. 
Only  when  they  interpreted  Scripture  in  difler- 
ent  ways,  I  was  often  much  at  a  loss.    And  there 
was  one  thing  much  insisted  on  in  Scripture, — the 
unity  of  the  church,  which  none  of  them,  I  thought, 
clearly  explained.    But  it  was  not  long  before  Pro-  - 
vidence  brought  me  to  those  who  showed  me  a  sure 
rule  of  interpreting  Scripture,  consensus  veterum  :  Quod 
ab  omnibus,  quod  ubique,  quod  semper  crcdituin ;  at  the 
same  time  they  sufficiently  insisted  upon  a  due  re- 
gard to  the  one  church  at  all  times  and  in  all  places. 
Nor  was  it  long  before  I  bent  the  bow  too  far  the  | 
other  way  :  by  making  antiquity  a  co-ordinate  rather  I 
than  sub-ordinate  rule  with  Scripture  ;  by  admitting  I 
several  doubtful  writings ;  by  extending  antiquity  too  | 
far;  by  believing  more  practices  to  have  been  uni-  ! 
versal  in  the  ancient  church  than  ever  were  so ;  by  j 
not  considering  that  the  decrees  of  a  provincial  sy-  ^ 
nod  could  bind  only  that  province,  and  the  decrees  * 
of  a  general  synod  only  those  provinces  whose  repre- 
sentatives met  therein;  that  most  of  those  decrees 
were  adapted  to  particular  times  and  occasions,  and 
consequently  when  those  occasions  ceased,  must 
cease  to  bind  even  those  provinces.  The§e_cons_i- 
derations  insensibly  stole  upon  me  as  I  grevv.  agn 
quainted  with  the  mystic  writers,  whose  noble  de^ 
scriptions  of  union  with  God  and  internal  religion, 
made  every  thing  else  appear  mean,  ilat,  and  insipid. 
But  in  truth  they  made  good  works  appear  so  to(0 : 
yea,  and  faith  itself,  and  what  not  ?    They  gave^e 
an  entire  new  view  of  rehgion,  nothing  like  any  I  had 
before.    But  alas  !  it  was  nothing  like  that  relig.ion 
which  Christ  and  his  apostles  loved  and  taught.  I 
had  a  plenary  dispensation  from  all  the  commands 
of  God  ;  the  form  was  thus  :  Love  is  all ;  all  the  com-  ^ 
mands  beside  are  only  means  of  love:  you  must  I 
cfioose  those  which  you  feel  are  means  to  you,  and 
use  them  as  long  as  they  are  so.    Thus  were  all  the 
bands  burst  at  once  ;  and  though  I  could  never  fully 


173a.] 


WESLEY  IN  AMERICA. 


133 


come  into  this,  nor  contentedly  omit  what  God  en- 
joined, yet,  I  know  not  how,  I  fluctuated  between 
obedience  and  disobedience.  I  had  no  heart,  no  vi- 
gour, no  zeal  in  obeying,  continually  doubting  whe- 
ther I  was  right  or  wrong,  and  never  out  of  perplex- 
ities and  entanglements.  Nor  can  I  at  this  hour  give 
a  distinct  account,  how  or  when  I  came  a  little  back 
toward  the  right  way;  only  rny  present  sense  is  this, 
all  the-other  enemies  of  ChrisfTahify  are  triflers,  the 
mystics  are  the  most  Jahgerousj  they  stab  it  Iiijhe 
vitals,  and  its  inosi  serious  professors  are  most  likely 
to  fall  by  them." 

Having  landed  at  Deal,  the  returning  missionary 
recorded  solemnly  his  own  self-condemnation  and 
sense  of  his  own  imperfect  faith.  "  It  is  now,"  he 
said,  "  two  years  and  almost  four  months  since  I  left 
my  native  country,  in  order  to  teach  the  Georgian 
Indians  the  nature  of  Christianity.  But  what  have  I 
learnt  myself  meantime  Why, — w  hat  I  the  least  of 
all  suspected, — that  I,_jwho  went^  to  America  to  con- 
vert  otherSj^  was  never^nyself  converted  to  God.'  / 
am  not  mad,  though  I  thus  speak,  but  /  speak  the  words 
of  truth  and  soberness  ;  if  haply  some  of  those  who  still 
dream  may  awake,  and  see  that  as  I  am,  so  are  they. 
Are  they  read  in  philosophy  ?  So  was  I.  In  ancient 
or  modern  tongues  ?  So  was  I  also.  Are  they  versed 
in  the  science  of  divinity  I  too  have  studied  it  many 
years.  Can  they  talk  fluently  upon  spiritual  things  ? 
The  very  same  could  I  do.  Are  they  plenteous  in 
alms  ?  Behold,  I  gave  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor. 
Do  they  give  of  their  labour  as  well  as  their  sub- 
stance ?  1  have  laboured  more  abundantly  than  them 
all.  Are  they  willing  to  suffer  for  their  brethren  ? 
I  have  thrown  up  my  friends,  reputation,  ease,  coun- 
try. I  have  put  my  life  in  my  hand  wandering  into 
strange  lands  ;  I  have  given  my  body  to  be  devoured 
by  the  deep,  parched  up  with  heat,  consumed  by  toil 
and  weariness,  or  whatsoever  God  shall  please  to 
bring  upon  me.  But  does  all  this  (be  it  more  or  less, 
it  matters  not)  make  me  acceptable  to  God  Does 


134 


WESLEY  IX  AMERICA. 


[1738, 


all  I  ever  did,  or  can,  knoii\  say ^  give,  do,  or  jus- 
tify me  in  his  sight  ?  If  the  oracles  of  God  are  true, 
if  we  are  still  to  abide  by  the  Law  and  Testimony,  all 
these  things,  though  when  ennobled  by  faith  in  Christ 
they  are  holy,  and  just,  and  good,  yet  without  it  are 
dung  and  dross.  Thus  then  have  I  learned,  in  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  that  my  whole  heart  is  altogether 
corrupt  and  abominable,  and  consequently  my  whole 
life : — that  my  own  works,  my  own  sufferings,  my 
own  righteousness,  are  so  far  from  reconciling  me  to 
an  offended  God,  so  far  from  making  any  atonement 
for  the  least  of  those  sins,  which  are  more  in  number 
than  the  hairs  of  my  head,  that  the  most  specious  of 
them  need  an  atonement  themselves : — that  having 
the  sentence  of  death  in  my  heart,  and  nothing  in  or 
of  myself  to  plead,  I  have  no  hope  but  that  of  being 
justified  freely  through  the  redemption  tliat  is  in  Jesus, — 
but  that  if  I  seek  I  shall  find  Christ,  and  be  found  in 
him.  If  it  be  said,  that  I  have  faith,  (for  many  such 
things  have  I  heard  from  many  miserable  comforters,) 
I  answer,  so  have  the  devils, — a  sort  of  faith  ;  but  still 
they  are  strangers  to  the  covenant  of  promise.  The 
faith  1  want  is  a  sure  trust  and  confidence  in  God, 
that  through  the  merits  of  Christ  my  sins  are  forgiven, 
and  I  reconciled  to  the  favour  of  God.  I  want  that 
faith  which  none  can  have  without  knowing  that  he 
hath  it  (though  many  imagine  they  have  it,  who  have 
it  not)  ;  for  whosoever  hath  it  is  freed  from  sin  ;  the 
whole  body  of  sin  is  destroyed  in  him  :  he  is  freed  from 
fear,  having  peace  with  God  through  Christ,  and  rejoicing 
in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  And  he  is  freed  from 
doubt,  having  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  his 
heart,  through  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto 
him,  which  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  his  spi- 
rit, that  he  is  a  child  of  God." 

Yet  on  reflecting  upon  tlie  time  which  he  had 
spent  in  Georgia,  he  saw  many  reasons  to  bless  God 
for  having  carried  him  into  that  strange  land.  There 
he  had  been  humbled  and  proved, — there  he  had 
learned  to  know  what  was  in  his  heart :  there  the 


1738.] 


WESLEY   IN  AMERICA. 


135 


passage  had  been  opened  for  him  to  the  writings  of 
liolv  men  in  theGerman,  Spanish,  and  ItaHan  tongues ; 
for  heac^uiifiilihe  Spanish  in  order  to  converse  with 
hiiiJCesJliE^^rishioners,  and  read  pravers  in  ItaUan 
loafew  Vaudois.;_  and  ther£  he  had  been  introduced 
t^IlhCfiHurch  of  Herrnhut, — an  event  of  consider- 
able importance  to  his  future  hfe. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PROGRESS  OF  VVHITEFIELD  DURING  WESLEY's  ABSENCE.  

WESLEY  A  PUPIL  OF  THE  MORAVIANS. 

Whitefield  sailed  from  the  Downs  for  Georgia 
a  few  hours  only  before  the  vessel  which  brought 
Wesley  back  from  thence  cast  anchor  there.  The 
ships  passed  in  sight  of  each  other,  but  neither  of 
these  remarkable  men  knew  that  so  dear  a  friend 
was  on  the  deck  at  which  he  was  gazing.  But  when 
Wesley  landed  he  learned  that  his  coadjutor  was  on 
board  the  vessel  in  the  ofFing:  it  was  still  possible  to 
communicate  with  him;  and  Whitefield  was  not  a 
little  surprised  at  receiving  a  letter  which  contained 
these  v/ords  :  "  When  I  saw  God  by  the  wind  which 
was  carrying  you  out  brought  me  in,  I  asked  counsel 
of  God.  His  answer  you  have  inclosed."  The  in- 
closure  was  a  slip  of  paper  with  this  sentence,  "  Let 
him  return  to  London."  Wesley  doubting,  from  his 
own  experience,  whether  his  friend  could  be  so  use- 
fully employed  in  America  as  in  England,  had  refer- 
red the  question  to  chance,  in  which  at  that  time  he 
trusted  implicitly,  and  this  was  the  lot*  which  he 

*  This  remarkable  instance  of  Wesley's  predilection  for  the 
practice  of  sorti!on;e,  is  not  noticed  by  either  of  his  biographers. 
Whitefield  himself  relates  it,  in  a  letter  published  at  the  time  oT 
their  separation.    "  We  sailed  immediately,"  he  adds.    "  Some 
months  after,  I  received  a  letter  from  you  at  Georgia,  wherein 
you  wrote  words  to  this  efl'ect  :  '  though  God  never  before  gave 
me  a  wrong  lot,  yet  perhaps  he  suffered  me  to  have  such  a  lot  at  ; 
that  time,  to  try  what  was  in  your  heart.'    "  I  should  never,"  l 
says  Whitefield,  "  have  published  this  private  transaction  to  tlie 
world,  did  not  the  glory  of  God  call  me  to  it.    It  is  plain  you  had  ; 
a  wrong  lot  given  you  here,  and  justly,  because  you  tempted  God  ,] 
in  drawing  one."    Whitefield  afterwards,  in  his  remarks  upon  j 
Bishop  Lavington's  book,  refers  to  this  subject  in  a  manner  which  i 
does  him  honour.    "  My  mentioning,"  he  says,  "  Mr.  Wesley's 
casting  a  lot  on  a  private  occasion,  known  only  to  God  and  our- 
selves, has  put  me  to  great  pain. — It  was  wrong  in  me  to  publish  | 


4736.]  I'ROGKESS  OF  WHITBFIELD,  &C. 


137 


had  drawn.  But  Whitefield,  who  never  seems  to 
have  fallen  into  this  superstition,  was  persuaded 
that  he  was  called  to  Georgia ;  and  even  if  he  had 
not  felt  that  impression  upovi  his  mind,  the  inconsis- 
tency of  returning  to  London  in  obedience  to  a  lot, 
which  had  been  drawn  without  his  consent  or  know- 
ledge, and  breaking  the  engagements  which  he  had 
formed,  would  have  been  glaring,  and  the  inconven- 
ience not  inconsiderable.  He  betook  himself  tc 
prayer :  the  story  of  the  prophet  in  the  book  of  King 
came  forcibly  to  his  recollection,  how  he  turned  back 
from  his  appointed  course,  because  another  prophet 
told  him  it  was  the  will  of  the  Lord  that  he  should 
do  so,  and  for  that  reason  a  lion  met  him  by  the  way. 
So  he  proceeded  on  his  voyage.  The  previous  ca- 
reer of  the  disciple  in  England,  during  the  master's 
absence  in  America,  must  now  be  retraced. 

Less  clear,  less  logical,  less  formed  for  command 
and  legislation  than  Wesley,  Whitefield  was  of  a 
more  ardent  nature,  and  arrived  at  the  end  of  his 
spiritual  course,  before  Wesley  had  obtained  sight 
of  the  goal.  It  was  soon  after  his  introduction  to 
the  two  brothers  that  he  thus  outran  them.  In  read- 
ing a  treatise,  entitled  "  The  Life  of  God  in  the  Soul 
of  Man,"  wherein  he  found  it  asserted,  that  true  re- 
ligion is  an  union  of  the  soul  with  God  or  Christ, 
formed  within  us,  a  ray  of  divine  light,  he  says,  in^ 
etantaneously  darted  in  upon  him,  and  from  that 
moment  he  knew  that  he  must  be  a  new  creature. 
But  in  seeking  to  attain  that  religious  state  which 
brings  with  it  the  peace  that  passeth  ail  understand- 
ing, the  vehemence  of  his  disposition  led  him  into 

freater  excesses  than  any  of  his  compeers  at  Oxford, 
le  describes  himself  as  having  all  sensible  comforts 


private  transaction  to  the  world  ;  and  very  ill-judged  to  think 
ihn  glory  of  God  could  be  promoted  by  unnecessarily  exposing  my 
friend.  For  this  1  have  asked  both  God  and  hirn  pardon  years  ago. 
And^'iough  1  believe  both  have  forgiven  me,  yet  I  believe  I  shall 
never  be  able  to  forgive  myself.  As  it  was  a  public  fault,  I  think 
it  should  be  publicly  acknowledged  ;  and  I  th.ink  a  kin,!  Provi 
dence  for  giving  mc  this  opportunity  of  doing  it  " 
vor,.  I.  I'd 


138 


PROGRESS   OF  WHITEFIELD 


[1736. 


withdrawn  from  him,  overwhelmed  w  ith  a  horrible 
fearfulness  and  dread,  all  power  of  meditation,  or 
even  thinking,  taken  away,  his  memory  gone,  his 
whole  soul  barren  and  dry,  and  his  sensations,  as  he 
imagined,  like  those  of  a  man  locked  up  in  iron  ar- 
mour. "  Whenever  I  knelt  down,"  he  says,  "  I  felt 
great  pressures  both  on  soul  and  body;  and  have 
often  prayed  under  the  weight  of  them  till  the  sweat 
came  through  me.  God  only  knows  how  many  nights 
I  have  lain  upon  my  bed,  groaning  under  what  I  felt. 
Whole  days  and  weeks  have  I  spent  in  lying  pros- 
trate on  the  ground  in  silent  or  vocal  prayer."  In 
this  state  he  began  to  practise  austerities^^  such  as 
the  Romish  superstition  encourages  :  he  chose  tJb.e 
worst  food,  and  affected  mean  apparel ;  he  made 
himself  remarkable  by  leaving  off  pow  der  in  his  hair, 
when  every  one  else  was  powdered,  because  he 
thought  it  unbecoming  a  penitent ;  and  he  wore 
woollen  gloves,  a  patcjied  gown,  and  dirty  slioesJT^ 
vTsible  signs  of  humility.  Such  conduct  drg.vv  u_pon 
him  contempt,  insult,  and  the  more  serious  conse- 
quence, that  part  of  that  pay  on  which  he  depended 
for  his  support  was  taken  from  him  by  men  who  did 
not  choose  to  be  served  by  so  slovenly  a  servitor. 
Other  excesses  injured  his  health :  he  would  kneel 
under  the  trees  in  Christ  Church  walk,  in  silent 
prayer,  shivering  the  while  with  cold,  till  the  great 
bell  summoned  him  to  his  college  for  the  night:  Jhg 
ejtpoaed-hiiiiself  to  cold.in  the  morning  till  hjsjia^ 
\K£j:a4juite  bl^  hejcept  Lent  so  strictly,  that,.-£S- 
cept  orTHaturdays  and  Sundays,  his  only  food  w  as 
coarse  bread  and  sage  tea,  without  sugar.  The  end 
of  this  was,  that  before  the  termination  of  the  forty 
days  he  had  scarcely  strength  enough  left  to  crejijju 
up  stairs,  and  was  under  a  physician  for  many  weeks. 

At  the  close  of  the  severe  illness  which  he  Uatf 
thus  brought  on  himself,  a  happy  change  of  mind 
confirmed  his  returning  health; — it  may  best  be  re- 
lated in  his  own  words.  He  says,  "  Notwithstanding 
my  fit  of  sickness  continued  six  or  seven  weeks,  I 
trust  I  shall  have  reason  to  bless  God  for  it  through 


1736.] 


DURING  Wesley's  absence. 


139 


the  endless  ages  of  eternity.  For,  about  the  end  of 
the  seventh  week,  after  having  undergone  innumera- 
ble buffetings  of  Satan,  and  many  months  inexpressi- 
ble trials,  by  night  and  day,  under  the  spirit  of 
bondage,  God  was  pleased  at  length  to  remove  the  ♦ 
heavy  load,  to  enable  me  to  lay  hold  on  his  dear 
Son  by  a  living  faith,  and,  by  giving  me  the  spirit  of 
adoption,  to  seal  me,  as  I  humbly  hope,  even  to  the 
day  of  everlasting  redemption.  BiiLi]JiL_with_what 
joy,  joy  unspeakable,  even.jpy  that  was  full  of,  and 
l^gTnTh  glory,  was  my  soul  filled,  when  the  weight 
Gfsm'went  off,  and  an  abiding  sense  of  the  pardon- 
ing tm'e  of  God,  and  a  full  assurance  of  faith,  broke 
in  upon  imy  disconsolate  soul !  Surely  it  was  the  day 
of  my  espousals, — a  day  to  be  had  in  everlasting 
remembrance.  At  first  my  joys  were  like  a  spring 
tide,  and,  as  it  were,  overflowed  the  banks.  Go 
where  I  would  I  could  not  avoid  singing  of  psalms 
almost  aloud  ;  afterwards  they  became  more  settled, 
and,  blessed  be  God,  saving  a  few  casual  intervals, 
have  abode  and  increased  in  my  soul  ever  since." 

The  Wesleys  at  this  time  were  in  Georgia ;  and 
some  person,  who  feared  lest  the  little  society  which 
they  had  formed  at  Oxford  should  be  broken 
up  and  totally  dissolved  for  want  of  a  superintend- 
ent, had  written  to  a  certain  Sir  John  Philips  of 
London,  who  was  ready  to  assist  in  religious  works 
with  his  purse,  and  recommended  VVhitefield  as  a 
proper  person  to  be  encouraged  and  patronized 
more  especially  for  this  purpose.  Sir  John  imme- 
diately gave  him  an  annuity  of  £20,  and  promised 
to  make  it  £30,  if  he  would  continue  at  Oxford ; 
— for  if  this  place  could  be  leavened  with  the  vital 
spirit  of  religion,  it  would  be  like  medicating  the 
waters  at  their  spring.  His  illness  rendered  it 
expedient  for  him  to  change  the  air ;  and  he  went 
accordingly  to  his  native  city,  where,  laying  aside 
all  other  books,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  Scriptures,  reading  them  upon  his  knees,  and 
praying  over  every  line  and  word.  "  Thus,"  as  he 
expresses  himself,  "  he  daily  received  fresh  Hfe,  light, 


140 


PROGRESS  OF  WHlTEFlELD 


[1730 


and  power  from  above ;  and  found  it  profitable  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  lor  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness, every  way  sufficient  to  make  the  man  of  God 
pcrfiect,  thoroughly  turnished  unto  every  good  word 
#  and  work."  His  general  character,  his  demeanour 
at  church,  his  visiting  the  poor,  and  praying  with  the 
prisoners,  attracted  the  notice  of  Dr.  Benson,  the 
theii  bishop  of  Gloucester,  who  sent  for  him  one  day 
after  the  evening  service,  and  having  asked  his  age, 
which  was  little  more  than  twenty-one,  told  him,  that 
although  he  had  resolved  not  to  ordain  any  one  un- 
der three-and-twenty,  he  should  think  it  his  duty  to 
ordain  him  whenever  he  came  for  holy  orders. 
Whitefield  himself  had  felt  a  proper  degree  of  fear 
at  undertaking  so  sacred  an  office ;  his  repugnance 
was  now  overruled  by  this  encouragement,  and  by 
the  persuasion  of  his  friends  ;  and  as  he  preferred 
remaining  at  Oxford,  Sir  John  Philips's  allowance 
was  held  a  sufficient  title  by  the  bishop,  who  would 
otherwise  have  provided  him  with  a  cure.  White- 
field  prepared  himself  by  abstinence  and  prayer; 
and  on  the  Saturday  eve,  retiring  to  a  hill  near  the 
town,  he  there  prayed  fervently  for  about  two  hours, 
in  behalf  of  himself  and  those  who  were  to  enter  in- 
to holy  orders  at  the  same  time.  On  the  following 
morning  he  was  ordained.  "  I  trust,"  he  says,  "I 
answered  to  every  question  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart ;  and  heartily  prayed  that  God  might  say 
Amen.  And  when  the  bishop  laid  his  hands  upon 
my  head,  if  my  vile  heart  doth  not  deceive  me,  1  of- 
fered up  my  whole  spirit,  soul  and  body,  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God's  sanctuary." — "Let  come  what  will,  life 
or  death,  depth  or  heighth,!  shall  henccforvvards  live 
like  one  who  this  day,  in  the  presence  of  men  and 
angels,  took  the  holy  sacrament,  upon  the  profession 
of  being  inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take 
upon  me  that  ministration  in  the  church.  I  can  call 
heaven  and  earth  to  witness,  that  when  the  bishop 
laid  his  hand  upon  me,  I  gave  myself  up  to  be  a  mar-! 
tyr  for  Hini  who  hung  upon  the  cross  for  me.  Known 
unto  him  are  all  future  events  and  contingencies ;  { 


173G.J 


DURING  Wesley's  absence. 


MI 


1*  have  thrown  myself  blindfold,  and  I  trust,  without  re-  ' 

>'  serve,  into  His  Almighty  hands."    Such  were  his 

d  feelings  at  the  hour,  and  they  were  not  belied  by  thr 

d  whole  lenour  of  his  alter  life. 

ir         Bishop  Benson  appears  to  have  felt  a  sincere  re- 

le.  gard  for  the  young  man  whom  he  had  thus  ordained, 

le  little  aware  of  the  course  which  he  was  designed  to 

ij  run.    Whitefield  speaks  at  this  time  of  having  receiv- 

e,  ed  from  the  good  prelate  another  present  of  five 

at  guineas  ;  "  a  great  supply,"  he  says,  "  for  one  who 

n-  had  not  a  guinea  in  the  world."    He  began  with  as 

to  small  a  stock  of  sermons  as  of  worldly  wealth ;  it  had 

:s.  been  his  intention  to  have  prepared  at  least  an  hun- 

ar  dred,  wherewith   to  commence  his  miiiistry ; — he 

ce  found  himself  with  only  one ;  it  proved  a  fruitful  one  ; 

jy  for  having  lent  it  to  a  neighbouring  clergyman,  to 

"d  convince  him  how  unfit  he  was.  as  he  really  be- 

ce  lieved  himself  to  be,  for  the  work  of  preaching,  the 

Id  clergyman  divided  it  into  two,  which  he  preached 

ie-  morning  and  evening  to  his  congregation,  and  sent 

r,  it  back  with  a  guinea  for  its  use.    With  this  sermon 

be  he  first  appeared  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  church  of  St. 

rs,  Mary  de  Crypt,  where  he  had  been  baptized,  and 

in-  where  he  had  first  received  the  sacrament.  Curiosi'y 

nj  had  brought  together  a  large  congregation  ;  nnd  '  . 

"1  now,  he  says,  felt  the  unspeakable  advantage  vi  ; 

wj  ing  been  accustomed  to  public  speaking  when  a  boy 

A}  at  school,  and  of  exhorting  and  teaching  the  pfisoa- 

io«  ers  and  poor  people  at  Oxford.    More  than  this;,  he 

of-  felt  what  he  believed  to  be  a  sense  of  the  Divine 

er-  presence,  and  kindling  as  he  went  on  in  t'lis  belief, 

life  spake,  as  he  thought,  with  some  degree  of  gosp.d 

iv«  authority.    A  few  of  his  hearers  mocked,  but  upon 

iiiii  the  greater  number  a  strong  impression  was  prodnc- 
iM  ed,  and  complaint  was  made  to  the  bislipp  tliat  fifteen 
ik«  persons  had  been  drivei;  mad  by  the  sermo.i.  The 
d      good  man  replied,  he  wished  the  madness  migiit  not 

be  forgotten  before  the  next  Sunday. 
\»         That  same  week  he  returned  to  Oxford,  took  his 
)«l      degree,  and  continued  to  visit  the  prisoners,  and  in- 
ill      spect  two  or  three  charity  schools  w  hich  were  sup- 


142 


PROGKESS  OP  WHITEFIELD 


[1736, 


ported  by  (he  Methodists.  With  this  state  of  life  he 
was  more  than  contented,  and  thought  of  continuing 
in  the  University  at  least  for  some  years,  that  he 
iniglit  complete  his  studies,  and  do  what  good  he 
might  among  the  gownsmen  ;  to  convert  one  of  them 
would  be  as  much  as  converting  a  whole  parish. 
From  thence,  however,  he  was  invited  ere  long  to  of- 
ficiate at  the  Tower  chapel,  in  London,  during  the 
absence  of  the  curate.  It  was  a  summons  which  he 
obeyed  with  fear  and  trembling;  but  he  was  soon 
made  sensible  of  his  power ;  for  though  the  first  time 
he  entered  a  pulpit  in  the  metropolis  the  congrega- 
tion seemed  disposed  to  sneer  at  him  on  account  of 
his  youth,  they  grew  serious  during  his  discourse, 
shewed  him  great  tokens  of  respect  as  he  came  down, 
and  blessed  him  as  he  passed  along,  while  inquiry 
was  made  on  every  side,  from  one  to  another,  who 
he  was.  Two  months  he  continued  in  London,  read- 
ing prayers  every  evening  at  Wapping  chapel,  and 
twice  a  week  at  the  Tower,  preaching  and  catechis- 
ing there  once ;  preaching  every  Tuesday  at  Lud- 
gate  prison,  and  daily  visiting  the  soldiers  in  the  in- 
firmary and  barracks.  The  chapel  was  crowded 
when  he  preached,  persons  came  from  different  parts 
of  the  town  to  hear  him,  and  proof  enough  was  given 
that  an  earnest  minister  will  make  an  attentive  con- 
gregation. 

Having  returned  to  Oxford,  the  Society  grew  un- 
der his  care,  and  friends  were  not  wanting  to  pro- 
vide for  their  temporal  support.  Lady  Betty  Hast- 
ings allowed  small  exhibitions  to  some  of  his  disciples; 
he  himself  received  some  marks  of  well-bestowed 
bounty,  and  was  intrusted  also  with  money  for  the 
poor.  It  happened  after  a  while  that  Mr.  Kinchin, 
the  minister  of  Dummer,  in  Hampshire,  being  likely 
to  be  chosen  Dean  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  invited 
him  to  officiate  in  his  parish  while  he  went  to  Oxford, 
till  the  election  should  be  decided.  Here  Whitefield 
found  himself  among  poor  and  illiterate  people,  and 
his  proud  heart,  he  says,  could  not  at  first  brook  the 
change ;  he  would  have  given  the  world  for  one  of 


1736.] 


DURING  Wesley's  absence. 


143 


his  Oxford  friends,  and  "  mourned  for  want  of  them 
like  a  dove."  He  found,  however,  in  one  of  Mr. 
Law's  books,  a  fictitious  character  held  up  for  imita- 
tion :  this  ideal  being  served  him  for  a  friend ;  and 
be  had  soon  full  satisfaction,  as  well  as  full  emploj^- 
uient,  in  pursuing  the  same  round  of  duties  as  his  pre- 
ilecessor.  For  the  people  had  been  taught  by  their 
pastor  to  attend  public  prayers  twice  a-day ;  in  the 
morning  before  they  went  to  work,  and  in  the  even- 
ing after  they  returned  from  it :  their  zealous  minis- 
ter had  also  been  accustomed  to  catechise  the  chil- 
dren daily,  and  visit  his  parishioners  from  house  to 
house,  hi  pursuance  of  this  plan,  VVhitefield  allotted 
eight  hours  to  these  offices,  eight  for  study  and  re- 
tirement, and  eight  for  the  necessities  of  nature :  he 
soon  learnt  to  love  the  people  among  whom  he  la- 
boured, and  derived  from  their  society  a  greater  im- 
provement than  books  could  have  given  him. 

While  he  was  in  London,  some  letters  from  Ingham 
and  the  Wesleys  had  made  him  long  to  follow  them 
to  Georgia  :  but  when  he  opened  these  desires  to  his 
friends,  they  persuaded  him  that  labourers  were 
wanting  at  home ;  that  he  had  no  visible  call  abroad ; 
and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  wait  and  see  what  Provi- 
dence might  point  out  for  him, — not  to  do  any  thing 
rashly.  He  now  learnt  that  Charles  Wesley  was 
come  over  to  procure  assistance ;  and  though  Charles 
did  not  invite  him  to  the  undertaking,  yet  he  wrote 
in  terms  which  made  it  evident  that  he  was  in  his 
thoughts,  as  a  proper  person.  Soon  afterwards  came 
a  letter  from  Johri:  "Only  Mr.  Delamotte  is  with 
me,"  said  he,  "till  God  shall  stir  up  the  hearts  of 
some  of  his  servants,  who,  puttitig  their  lives  in  his 
hands,  shall  come  over  and  help  us,  where  the  har- 
vest is  so  great,  and  the  labourers  so  few.  What  if 
thou  art  tlie  man,  Mr.  VVhitefield  .^"  In  another  let- 
ter, it  was  said,  "  Do  you  ask  me  what  you  shall 
have  } — Food  to  eat,  and  r'iiment  to  put  on  ;  a  house 
to  lay  your  head  in,  such  as  your  Lord  had  not ;  and 
a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away."  Upon  read- 
ing tiiis,  his  heart,  lie  says.  leape<l  within  him,  and. 


141 


I'ROGRKSS  OF  WHITEFIELD 


[1736. 


as  it  were,  echoed  to  the  call.  The  desire  thus  form- 
ed soon  ripened  into  a  purpose,  for  which  all  circum- 
stances seemed  favourable.  Mr.  Kinchin  had  been 
elected  Dean,  and  must  therefore  reside  at  College; 
he  would  take  upon  him  the  charge  of  the  prisoners  : 
Harvey  was  ready  to  supply  his  place  in  the  curacy  : 
there  were  many  Indians  in  Georgia, — for  their  sake 
it  was  a  matter  of  great  importance  that  serious  cler- 
gymen should  be  sent  over :  there  he  should  find 
VVesley,  his  spiritual  teacher  and  dear  friend  :  a  sea 
voyage,  too,  might  not  improbably  be  helpful  to  his 
weakened  constitution.  Thus  he  reasoned,  finding 
in  every  circumstance  something  which  flattered  his 
purpose :  and  having  strengthened  it  by  prayer  into 
a  settled  resolution,  which  he  knew  could  never  be 
carried  into  effect  if  he  "  conferred  with  flesh  and 
blood,"  he  wrote  to  his  relations  at  Gloucester,  tell- 
ing them  his  design,  and  saying,  that  if  they  would 
promise  not  to  dissuade  him,  he  would  visit  them  to 
take  his  leave ;  but  otherwise  he  would  embark  with- 
out seeing  them,  for  he  knew  his  own  weakness. 

Herein  he  acted  wisely,  but  the  promise  which  he 
extorted  was  not  strictly  observed  :  his  aged  mother 
wept  sorely ;  and  others,  who  had  no  such  cause  to 
justify  their  interference,  represented  to  him  what  . 
"  pretty  preferment"  he  might  have  if  he  wouid  stay 
at  home.  The  Bishop  approved  his  determination, 
received  him  like  a  father,  as  he  always  did,  and 
doubted  not  but  that  God  would  bless  him,  and  that 
he  would  do  much  good  abroad.  From  Gloucester  ' 
he  went  to  bid  his  friends  at  Bristol  farewell.  Here 
he  was  held  in  high  honour:  the  mayor  appointed 
him  to  preach  before  the  corporation ;  Quakers,  Bap- 
tists, Presbyterians,  people  of  all  denominations, 
flocked  to  hear  him;  the  churches  were  as  full  on 
week  days  as  they  used  to  be  on  Sundays;  and  on 
Sundays  crowds  were  obliged  to  go  away  for  want  of  - 
room.  "  The  whole  city,"  lie  said,  "seemed  to  be 
alarmed."  But  though  he  says  that  "  the  Word  was 
sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,  and  that  the  doc- 
trine of  the  New  Birth  made  its  way  like  lightning  i 


.737.] 


DURING  Wesley's  absence. 


145 


into  the  hearers'  consciences,"  the  doctrine  had  not 
yet  assumed  a  fanatic  tone,  and  produced  no  extrava- 
o;ai)ce  in  pubHc. 

He  himself,  however,  was  in  a  state  of  high  enthu- 
?iasm.  Having  been  accepted  by  General  Oglethorpe 
ukI  the  trustees,  and  presented  to  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
lon  and  the  Primate,  and  finding  that  it  would  be 
-ome  months  before  the  vessel  in  which  he  was  to 
cinbark  would  be  ready,  he  went  for  a  while  to  serve 
the  church  of  one  of  his  friends  at  Stonehouse,  in  his 
native  county;  and  there  he  describes  the  habitual 
exaltation  of  his  mind  in  glowing  language.  Dncom- 
;nou  nianifcstations,  he  says,  were  granted  him  from 
ibove.  Early  in  the  morning,  at  noon-day,  evening, 
nnd  midnight, — nay,  all  the  day  long,  did  the  Re- 
deemer visit  and  refresh  his  heart.  Could  the  trees 
of  the  wood  speak,  they  would  tell  what  sweet  com- 
munion he  and  his  Christian  brethren  had  under  their 
shade  enjoyed  with  their  God.  "  Sometimes  as  I 
have  been  walking,"  he  continues,  "  my  soul  would 
make  such  sallies,  that  I  thought  it  would  go  out  of 
the  body.  At  other  times  I  would  be  so  overpower- 
ed with  a  sense  ofGod's  infinite  majesty,  that  I  would 
be  constrained  to  throw  myself  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  and  offer  my  soul  as  a  blank  in  his  hands,  to 
^vI•ite  on  it  what  he  pleased.  One  night  was  a  time 
never  to  be  forgotten.  It  happened  to  lighten  ex- 
ceedingly. 1  had  been  expounding  to  many  people, 
nnd  some  being  afraid  to  go  home,  I  thought  it  my 
duty  to  accompany  tl  em,  and  improve  the  occasion, 
to  stir  them  up  to  prepare  for  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  Man.  In  my  return  to  the  parsonage,  whilst  others 
were  rising  from  their  beds,  and  frightened  almost 
to  death  to  see  the  lightning  run  upon  the  ground, 
and  shine  from  one  part  of  the  heaven  unto  the 
other,  I  and  another,  a  poor  but  pious  countryman, 
were  in  the  field,  praising,  praying  to,  and  exulting 
\n  our  God,  and  longing  for  that  time  when  Jesus 
shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  in  a  flame  of  fire! 
Oh  that  my  soul  may  be  in  a  like  frame  when  he 
?hall  actually  come  to  call  me !" 


146 


PROGRESS   OF  WHIT*:riF,LD 


[1737. 


From  hence  he  went  again  to  Bristol,  having  re- 
ceived many  and  pressing  invitations.  Multitudes 
came  out  on  foot  to  mee<^t  him,  and  some  in  coaches, 
a  mile  without  the  city ;  and  the  people  saluted  and 
blest  him  as  he  passed  along  the  street.  He  preach- 
ed about  five  times  a  week  to  such  congregations,  that 
it  was  with  great  difficulty  he  could  make  way  along 
the  crowded  aisles  to  the  reading-desk.  "  Some 
hung  upon  the  rails  of  the  organ-loft,  others  climbed 
upon  the  leads  of  the  church,  and  all  together  made 
the  church  so  hot  w  ith  their  breath,  that  the  steam  ( 
would  fall  from  the  pillars  like  drops  of  rain."  When 
he  preached  his  farewell  sermon,  and  said  to  the 
people  that  perhaps  they  might  see  his  face  no  more, 
high  and  low,  young  and  old,  burst  into  tears.  Mul-  i 
titudes  after  the  sermon  followed  him  home  weeping : 
the  next  day  he  was  employed  from  seven  in  the 
morning  till  midnight  in  talking  and  giving  spiritual 
advice  to  awakened  hearers  ;  and  he  left  Bristol  se- 
cretly in  the  middle  of  the  night,  to  avoid  the  cere 
mony  of  being  escorted  by  horsemen  and  coaches 
out  of  the  town. 

The  man  who  produced  this  extraordinary  efTect 
had  many  natural  advantages.  He  was  something 
above  the  middle  stature,  well  proportioned,  though 
at  that  time  slender,  and  remarkable  for  a  native 
gracefulness  of  manner.  His  complexion  was  very  fair, 
his  features  regular,  his  eyes  small  and  lively,  of  a 
dark  blue  colour :  in  recovering  from  the  measles 
he  had  contracted  a  squint  with  one  of  them  ;  but 
this  peculiarity  rather  rendered  the  expression  of  his 
countenance  more  rememberable,  than  in  any  degree 
lessened  the  effect  of  its  uncommon  sweetness.  His 
voice  excelled  both  in  melody  and  compass,  and  its 
fine  modulations  were  happily  accompanied  by  that 
grace  of  action  which  he  possessed  in  an  eminent 
degree,  and  which  has  been  said  to  be  the  chief  re- 
quisite of  an  orator.  An  ignorant  man  described  his 
eloquence  oddly  but  strikingly,  when  he  said,  that 
Mr.  Whitefield  preached  hke  a  lion.  So  strange  a 
comparison  conveyed  no  tinapt  a  notion  of  the  force 


1737.] 


DURING  WESLEV'S  ABSENCE. 


147 


audvehemence_an^^ 

uwecT  the  hearers,  and  manejHe^^  Felix 
belore  the  apostle.  For  believing  braiself  to  be  the 
messenger  ot"  God,  commissioned  to  call  sinners  to 
reji^ntance,  he  spoke  as  one  conscious  of  his  high 
credentials,  with  authority  and  power;  yet  in  all  his 
discourses  there  was  a  fervent  and  melting  charity, 
aij  earnesthess  of  persuasion,  an  outpouring  of  re- 
dundant love,  partaking  the  virtue  of  that  faith  from 
which  it  flowed,  inasmuch  as  it  seemed  to  enter  the 
heart  which  it  pierced,  and  to  heal  it  as  with  balm. 

The  samejlood  of.  popularity  followed  him  in  Lon- 
don. He  was  invited  to  preach  at  Cripplegate,  St. 
Anne's,  and  Foster-Lane  churches,  at  six  on  Sunday 
morning,  and  to  assist  in  administering  the  sacra- 
ment :  so  many  attended,  that  they  were  obliged  to 
consecrate  fresh  elements  twice  or  thrice,  and  the 
stewards  found  it  difficult  to  carry  the  offerings  to 
the  communion-table.  Such  an  orator  was  soon  ap- 
plied to  by  the  managers  of  various  charities  ;  and  as 
his  stay  was  to  be  so  short,  they  obtained  the  use  of 
the  churches  on  week  days.  It  was  necessary  to 
place  constables  at  the  doors  within  and  without, 
?uch  multitudes  assembled  ;  and  on  Sunday  mornings 
m  the  latter  months  of  the  year,  long  before  day,  you 
might  see  the  streets  filled  with  people  going  to  hear 
him,  with  lanthorns  in  their  hands.  Above  a  thou- 
sand pounds  were  collected  for  the  charity  children 
by  his  preaching, — in  those  days  a  prodigious  sum, 
larger  collections  being  made  than  had  ever  before 
been  known  on  like  occasions.  A  paragraph  was 
published  in  one  of  the  newspapers,  speaking  of  his 
success,  and  announcing  where  he  was  to  preach 
next:  he  sent  to  the  printer,  requesting  that  nothing 
of  this  kind  might  be  inserted  again ;  the  fellow  re- 
plied, that  he  was  paid  for  doing  it,  and  that  he  would 
not  lose  two  shillings  for  any  body.  The  nearer  the 
lime  of  his  departure  approached,  the  more  eager 
were  the  people  to  hear  him,  and  the  more  warmly 
ihey  expressed  their  admiration  and  love  for  the: 
preacher.    They  stopt  him  in  the  aisles  and  em 


148 


PROGRESS  OF  WHITEFIELjb 


[1737 


braced  him ;  they  waited  upon  him  at  his  lodgings 
to  lay  open  their  souls  ;  they  begged  religious  books 
of  him,  and  entreated  him  to  write  their  names  with 
his  own  hand  :  and  wjiea- he  preached  his  farewell 
sermon,  here,  as  at  Bristol,  the  whole  congreg^ij^ioa 
wept  and  sobbed  aloud.  At  the  end  of  the  year  he 
left  London,  and  embarked  at  Gravesend  for  Georgia. 

This  unexampled  popularity  excited  some  jealousy 
in  a  part  of  the  clergy,  and  in  others  a  more  reason- 
able inquiry  concerning  the  means  whereby  it  was 
obtained.  Complaints  were  made  that  the  crowds 
who  followed  him  left  no  room  for  the  parishioners, 
and  spoiled  the  pews ;  and  he  was  compelled  to 
print  the  sermon  on  the  Nature  and  Necessity  of  our 
Regeneration,  or  New  Birth  in  Christ  Jesus,  through 
the  importunity  of  friends,  he  says,  and  the  aspersions 
of  enemies.  It  was  reported  in  London  that  the 
Bishop  intended  to  silence  him,  upon  the  complaint 
of  the  clergy.  In  consequence  of  this  report,  he 
waited  upon  the  Bishop,  and  asked  whether  any 
such  complaint  had  been  lodged.  Being  satisfac- 
torily answered  in  the  negative,  he  asked  whether 
any  objection  could  be  made  against  his  doctrine ; 
the  Bishop  repHed,  no ;  he  knew  a  clergyman  who 
had  heard  him  preach  a  plain  scriptural  sermon. 
He  then  asked  whether  his  Lordship  would  give  him 
a  licence ;  and  the  Bishop  avoided  a  direct  reply, 
by  saying  that  he  needed  none,  for  he  was  going  to 
Georgia.  Evidently  he  thought  this  a  happy  desti- 
nation for  one  whose  fervent  spirit  was  likely  to  lead 
him  into  extravagances  of  doctrine  as  well  as  of  life; 
for  sometimes  he  scarcely  allowed  himself  an  hour's 
sleep,  and  once  he  spent  a  whole  night  among  his 
disciples  in  prayer  and  praise.  His  frequent  inter- 
course with  the  more  serious  Dissenters  gave  cause 
of  offence ;  for  the  evils  which  P  u  ri  tan  ism  Jiad  brought 
upon  this  kingdom  were  at  that  time  neither  forgot- 
ten nor  forgiven.  He  "  found  their  conversation 
savoury,"  and  judged  rightly,  that  the  best  way  to 
bring  them  over  was  not  hy  bigotry  and  railing,  but 
by  moderation,  and  love,  and  undisserabled  holiness 


1737.] 


DURING  Wesley's  absence. 


149 


of  life.  And  on  their  part  they  told  him,  that  if  the 
doctrine  of  the  New  Birth  and  Justification  by  Faith 
were  powerfully  preached  in  the  church,  there  would 
be  but  few  Dissenters  in  England.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  manner  in  which  he  dwelt  upon  this  doc- 
trine alarmed  some  of  the  clergy,  who  apprehended 
the  consequences ;  and  on  this  account  he  was  in- 
formed, that  if  he  continued  in  that  strain,  they  would 
not  allow  him  to  preach  any  more  in  their  pulpits. 

Doubtless  those  persons  who  felt  and  reasoned 
thus,  rejoiced  in  Whitefield's  departure  to  a  country 
where  the  whole  force  of  his  enthusiasm  might  safely 
expend  itself  But  in  all  stirring  seasons,  when  any 
great  changes  are  to  be  operated,  either  in  the 
sphere  of  human  knowledge  or  of  human  actions, 
agents  enough  are  ready  to  appear ;  and  those  men 
who  become  for  posterity  "the  great  landmarks  of 
their  age,  receive  their  bias  from  the  times  in  which 
they  live,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
placed,  before  they  themselves  *  give  the  directing 
impulse.  It  is  apparent,  that  though  the  Wesleys 
should  neveiTEave  existed,  Whitefield  would  have! 
given~bTrtH  to  MethodisiBLi=:=-^Xid  |),ow  Avhen  White- ^ 
liaiving  excited  this  powerful  sensation  in  Lon- 
^on^hajl^  departed  for  Georgia,  to  the  joy  of  those 
wTio^readejd  _tliejexce^^^  of  his  zeal,  no  sooner  had 
EjeJeJjTthe  metropolis  than  Wesley  arrived  there,  to 
deepen  and  widen  the  impression  which  Wliitefield 
hacl  rnade.  Had  their  measures  been  concerted, 
tlie^Tcould  not  more  entirely  have  accorded.  The 
first  sermon  which  Wesley  preached  was  upon  these 

*  "  I  have  ofteu  observed,"  says  Cowley,  "  (w  ith  ali  submis- 
•ion  and  resignation  of  spirit  to  the  inscrutable  mysteries  of  Eter- 
nal Providence,)  that  when  the  fulness  and  maturity  of  time  is 
come,  that  produces  the  great  confusions  and  changes  in  the  world, 
it  usually  pleases  God  to  make  it  appear  by  the  manner  of  them, 
that  they  are  not  the  effects  of  human  force  or  policy,  but  of  the 
divine  justice  and  predestination  :  and  though  we  see  a  ni.in,  like 
that  which  we  call  Jack  of  the  Clock  House,  striking,  as  it  were, 
the  hour  of  that  fulness  of  time,  yet  our  reason  must  needs  be 
convinced,  that  the  hand  is  moved  by  some  secret,  and  to  us  from 
without,  invisible  direction." 


150 


WESLEV  A  PUPIL 


[173C. 


strong  words  :  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature;"  and  though  he  himself  had  not  yet  reach- 
ed the  same  stage  in  his  progress  as  his  more  ardent 
coadjutor,  the  discourse  was  so  high  strained,  that 
he  was  informed  he  was  not  to  preach  again  in  that 
pulpit. 

This  was  on  the  second  day  after  his  arrival  in 
London.  Two  days  afterwards  he  met,  at  the  house 
of  a  Dutch  merchant,  three  Moravian  brethren,  by 
name  Wenceslaus  Neisser,  George  Schulius,  and 
Peter  Boehler;  all  these  were  just  arrived  from 
Germany,  and  the  two  latter  were  on  their  way  to 
Georgia.  He  marks  the  day  in  his  journal  as  much 
to  be  remembered  on  account  of  this  meeting.  On 
the  next  Sunday  he  preached  at  St.  Andrew's,  Hoi- 
born,  and  there  also  was  informed  that  he  was  to 
preach  no  more.  In  the  course  of  the  week  he  went 
to  Oxford,  whither  Peter  Boehler  accompanied  him, 
and  where  he  found  only  one  of  the  little  Society 
which  he  had  formed  there ;  the  rest  having  been 
called  to  their  several  stations  in  the  world.  Du- 
'  ring  these  days  he  conversed  much  with  the  Mora- 
vian, but  says,  that  he  understood  him  not ;  and  least 
of  all  when  he  said.  Mi  frater,  mi  frater,  excoquenda 
est  ista  tua  Philosophia.  Ere  long,  being  with  his 
mother  at  Salisbury,  and  preparing  for  a  journey  to 
his  brother  Samuel,  at  Tiverton,  he  was  recalled  to 
Oxford  by  a  message  that  Charles  was  dying  there  of 
a  pleurisy  :  setting  off  immediately  upon  this  mourn- 
lul  summons,  he  found  him  recovering,  and  Peter 
Boehler  with  him.  Boehler  possessed  one  kind  of 
philosophy  in  a  higher  degree  than  his  friend :  the 
singularity  of  their  appearance  and  manner  excited 
some  mockery  from  the  under-graduates,  and  the 
German,  who  perceived  that  Wesley  was  annoyed 
by  it  chiefly  on  his  account,  said,  with  a  smile.  Mi 
frater^  non  adhccret  vestibus, — "  it  does  not  even  stick 
to  our  clothes."  This  man,  a  person  of  no  ordinary 
powers  of  mind,  became  Wesley's  teacher:  it  is  no 
slight  proof  of  his  commanding  intellect,  that  he  was 
listened  to  as  such ;  and  by  him,  "  in  the  hands  of 


1738.] 


OF  THE  MORAVIANS. 


1.51 


the  great  God,"  says  Wesley,  "  I  was  clearly  con- 
vinced of  unbelief, — of  the  want  of  that  faith  whereby 
alone  we  are  saved."  A  scruple  immediately  oc- 
curred to  him,  whether  he  ought  not  to  leave  off 
preaching. — for  how  could  he  preach  to  others  who 
had  not  faith  himself.-'  Boehler  was  consulted  whe- 
ther he  should  leave  it  off,  and  answered,  "  By  no 
means."  "  But  what  can  I  preach  .f'"  said  Wesley. 
Tlie  Moravian  replied,  "  Preach  faith  ////  you  have 
it :  and  then,  because  you  have  it,  you  will  preach 
faith."  Accordingly  he  began  to  preach  this  doc- 
trine, though,  he  says,  his  soul  started  back  from  the 
work. 

He  had  a  little  before  resolved,  and  written 
down  the  resolution  as  a  covenant  with  himself, 
that  he  would  use  absolute  openness  and  unreserve 
towards  all  whom  he  should  converse  with ;  that 
he  would  labour  after  continual  seriousness,  not 
willingly  indulging  himself  in  any  the  least  levity 
of  behaviour,  nor  in  laughter,  no,  not  for  a  mo- 
ment ;  and  that  he  would  speak  no  word,  and  take 
no  pleasure,  which  did  not  tend  to  the  glory  of 
God.  In  this  spirit  he  began  to  exhort  the  hostess 
or  the  servants  at  an  inn,  the  chance  company  with 
whom  he  was  set  at  meat,  and  the  traveller  with 
whom  he  fell  in  on  the  road :  if  a  passing  salu- 
tation were  exchanged,  a  word  of  religious  ex- 
hortation was  added.  Mr.  Kinchin,  the  good  mi- 
nister of  Dummer,  was  one  of  his  fellow  travel- 
lers in  a  journey  to  and  from  Manchester;  and 
because  they  neglected  to  instruct  those  who  at- 
tended them  while  they  dined  at  Birmingham, 
Wesley  says  they  were  reproved  for  their  negli- 
gence by  a  severe  shower  of  hail.  No  clamour 
having  as  yet  gone  forth  against  the  Methodists,  the 
natural  effect  of  their  unusual  conduct  was  not  dis- 
turbed by  any  prejudices  or  vulgar  prepossession. 
Some  were  attentive,  some  were  affected,  some  were 
unconcerned  ;  but  all  were  astonished.  A  stranger 
.  hearing  him  address  the  ostler,  followed  him  into  the 
house,  and  said,  "I  believe  you  are  a  good  man,  and 


Io2 


WESLEY  A  PUPIL 


[1738. 


1  come  to  tell  you  a  little  of  my  life  :"  the  tears  were 
in  his  eyes  all  the  while  he  spoke,  and  the  travellers 
had  good  hope  that  not  a  word  of  their  advice  would 
be  lost.  At  another  place  they  were  served  by  a  gay 
young  woman,  who  listened  to  them  with  utter  indif- 
ference; however,  whfen  they  went  away,  "  she  fixed 
her  eyes,  and  neither  moved  nor  said  one  word,  but 
appeared  as  much  astonished  as  if  she  had  seen  one 
risen  from  the  dead."  A  man  who  sat  with  his  hat  on 
while  Mr.  Wesley  said  grace,  changed  countenance 
at  his  discourse  during  dinner,  stole  it  off  his  head, 
and  laying  it  down  behind  him,  said,  all  they  were 
saying  was  true,  but  he  had  been  a  grievous  sinner, 
and  not  considered  it  as  lie  ought:  now,  with  God's 
help,  he  would  turn  to  him  in  earnest.  A  Quaker 
fell  in  with  him,  well  skilled  in  controversy,  and 
"  therefore  sufficiently  fond  of  it."  After  an  hour's 
discourse,  Wesley  advised  him  to  dispute  as  little  as 
possible,  but  rather  to  follow  after  holiness,  and  walk 
humbly  with  his  God. 

Having  returned  to  Oxford,  and  being  at  a  meet- 
ing of  his  religious  friends,  his  heart  was  so  full  that 
he  could  not  confine  himself  to  the  forms  of  prayer 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  use  at  such  times ; 
and  from  that  time  forth  he  resolved  to  pray  indiflfer- 
ently  with  or  without  form,  as  the  occasion  and  the 
impulse  might  indicate.  Here  he  met  Peter  Boehler 
again ;  and  was  more  and  more  amazed  by  the  ac- 
count the  Moravian  gave  of  the  fruits  of  living  faith, 
and  the  holiness  and  happiness  wherewith,  he  affirm- 
ed, it  was  attended.  The  next  morning  he  began  his 
Greek  Testament,  "resolving  to  abide  by  the  law 
and  the  testimony,  and  being  confident  that  God 
would  thereby  show  him  whether  this  doctrine  was 
of  God."  After  a  few  weeks  they  met  once  more  in 
London,  and  Wesley  assented  to  what  he  said  of 
faith,  but  was  as  yet  unable  to  comprehend  how  this 
faith  could  be  given  instantaneously  as  Boehler  main- 
tained ;  for  hitherto  he  had  had  no  conception  of 
that  perpetual  and  individual  revelation  which  is  now. 
the  doctrine  of  his  sect.    He  could  not  understand 


1738.] 


OF  THE  MORAVIANS. 


153 


"  How  a  man  could  at  once  be  thus  turned  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  from  sin  and  misery  to  righteousness 
.iiid  '\oy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  Biit.^eeing  Boehler  in 
•^  ii<lEpiJ2r_sta.te.. of  mind  than  himself,  he  regarded 
Iijni  as  having  attained  nearer  to  Christian  perfection ; 
:uKriTic  Moravians,  from  the  hour  that  he  became 
acyjjajiited  with  them,  had  evidently  obtairjed  a 
-troiig^scendancy  over  him.  He  searched  the  Scrip- 
tures again,  touching  the  difference  between  them, 
the  point  upon  which  he  halted;  and  exarmnirig 
mo  re  _pa  r  t  i  c  u !  a  rly  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  he  says, 
that  he  was  utterly  astonished  at  finding  scarcely  any 
Instances,  there  of  other  than  instmiianeous  conver- 
sions. "  Scarce  any  other  so  slow  as  that  of  St.  Paul, 
who  was  three  days  in  the  pangs  of  the  New  Birth." 
Is  it  possible  that  a  man  of  Wesley's  acuteness  should 
have  studied  the  Scriptures  as  he  had  studied  them, 
till  the  age  of  five-and-thirty,  without  perceiving  that 
the  conversions  which  they  record  are  instantaneous? 
and  is  it  possible,  that  he  should  not  now  have  per- 
ceived that  they  were  necessarily  instantaneous,  be- 
cause they  were  produced  by  plain  miracles  .f* 

His  last  retreat  was,  that  although  the  Almighty 
had  wrought  thus  in  the  first  ages  of  the  church,  the 
times  were  changed,  and  what  reason  was  there  for 
supposing  that  he  worked  in  the  same  manner  now  } 
"  But,"  he  says,  "  I  was  beat  out  of  this  retreat  too 
by  the  concurring  evidence  of  several  living  wit- 
nesses, who  testified  God  had  thus  wrought  in  them- 
selves; giving  them  in  a  moment  such  a  faith  in  the 
blood  of  his  Son,  as  translated  them  out  of  darkness 
into  light,  out  of  sin  and  fear  into  holiness  and  happi- 
ness. Here  ended  my  disputing ;  I  could  now  only 
cry  out,  "  Lord,  help  thou  my  unbelief!"  In  after 
life,  when  Wesley  looked  back  upon  this  part  of  his 
progress,  he  concluded  that  he  had  then  the  faith  of 
a  servant,  though  not  of  a  son.  At  the  time  he  be- 
lieved himself  to  be  without  faith,  Charles  was  angry 
at  the  language  which  he  held,  for  Charles  had  not 
kept  pace  with  him  in  these  latter  changes  of  opi- 
nion, and  told  him  he  did  not  know  what  mischief  he 

VOL.  I.  20 


154 


AVESLKV  A  PITPIL 


[1738. 


had  done  by  talking  thus.  "  And  indeed,"  says  Wes- 
ley, as  if  contemplating;  with  exultation  the  career 
M  hich  he  was  to  run,  "  it  did  please  God  to  kii^le  a 
fire,  which  I  trust  shall  never  he  extinguished." 

While  he  was  in  this  state  of  mind,  between  forty 
and  fifty  persons,  for  so  many,  including  the  Mora- 
vians, were  now  collected  in  London,  agreed  to  meet 
together  weekly,  and  drew  up  the  fundamental  rules 
of  their  society,  "in  obedience  to  the  command  of 
God  by  St.  James,  and  by  the  advice  of  Peter  Boeh- 
ler ;"  in  such  estimation  did  Wesley  at  this  time  hold 
his  spiritual  master.  They  were  to  be  divided  into 
several  bands  or  little  companies,  none  consisting  of 
fewer  than  five,  or  more  than  ten  persons ;  in  these 
bands  every  one  in  order  engaged  to  speak  as  freely, 
plainly,  and  concisely  as  he  could,  the  real  state  of 
his  heart,  with  his  several  temptations  and  deliver- 
ances since  the  last  meeting.  On  Wednesday  even- 
ings, at  eight  o'clock,  all  the  bands  were  to  have  a 
conference,  beginning  and  ending  with  hymns  and 
prayer.  Any  person  who  desired  admission  into  this 
society  was  to  be  asked,  what  were  his  motives,  whe- 
ther he  would  be  entirely  open,  using  no  kind  of  re- 
serve, and  whether  he  objected  to  any  of  the  rules. 
When  he  should  be  proposed,  every  one  present  who 
felt  any  objection  to  his  admission,  should  state  it 
fairly  and  fully :  they  who  were  received  on  trial 
were  to  be  formed  into  distinct  bands,  and  some  ex- 
perienced person  chosen  to  assist  them ;  and  if  no 
objection  appeared  to  them  after  two  months,  they 
might  then  be  admitted  into  the  society.  Every 
fourth  Saturday  was  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  ge- 
neral intercession  ;  and  on  the  Sunday  sevennight 
following,  a  general  love-feast  should  be  held,  from 
seven  till  ten  in  the  evening.  The  last  article  pro- 
vided that  no  member  should  be  allowed  to  act  in 
any  thing  contrary  to  any  order  of  the  society,  and 
that  any  person  who  did  not  conform  to  those  orders 
after  being  thrice  admonished,  should  no  longer  be 
esteemed  a  member. 


1738.] 


OF  THE  MOKAVIANS. 


155 


These  rules  were  in  the  spirit  of  LheJkloravijaain- 
stitutions,  for  Wesley  wa§  jlO.yv  uuiXed  uith  the JBreth- 
ren  in  docltrine,  as  lar  as  undcisLood  their  dac- 
tdli£aJWi3r>vell  disposed  to  many  parts  of  their  disci- 
pline. Charles  also  now  yielded  to  Peter  Boehler's 
commanding^ ajjilities,  and  was  by  him  persuaded  of 
tHeTiecessity  of  a  faith  differing  from  any  thing  which 
he  had  yet  felt  or  imagined.  The  day  after  he  had 
won  this  victory,  Boehler  left  London  to  embark  for 
Georgia.  "  O  what  a  work,"  says  Wesley,  "  has  God 
begun  since  his  coming  into  England  !  Such  a  one  as 
shall  never  come  to  an  end,  till  Heaven  and  earth 
pass  away  !" — eo  fully  was  he  possessed  with  a  sense 
of  the  important  part  which  he  was  to  act,  and  of  the 
extensive  influence  which  his  lite  and  labours  would 
produce  upon  mankind,  that  these  aspiring  presages 
were  recorded  even  now,  whilst  he  was  in  the  dark- 
est and  most  unsatisfactory  state  of  his  progress.  In 
preaching,  however,  he  was  enabled  to  speak  strong 
words,  and  his  "  heart  was  so  enlarged  to  declare 
the  love  of  God,"  that  it  did  not  surprise  him  to  be 
informed  he  was  not  to  preach  again  in  those  churches 
where  he  had  given  this  free  utterance  to  the  fulness 
of  his  feelings. 

At  this  time  he  addressed  a  remarkable  letter^to 
\Villiain  Lavv,  the  extraordinary  man  whomlie  once 
regai-ded~as"  his  spiritual  instructor.  The  letter  be- 
gan in  these  words  :  It  is  in  obedience  to  what  I 
think  to  be  the  call  of  God,  that  I,  who  have  the  sen- 
tence of  death  in  my  own  soul,  take  upon  me  to  write 
to  you,  of  whom  I  have  often  desired  to  learri  the  first 
elements  of  the  Gospel  ofChrist.  If  you  are  born  of 
God,  yoii  will  approve  the  design,  tliough  it  may  be 
but  weakly  executed;  if  not,  i  shall  grieve  for  you, 
not  for  myself.  For  as  1  seek  not  the  praise  of  men, 
so  neither  regard  1  the  contempt  cilber  of  you  or  any 
other."  With  this  exordium  he  introd.uced  a  seyexc 
turc  to  his  discarded  master.  For  two  years  he  saidjie 
had  been~preachTngjafter  the  model  of  Mr.  Law's  two 
practical  tixatrse.s,  and  all  who  heard  had  allowed 
that  the  ia\v  was  great,  wonderful,  and  holy  ;  but^ 


155 


WESLEY   A  PUPIL 


[1738. 


when  thev.aUgmgteijU^^  i tj  ihej  lb u nd  that jt_was 
too  high  Jor  jnai),  and  that  by  doing  the  works  of  the 
law  should  no  flesh  living  be  justified.  He  had  then 
exhorted  to  pray  earnestly  for  grace,  and  use  all 
those  other  means  of  obtaining  it  which  God  hath 
appointed.  Still  he  and_hisjiear^ers3^.e£e  more  and 
more  convinced  jhat  by  this  law  man  cannot  live; 
and  under  this  heavy  yoke  he  might  have  groaned 
till  death,  had  not  a  holy  man,  to  whom  God  had 
lately  directed  him,  answered  his  complaining  at 
once,  by  saying,  "  Believe,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 
Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  nothing  shall  be  impossible  to  thee.  Strip^tby- 
self  naked  of  thy  own  works  and  thy  own  righteous- 
ness, and  flee  to  him."  "  Now,  Sir,"  continued  Wes- 
ley, "  suffer  me  to  ask,  how  will  you  answer  it  to  our 
common  Lord  that  you  never  gave  me  this  advice 
Whj  did  I  scarcely  ever  hear  you  name  the  name  Qf 
Christ  ;  never  so  as  to  ground  any  thing  upon  faiLb.in_ 
his  blood?  If  you  say,  you  advised  other  things  os  pre- 
paratory to  this,  what  is  this  but  laying  a  foundation 
below  the  foundation  ?  is  not  Christ  then  the  First 
as  well  as  the  Last  ?  If  you  say  you  advised  them,  be- 
cause you  knew  that  I  had  faith  already,  verily  you 
knew  nothing  of  me;  you  discerned  not  my  spirit 
at  all."  Law  had  given  good  proof  of  his  discern- 
ment when  he  said  to  the  aspirant.  "  Sir,  I  perceive 
you  would  fain  convert  the  world  !" 

"  I  know  that  I  had  not  faith,"  he  continues  ;  "  un- 
less the  faith  of  a  devil,  the  faith  of  Judas,  that  spe- 
culative, notional,  airy  shadow,  which  lives  in  the 
head,  not  in  the  heart.  But  what  is  this  to  the  living, 
justifying  faith,  the  faith  that  cleanses  from  sin  ? — I 
beseech  you.  Sir,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  to  consider 
deeply  and  impartially,  whether  the  true  reason  of 
your  never  pressing  this  upon  me,  was  not  this,  that 
you  had  it  not  yourself.'^"  He  then  warned  him,  on 
the  authority  of  Peter  Boefiler,  whom  he  called, 
man  of  God,  and  whom  he  knew,  he  said,  tojhave 
the  Spirit  of  God,  that  his  state  was  a  very  daji^ex- 
ous  one ;  and  asked  him  whether  his  extreme  rough- 


1738.] 


OF  THE  MORAVIANS^. 


157 


ness.  ai|djwjx>se^nd_a£UiiLbehs^ 

be  tlie  Iruit  of  a  living^  faith  in  Christ? 

To  this  extraordinary  letter,  Law  returned  a  tem- 
perate answer.  "  As  you  have  written,''  said  he, 
"  in  obedience  to  a  divine  call,  and  in  conjunction 
with  another  extraordinary  good  young  man,  whom 
you  know  to  have  the  Spirit  of  God,  so  I  assure  you, 
that  considering  your  letter  in  that  view,  I  neither 
desire,  nor  dare  to  make  the  smallest  defence  of  my- 
self. I  have  not  the  least  inclination  to  question 
your  mission,  nor  the  smallest  repugnance  to  own, 
receive,  reverence,  and  submit  myself  to  you  both,  in 
the  exalted  character  to  which  you  lay  claim.  But 
upon  supposition  that  you  had  here  only  acted  by 
that  ordinary  light,  which  is  common  to  good  and  so- 
ber minds,  I  should  remark  upon  your  letter  as  fol- 
lows :  How  yon  may  have  been  two  years  preaching 
the  doctrine  of  the  two  Practical  Discourses,  or  how 
you  may  have  tired  yourself  and  your  hearers  to  no 
purpose,  is  what  I  cannot  say  much  to.  A  holy  man, 
you  say,  taught  you  thus  :  Believe  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved.  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
nothing  shall  be  impossible  to  thee.  Strip  thyself  naked  of 
thy  own  works  and  thy  own  righteousness,  and  fee  to  him. 
lam  to  suppose  that  till  you  met  with  this  holy  man 
you  had  not  been  taught  this  doctrine..  Did  you  not 
above  two  years  ago,  give  a  new  translation  of  Tho- 
mas a  Kempis  Will  you  call  Thomas  to  account, 
and  to  answer  it  to  God.  as  you  do  me.  for  not  teach- 
ing you  that  doctrine  ?  Or  will  you  say  that  you  took 
upon  you  to  restore  the  true  sense  of  that  divine 
writer,  and  to  instruct  others  how  they  might  best 
profit  by  reading  him,  before  you  had  so  much  as  a 
literal  knowledge  of  the  most  plain,  open,  and  repeat- 
ed doctrine  in  his  book.''  You  cannot  but  remember 
what  value  I  always  exjiressed  ibr  Kempis.  and  how 
much  1  recommeniled  it  to  yoiir  meditations.  You 
have  had  a  great  many  conversations  with  me,  and  I 
dare  say  that  you  never  was  with  me  for  half  an  hour 
without  my  being  large  upon  that  very  doctrine, 
which  you  make  me  totally  silent  and  ignorant  oi. 


158 


WESLEY  A  PUPIL 


[1738. 


How  far  I  may  have  discerned  your  spirit,  or  the 
spirit  of  others  that  have  conversed  with  me,  may, 
perhaps,  be  more  a  secret  to  you  than  you  imagine. 
But  granting  you  to  be  right  in  the  account  of  your 
own  faith,  how  am  I  chargeable  with  it  ? 

"  I  am  to  suppose  that  after  you  had  been  medi- 
tating upon  an  author  that,  of  all  others,  leads  us  the 
most  directly  to  a  real,  living  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
after  you  had  judged  yourself  such  a  master  of  his 
sentiments  and  doctrines,  as  to  be  able  to  publish 
them  to  the  world,  with  directions  and  instructions 
concerning  such  experimental  divinity ;  that  years 
after  you  had  done  this,  you  had  only  the  faith  of  a 
devil  or  Judas,  an  empty  notion  only  in  your  head; 
and  that  you  was  in  this  state  through  ignorance  that 
there  was  any  better  to  be  sought  after;  and  that 
you  was  in  this  ignorance,  because  I  never  directed 
or  called  you  to  this  true  faith.  But  Sir,  as  Kempis 
and  I  have  both  of  us  had  your  acquaintance  and 
conversation,  so  pray  let  the  fault  be  divided  betwixt 
us  ;  and  I  shall  be  content  to  have  it  said  that  I  left 
you  in  as  much  ignorance  of  this  faith,  as  he  did,  or 
that  you  learnt  no  more  of  it  by  conversing  with  ine 
than  with  him.  If  you  had  only  this  faith  till  some 
weeks  ago,  let  me  advise  you  not  to  be  too  hasty  in 
believing,  that  because  you  have  changed  your  lan- 
guage orexpressions,youhavechangedyourfaith.  The 
head  can  as  easily  amuse  itself  with  a  living  andjustify- 
in<r  faith,  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  as  with  any  other  notion ; 
and  the  heart,  which  you  suppose  to  be  a  place  of 
security,  as  being  the  seat  of  self-love,  is  more  de- 
ceitful than  the  head.  Your  last  paragraph  con- 
cerning my  sour  rough  behaviour,  I  leave  in  its  full 
force ;  whatever  you  can  say  of  me  of  that  kind,  with- 
out hurting  yourself,  will  be  always  well  received 
by  me." 

Many  years  afterwards  Wesley  printed,  and  in 
so  doing  sanctioned,  an  observation  of  one  of  his 
correspondents,  which  explains  the  diflference  that 
now  appeared  to  him  so  frightful  between  his  own 
doctrine  and  that  of  William  Law.    "  Perhaps,"  said 


1738.] 


OF  THE  MORAVIANS. 


159 


this  writer,  "what  the  best  heathens  called  Reason 
and  Solomon  Wisdom,  St.  Paul  Grace  in  general 
and  St.  John  Righteousness  or  Love,  Luther  Faith, 
and  Fenelon  Virtue,  may  be  only  dilTerent  expres- 
f-ions  for  one  and  the  selfsame  blessing,  the  light  of 
Ciirist  shining  in  different  degrees  under  different 
dispensations.  Why  then  so  many  words  and  so  lit- 
tle charity  exercised  among  Christians,  about  the 
particular  term  of  a  blessing  experienced  more  or 
less  by  all  righteous  men  !"  There  are  sufficient  in- 
dications that  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Wesley  re- 
posed in  this  feeling  of  Catholic  charity,  to  which  his 
iicart  always  inclined  him. 

His  brother,  who  had  been  longer  in  acknowledg- 
ing the  want  of  efficient  faith,  attained  it  first.  "  1 
received,*'  says  Wesley,  "  the  surprising  news  that 
lie  had  found  rest  to  his  soul.  His  bodily  strength 
(though  it  was  just  after  a  second  return  of  pleurisy) 
leturned  also  from  that  hour.  Who  is  so  great  a 
God  as  our  God  !"  He  continued  himself  the  three 
rdlovving  days  under  a  continual  sense  of  sorrow 
and  heaviness  : — this  was  his  language  ; — "  Oh,  why 
i<  it  that  so  great,  so  wise,  so  holy  a  God  will  use 
=  uch  an  instrument  as  me  !  Lord,  let  the  dead  bury 
their  dead  !  But  wilt  thou  send  the  dead  to  raise  the 
dead.''  Yea,  thou  sendest  whom  thou  wilt  send,  and 
-howest  mercy  by  whom  thou  wilt  show  mercy, 
.\men!  Be  it  then  according  to  thy  will!  If  thou  speak 
the  word,  Judas  shall  cast  out  devils."  And  again 
he  thus  expressed  himself  I  feel  that  I  am  sold 
under  sin.  I  know  that  I  deserve  nothing  but  wrath, 
being  full  of  all  abominations.  All  my  works,  my 
righteousness,  my  prayers,  need  an  atonement  for 
themselves.  I  have  nothing  to  plead. — God  is 
holy,  I  am  unholy. — God  is  a  consuming  fire,  I  am 
altogether  a  sinner,  meet  to  be  consumed. — Yet  I 
hear  a  voidc, — Believe,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 
He  that  believeth  is  passed  from  death  unto  life. — 
Oh,  let  no  one  deceive  us  by  vain  w  ords  as  if  we  had 
already  attained  this  faith !  By  its  fruits  we  shall 
know. — Saviour  of  men,  save  us  from  trusting  in  any 


IbO 


WESLKY  A  PUPIL 


[1738. 


thing  but  Thee  !  Draw  us  after  thee  ! — Let  us  be 
emptied  of  ourselves,  and  then  fill  us  with  all  peace 
and  joy  in  believing,  and  let  nothing  separate  us  from 
thy  love  in  time  or  eternity."  This  was  his  state  till 
Wednesday,  May  24th,  a  remarkable  day  in  the  his- 
tory of  Methodism,  for  upon  that  day  he  dates  his 
conversion, — a  point,  say  his  official  biographers,  of 
the  utmost  magnitude,  not  only  with  respect  to  him- 
self, but  to  others. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day  he  went  very  unwilling- 
ly to  a  Society  in  Aldersgate-street,  where  one  of 
the  assembly  was  reading  Luther's  preface  to  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans. — What  followed  is  consider- 
ed by  his  disciples  as  being  of  deep  importance;  it 
may  therefore  best  be  given  in  his  own  words: 
"  About  a  quarter  before  nine,  while  he  was  describ- 
ing the  change  which  God  works  in  the  heart  through 
faith  in  Christ,  I  felt  my  heart  strangely  warmed;  I 
felt  1  did  trust  in  Christ,  Christ  alone,  for  salvation : 
and  an  assurance  was  given  me,  that  He  had  taken 
away  my  sins,  even  mine^  and  saved  me  from  the  law 
of  sin  and  death,  I  began  to  pray  with  all  my  might 
for  those  who  had  in  a  more  special  manner  despite- 
fully  used  me  and  persecuted  me.  I  then  testified 
openly  to  all  there  what  I  now  first  felt  in  my  heart. 
But  it  was  not  long  before  the  enemy  suggested,  This 
cannot  be  faith,  for  where  is  thy  joy.-^" — How  many 
a  thought  arising  from  that  instinctive  logic  which 
is  grounded  on  common  sense,  has  been  fathered  up- 
on the  personified  principle  of  evil !  Here  was  a  plain 
contradiction  in  terms, — an  assurance  which  had  not 
assured  him.  He  returned  home,  and  was  buffetted 
with  temptations;  he  cried  out,  and  they  fled  away; 
they  returned  again  and  again.  "I  as  often  lifted  up 
my  eyes,"  he  says,  "  and  He  sent  me  help  from  his 
holy  place.  And  herein  I  found  the  difference  be- 
tween this  and  my  former  state  chiefly  consisted.  I 
was  striving,  yea,  fighting  with  all  my  might  under 
the  law,  as  well  as  under  grace :  but  then  I  was 
sometimes,  if  not  often  conquered ;  now  I  was  al- 
ways conqueror." 


j7J8.]  OF  THE  MORAVIANS.  16I 

Before  Samuel  Wesley  removed  to  Tiverton,  his 
house  in  Dean's  Yard  had  been  a  home  for  John  and 
Charles  whenever  they  went  to  London.  After  his 
removal,  a  family  of  the  name  of  Hutton,  who  were 
much  attached  to  him,  desired  that  his  brothers 
would  make  the  same  use  of  their  house,  and  accord- 
ingly Charles  went  there  on  his  return  from  Geor- 
gia, and  John  also.  When,  however,  they  were  pro- 
ceeding fast  toward  the  delirious  stage  of  enthusi- 
asm, Charles  chose  to  take  up  his  quarters  with  a 
poor  brazier  in  Little  Britain,  that  the  brazier  might 
help  him  forward  in  his  conversion.  A  few  days  af- 
ter John  also  had  been  converted,  as  he  termed  it, 
when  Mr.  Hutton  had  finished  a  sermon,  which  he 
was  reading  on  a  Sunday  evening  to  his  family  and 
his  guests,  John  stood  up,  and  to  their  utter  astonish- 
ment assured  tliem  that  he  had  never  been  a  Chris- 
tian till  within  the  last  five  days ;  that  he  was  per- 
fectly certain  of  this,  and  that  the  only  way  for  them 
to  become  Christians  was  to  believe  and  confess  that 
they  were  not  so  now.  Hutton,  who  was  exceedingly 
surprised  at  such  a  speech,  only  replied,  "  Have  a 
care,  Mr.  Wesley,  how  you  despise  the  benefits  re- 
ceived by  the  two  sacraments !" — But  when  he  re- 
peated the  assertion  at  supper,  in  Mrs.  Hutton's  pre- 
sence, she  made  answer  with  female  readiness,  "If 
you  were  not  a  Christian  ever  since  I  knew  you,  you 
was  a  great  hypocrite,  for  you  made  us  all  believe 
you  were  one."  He  replied,  that  when  we  had  re- 
nounced every  thing  but  faith,  and  then  got  into 
Christ,  then  and  not  till  then  had  we  any  reason  to 
believe  we  were  Christians."  Mr.  Hutton  asked  him, 
If  faith  ordy  was  necessary  to  save  us,  why  did  our 
Saviour  give  us  his  divine  sermon  on  the  mount.'*" — 
But  Wesley  answered,  "  that  was  the  letter  that  kill- 
eth.^''  "  Hold,"  said  his  antagonist,  you  seem  not 
to  know  what  you  say  :  are  our  Lord's  words  the  let- 
ter that  killeth.^" 

But  it  would  have  been  as  easy  to  cure  a  fever  by 
reasoning  with  the  patient,  as  to  have  made  Wesley 
at  this  time  doubt  the  somidneas,  of  bis  i)ew  opinions 

VOT  ,  I  21 


102 


WESLtY   A  PUPIL 


[1738 


He  had  just  been  abridging  the  Hfe  of  Mr.  Halibur- 
ton :  "  My  son,"  says  Mrs.  Hutton  in  a  letter  to  Sa- 
muel Wesley,  "  designed  to  print  it,  to  show  the  ex- 
perience of  that  holy  man  of  in-dwelling,  &c.  Mr. 
Hutton  and  I  have  forbidden  him  to  be  concerned  in 
handing  such  books  irrto  the  world ;  but  if  your  bro- 
ther John  or  Charles  think  it  will  tend  to  promote 
God's  glory,  they  will  soon  convince  my  son  that 
God's  glory  is  to  be  preferred  to  his  parents'  com- 
mands. It  was  a  very  great  affliction  to  them,"  she 
said,  "  to  see  their  two  children  drawn  into  these 
wild  notions  by  their  great  opinion  of  Mr.  John's  sanc- 
tity and  judgment ;"  she  supposed  that  Mr.  John  was 
about  to  visit  his  brother  at  Tiverton  ;  and  if  his  bro- 
ther could  then  either  confine  or  convert  him,  it 
would  be  a  great  charity  to  many  other  honest,  well- 
meaning,  simple  souls,  as  well  as  to  her  children. — 
When  he  knew  his  behaviour,  he  certainly  would  not 
think  him  "  a  quite  right  man and  unless  some 
stop  could  be  put  to  his  extravagance  in  exhorting 
people  to  disregard  all  teaching  but  by  such  a  spirit 
as  came  in  dreams  to  some,  and  in  visions  to  others, 
the  mischief  which  he  would  do  wherever  he  went, 
among  ignorant  but  well-meaning  Christians,  would 
be  very  great.  She  described  her  son  as  good-hu- 
moured, very  undesigning,  and  sincerely  honest:  but 
of  weak  judgment,  and  so  fitted  for  any  delusion.  He 
had  been  ill  of  a  fever,  and  so  many  of  these  fancied 
saints  gathered  about  him,  that  she  expected  his 
Avcak  brain  would  have  been  quite  turned. 

To  this  letter,  which  represented  a  real  and  by  no 
means  a  light  affliction,  Samuel  Wesley  returned 
such  an  answer  as  might  have  been  expected  from  a 
good  and  religious  man  of  soutid  judgment.  "  Fall- 
ing into  enthusiasm,"  said  he,  "  is  being  lost  with  n 
witness  ;  and  if  you  are  troubled  for  two  of  your  chil- 
dren, you  may  be  sure  I  am  so,  for  two  whom  I  may 
in  some  sense  call  mene*,  who  if  once  turned  that  way 

*  Mrs.  Hutton  says  in  one  of  her  letters,  "  your  brothers  are 
much  more  obligated  to  you  than  many  children  are  to  their  pa- 
rents ;  you  doing  for  them  as  a  most  kind  and  judicious  parent, 


1738.] 


OF  THE  MORAVIANS. 


163 


will  do  a  world  of  mischief,  much  more  than  even 
otherwise  they  would  have  done  good,  since  men  are 
much  easier  to  be  led  into  evil  than  from  it. — What 
Jack  means  by  his  not  being  a  Christian  till  last 
month,  I  understand  not.  Had  he  never  been  in  co- 
venant with  God  ? — '  then,'  as  Mr.  Hutton  observed, 
baptism  was  nothing.'  Had  he  totally  apostatized 
Jrom  it  ? — I  dare  say  not :  and  yet  he  must  either  be 
vinbaptized,  or  an  apostate,  to  make  his  words  true. 
Perhaps  it  might  come  into  his  crown,  that  he  was  in 
I  state  of  mortal  sin  unrepented  of,  and  had  long 
lived  in  such  a  course.  This  I  do  not  believe ;  how- 
ever he  must  answer  for  himself  But  where  is  the 
sense  of  requiring  every  body  else  to  confess  that  of 
themselves,  in  order  to  commence  Christians.''  Must 
they  confess  it  whether  it  be  so  or  no  ?  Besides,  -a 
-inful  course  is  not  an  abolition  of  the  covenant ;  for 
that  very  reason  because  it  is  a  breach  of  it.  If  it 
uere  not,  it  would  not  be  broken. 

"  Renouncing  every  thing  but  faith,  may  be  every 
evil,  as  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil:  this  is  a 
very  orthodox  sense,  but  no  great  discovery.  It  may 
mean  rejecting  all  merit  of  our  own  good  works. — 
What  Protestant  does  not  do  so.'*  Even  Bellarmine 
on  his  death-bed  is  said  to  have  renounced  all  merits 
but  those  of  Christ.  If  this  renouncing  regards  good 
works  in  any  other  sense,  as  being  unnecessary,  or 
the  like,  it  is  wretchedly  wicked  ;  and  to  call  our  Sa- 
viour's word  the  letter  that  killeth,  is  no  less  than  blas- 
phemy against  the  Son  of  Man.  It  is  mere  Quaker- 
ism, making  the  outward  Christ  an  enemy  to  the  Christ 
within." 

Having  then  noticed  some  ravings  which  Mrs.  Hut- 
ton  had  repeated  to  him,  and  which,  he  said,  looked 
like  downright  madness,  he  says,  "  I  do  not  hold  it  at 
all  unlikely,  that  perpetual  intenseness  of  thought, 
and  want  of  sleep,  may  have  disordered  my  brother. 
I  have  been  told  that  the  Quakers'  introversion  of 

when  you  had  not  the  same  obligation." — It  seems  probable  that 
both  John  and  Charles  were  beholden  to  him  for  the  means  of 
'heir  education. 


164 


WjESLEY  A  PUPlL 


[1738. 


thought  has  ended  in  madness  :  it  is  a  studious  stop- 
ping of  every  thought  as  fast  as  it  arises,  in  order  to 
receive  the  Spirit.  I  wish  the  canting  fellows  had 
never  had  any  followers  among  ns,  who  talk  of  in- 
dwellings, experiences,  getting  into  Christ,  &c.  &c.; 
as  I  remember  assurances  used  to  make  a  great  noise, 
which  were  carried  to  such  a  length,  that  (as  far  as 
nonsense  can  be  understood)  they  rose  to  fruition; 
in  utter  defiance  of  Christian  hope,  since  the  ques- 
tion is  unanswerable.  What  a  inan  hath,  why  does  he 
yet  hope  for  ?  But  I  will  believe  none,  without  a  mi- 
racle, who  shall  pretend  to  be  wrapped  up  into  the 
third  heaven.  1  hope  your  son,"  he  continues,  "  does 
not  think  it  as  plainly  revealed  that  he  shall  print  an 
enthusiastic  book,  as  it  is  that  he  shall  obey  his  fa- 
ther and  his  mother.  Suppose  it  were  never  so  ex- 
cellent, can  that  supersede  your  authority  ?  God  de- 
liver us  from  visions  that  shall  make  the  law  of  God 
vain  !  I  pleased  myself  with  the  expectation  of  see- 
ing Jack;  but  now  that  is  over,  and  I  am  afraid  of  it. 
I  know  not  where  to  direct  to  him,  or  where  he  is. — 
I  heartily  pray  God  to  stop  the  progress  of  this  lu- 
nacy." 

Before  this  letter  was  written,  John  had  left  Eng- 
land. After  his  new  birth,  he  had  continued  about  a 
fortnight  in  heaviness,  because  of  manifold  tempta- 
tions,— in  peace,  but  not  in  joy.  A  letter  which  he 
received  perplexed  him,  because  it  maintained,  that 
"  no  doubting  could  consist  with  the  least  degree  of 
true  faith ;  that  whoever  at  any  time  felt  any  doubt 
or  fear,  was  not  weak  in  faith,  but  had  no  faith  at  all ; 
and  that  none  had  any  faith  till  the  law  of  the  spirit 
of  life  had  made  him  wholly  free  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  death."  Begging  God  to  direct  him,  he  opened 
his  Testament,  and  his  eye  fell  upon  that  passage 
where  St.  Paul  speaks  of  babes  in  Christ,  who  were 
not  able  to  bear  strong  meat,  yet  he  says  to  them, 
Ye  are  God's  building,  ye  are  the  temple  of  God." 
Surely  then,  he  reasoned,  these  men  had  some  de- 
gree of  faith,  though  it  is  plain  their  faith  was  but 
weak.    His  mind,  however,  could  not  bear  to  be  thus 


I738.J 


OP  THE  MORAVIANS. 


165 


sawn  asunder,  as  he  calls  it ;  and  he  determined  to 
visit  the  Moravians  at  Herrnhut,  in  the  hope  that 
conversing  with  those  holy  men,  who  were  them- 
selves living  witnesses  of  the  full  power  of  faith,  and 
yet  able  to  bear  with  those  that  are  weak,  would  be 
a  means  of  so  establishing  his  soul,  that  he  might  go 
on  from  faith  to  faith,  and  from  strength  to  strength." 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  MORAVIANS.  WESLEY  IN  GERWANV. 

Few  religious  communities  may  look  back  upon 
their  history  with  so  much  satisfaction  as  the  United 
Brethren.  In  the  ninth  century  Christianity  was 
introduced  into  Bohemia,  from  Greece.  When  Bo- 
hemia was  united  to  the  empire  by  Otho  I.  the 
people  were  brought  under  the  yoke  of  Rome,  and 
compelled  to  receive  a  liturgy  which  they  did  not 
understand.  Their  first  king,  Wratislas,  remon- 
strated against  this,  and  entreated  the  Pope  that  the 
church  service  might  continue  to  be  performed  in 
the  language*  of  the  country.  The  Pope  replied, 
"  Dear  son,  know  that  we  can  by  no  means  grant 
your  request ;  for  having  frequently  searched  the 
Boly  Scriptures,  we  have  there  discovered,  that  it 
has  pleased,  and  still  pleases  Almighty  God,  to  direct 
his  worship  to  be  conducted  in  hidden  language, 
that  not  every  one,  especially  the  simple,  might  un- 
derstand it.  For  if  it  were  performed  in  a  manner 
altogether  intelligible,  it  might  easily  be  exposed  to 
contempt  ;  or  if  imperfectly  understood  by  half- 
learned  persons,  it  might  happen  that  by  hearing 
and  contemplating  the  word  too  frequently,  errors 

*  The  Bohemians  pleaded  a  miracle  m  support  of  the  privilege 
which  they  claimed  of  having  divine  service  performed  in  their 
own  tongue.  They  had  requested  permission  from  Pope  Nicho- 
las, through  the  first  preachers  of  Christianity  in  that  country, 
Methodius  and  Cyrillus,  who  undertook  tlie  commission  without 
the  slightest  hope  of  succeeding  in  it, — indeed  in  the  expectation 
that  they  should  subject  themselves  to  the  scorn  of  the  Sacred 
College.  But  when  the  matter  was  propounded  in  that  College, 
a  voice  was  heard,  saying,  "  Omnis  spiritns  laudet  Dominum, 
4*  omnis  lingua  conjitentur  eutn.^''  And  the  Pope,  says  the  legend, 
in  obedience  to  the  text  which  was  thus  divinely  quoted,  acceded 
to  the  petition  of  the  Bohemians. 

Dubravius,  p.  26. 


1079.] 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


167 


might  be  engendered  in  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
which  would  not  be  easily  eradicated.  Therefore 
what  your  people  ignorantly  require,  can  in  no  wise 
be  conceded  to  them ;  and  we  now  forbid  it  by  the 
power  of  God  and  his  holy  Apostle  Peter."  The 
Papacy  prevailed,  because  it  was  supported  by  the 
secular  power ;  but  many  still  retained  the  custom 
of  their  fathers ;  and  when  some  of  the  Waldenses 
sought  refuge  from  persecution  in  Bohemia,  they 
found  people  who,  if  not  in  fellowship  with  them, 
were  disposed  to  receive  their  doctrines.  The 
ground  was  thus  ready  for  the  seed  when  Wickliffe's 
writings  were  introduced  :  those  writings  produced 
a  more  immediate  effect*  there  than  they  did  in 
England ;  and  Bohemia  gave  to  reformed  religion, 
in  Huss  the  first,  and  in  Jerome  the  most  illustrious 
of  its  martyrs. 

The  story  of  the  religious  war  which  ensued  ought 
to  be  written  in  a  popular  form,  and  read  in  all  coun- 
tries :  no  portion  of  history  exemplifies  more  striking- 
ly the  impolicy  of  persecution,  the  madness  of  fana- 
ticism, and  the  crimes  and  the  consequences  of  anar- 
chy. And  these  awful  lessons  would  be  rendered 
more  impressive,  by  the  heroic  circumstances  with 
which  they  are  connected;  for  greater  intrepidity 
was  never  displayed  than  by  those  peasants,  who 
encountered  armed  enemies  with  no  better  weapons 
than  their  flails ;  and  the  modern  science  of  fortifi- 
cation may  be  traced  to  that  general  who,  after  he 
had  lost  his  only  eye  in  battle,  continued  to  lead  his 
devoted  troops  to  victory;  and  who,  with  his  dying 

*  Their  knowledge  of  the  Scripture  was  one  of  the  causes 
which  their  enemies  assigned  for  their  heresy.  Teriia  causa  est, 
quia  J^'ovum  Ttstainentum  et  Vetus  vulgaiiter  transtulerunt ,  et  sir, 
docent  et  discunt.  Vidi  et  audivi  rnsticuin  idiotam,  qui  lob  recitavtt 
de  verba  ad  verbum,  et  plures  alios  qui  .\'ovum  Testainentum  totuin 
sciverunt  perfecte.  But,  according  to  this  writer's  account,  they 
made  some  extraordinary  hlunders  in  their  translation.  In  the 
first  chapter  of  St.  John,  for  instance,  he  says,  sui,  id  est  porci, 
eum  non  receperunt ;  sui  dicentes,  id  est  sues.  This  is  not  credible 
upon  such  testimony. 

De  Waldensibus,  apud  Scriptores  re?-um  Boheinicarum,  p.  222. 


168 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


breath,  ordered  that  a  drum  should  be  made  of  hi» 
skin :  "  the  sound  of  it,"  he  said,  "  would  put  the 
Germans  to  flight."  This  struggle  for  reformation 
was  made  too  soon  ;  that  under  the  Elector  Palatine 
too  late.  His  feeble  attempt  at  maintaining  the  king- 
dom to  which  he  was  elected,  ended  in  the  loss  of 
his  hereditary  dominions:  his  paternal  palace,  which 
for  beauty  of  structure  and  situation  has  rarely  been 
equalled,  was  destroyed,  and  at  this  day  it  is,  per- 
haps, the  most  impressive  of  all  modern  ruins :  his 
family  became  wanderers,  but  his  grandson  succeed- 
ed to  the  British  throne,  and  that  succession  secured 
the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  Britain.  Bohemia 
paid  dearly  for  this  final  struggle ;  her  best  blood 
was  shed  by  the  executioner,  and  her  freedom  was 
extinguished. 

The  persecution  that  followed  was  deliberately 
planned  and  effected.  The  Protestant  clergy  were 
banished,  first  from  Prague,  and  what  till  now  had 
been  the  free  cities, — soon  from  the  whole  kingdom. 
After  a  short  interval,  the  nobles  of  the  same  per- 
suasion were  subjected  to  the  same  sentence,  and 
their  estates  confiscated.  The  common  people  were 
forbidden  to  follow,  for  the  law  regarded  them  as 
belonging  to  the  soil.  Among  the  exiled  preachers 
was  John  Amos  Comenius,  once  well  known  in 
schools  by  his  Janua  Linguarum  rcserata,  notorious  in 
his  day  for  accrediting  the  dreams  of  certain  crazy 
«^ntliusiasts,  but  most  to  be  remembered  for  the  part 
which  he  bore  in  the  history  of  the  Moravian  church. 
He  being  harboured  by  a  noble,  continued  to  visit 
his  congregation  at  Fulnek*,  till  the  nobles  were 
banished  ;  then  taking  with  liim  a  part  of  his  flock, 
lie  emigrated  through  Silesia  into  Poland.  When 
they  reached  the  mountains  on  the  confines,  he 

*  The  inhabitants  of  this  little  town  still  speak  of  him  as  the 
last  minister  of  the  Picards,  and  as  a  wise  and  learned  man.  A 
hospital  has  been  erected  on  the  scite  of  the  house  in  which  he 
used  to  preach,  but  it  is  still  called  Zbor,  the  Assembly,  or  the 
Meeting-House. 

Cranz^s  History  of  the  Brethren,  translated  by  Latrobe,  p.  93. 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


169 


looked  back  upon  his  country,  which  he  was  about 
to  leave  for  ever;  and  falling  on  his  knees,  his  com- 
panions kneeling  and  weeping  witli  him,  he  prayed 
that  God  would  not  utterly  remove  his  gospel  from 
Bohemia,  but  still  reserve  to  himself  a  seed.  A  hun- 
dred years  afterwards  that  prayer  was  inscribed  w  ith- 
in the  ball  of  the  Bohemian  church-steeple,  at  Berlin, 
when  it  was  regarded  as  a  prophecy  that  had  been 
accomplished. 

At  a  synod  held  at  Lissa,  in  1632,  Comenius  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  the  dispersed  Brethren  from 
Bohemia  and  Moravia.  During  the  thirty  years'  war 
he  lived  in  a  state  of  high  excitement  and  turbulent 
hope,  till  disappointment  and  age  brought  with  them 
more  w  isdom,  and  a  more  contented  reliance  upon 
Providence.  He  then  found  a  melancholy  consola- 
tion in  recording  the  history  and  discipline  of  a 
church,  which  he  believed  would  die  with  him  ;  and 
he  dedicated  this  book  as  his  last  w  ill  and  testament, 
and  as  a  precious  legacy  to  the  Church  of  England, 
to  use  it  according  to  their  own  pleasure,  and  pre- 
serve it  as  a  deposit  for  the  posterity  of  the  Brethren. 
"  You,"  said  he, have  just  cause  indeed  to  love  her, 
even  when  dead,  who,  whilst  yet  living,  went  before 
ou  in  her  good  examples  of  faith  and  patience.  God 
imsejf,  when  he  took  away  and  laid  waste  his  peo- 
ple's land,  city,  temple,  because  of  their  unthankful- 
ness  for  his  blessings.  He  w  ould  still  have  the  basis 
of  the  altar  to  be  left  in  its  place,  upon  which,  after 
ages,  when  they  should  be  returned  to  themselves 
and  to  God,  they  might  build  again.  If,  then,  by  the 
grace  ofGod,  there  have  been  found  in  us  (as  wise 
men  and  godly  have  sometimes  thought)  any  thing 
true,  any  thing  honourable,  any  thing  just,  any  thing 
pure,  any  thing  to  be  loved,  and  of  good  report,  and  if 
any  virtue  and  any  praise,  care  must  be  taken  that  it 
may  not  die  with  us  when  we  die ;  and  at  least  that  the 
very  foundations  be  not  buried  in  the  rubbish  of  pre- 
sent ruins,  so  that  the  generations  to  come  should  not 
be  able  to  tell  where  to  find  them.    And  indeed  this 


170 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


care  is  taken,  and  provision  is  made  on  this  behalf^ 
by  this  our  trust  intrusted  in  your  hands." 

Comenius  comforted  himself  by  thinking  that,  in 
consequence  of  the  events  uhich  he  had  lived  to 
witness,  the  gospel  would  pass  away  from  Christen- 
dom to  other  nations,  "  that  so,  as  it  was  long  ago, 
our  stumbling  might  be  the  enriching  of  the  world, 
and  our  diminishing  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles.  The 
consideration,"  said  he,  "  of  this  so  much-to-be-ad- 
mired eternal  Providence,  dotli  gently  allay  the 
grief  which  I  have  taken  by  reason  of  the  ruin  of  the 
church  of  my  native  country,  of  the  government  of 
%vhich  (so  long  as  she  kept  her  station)  the  laws  are 
here  described  and  set  forth  in  view;  even  myself, 
alas !  being  the  very  last  superintendent  of  all,  am 
fain,  before  your  eyes,  O  Churches !  to  shut  the 
door  after  me." 

He  Avas,  however,  induced,  by  the  only  other  sur- 
viving Bishop  of  the  Brethren,  to  assist  in  consecrat- 
ing two  successors,  that  the  episcopal  succession 
among  them  might  not  be  broken :  one  of  these  was 
his  son-in-law,  Peter  Figulus  Jablonsky,  who  was 
consecrated  for  the  Bohemian  Branch,  in  spem  contra 
spem,  in  hope  against  all  expectation,  that  that  branch 
might  be  restored. 

Before  his  banishment,  Comenius  had  been  minis- 
ter of  the  little  town  of  Fulnek,  in  the  margravate  of 
Moravia  ;  there  he  was  long  remembered  with  vene- 
ration, and  there,  and  in  the  surrounding  village,  the 
doctrines  which  he  had  so  sedulously  inculcated 
were  cherished  in  secret.  The  Brethren,  though 
compelled  to  an  outward  conformity  with  the  Ro- 
mish establishment,  met  together  privately,  preserv- 
ed a  kind  of  domestic  discipline,  and  when  the  rins- 
ing of  the  cup,  which  for  a  while  had  been  allowed 
them,  was  M'ithheld,  they  administered  the  commu- 
nion among  themselves  :  the  magistrates  knew  these 
things,  and  sometimes  interfered,  and  punished  such 
infractions  of  the  law  as  were  complained  of  with  fine 
and  imprisonment;  but  the  government  had  learnt 
wisdom  and  moderation  from  experience,  and  was 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


171 


Averse  from  any  violent  persecution,  relying  upon 
length  of  time  and  worldly  conveniences  for  produc- 
ino;  a  perfect  conformity  to  the  dominant  church. 
From  time  to  time  such  of  the  Brethren  as  could  find 
means  of  removal  fled  from  Bohemia  and  Moravia 
into  the  Protestant  parts  of  Germany,  and  in  this  way 
a  silent  but  considerable  emigration  took  place,  dur- 
ing the  latter  half  of  the  17th  and  the  beginning  of 
the  1 8th  century.  One  of  these  emigrants,  by  name 
Christian  David,  and  by  trade  a  carpenter,  becom- 
ing zealous  for  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  and  the  in- 
crease of  true  religion,  endeavoured  to  procure  a 
safe  establishment  for  such  of  his  brethren  as  might 
be  desirous  of  following  his  example,  and  shaking 
the  dust  of  their  intolerant  country  from  their  feet,  to 
settle  in  a  land  where  they  might  enjoy  their  own 
form  of  worship.  By  his  means  application  was 
made,  through  two  reformed  clergymen,  to  Niklaas 
Ludwig,  Count  of  Zinzendorf. 

Count  Zinzendorf,  then  in  the  twenty-first  year  of 
his  age,  was  a  Saxon  nobleman  of  great  ardour  and 
eccentricity.  His  mind  had  received  a  strong  reli- 
gious bias,  from  early  education  under  his  grandmo- 
ther, and  being  then  placed  under  the  care  of  Pro- 
fessor Franke,  the  Pietist,  at  Halle,  that  good  man 
inoculated  with  enthusiasm  a  more  fiery  disposition 
than  his  own.  Already  when  a  boy  he  had  formed 
religious  societies  ;  already  he  had  bound  himself  by 
a  vow  to  labour  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen, 
not  in  his  own  person,  but  by  enabling  others  who 
should  be  well  qualified  thus  to  devote  themselves. 
If  his  relations  would  have  allowed  him,  he  would 
have  entered  into  holy  orders  at  this  early  age  ;  and 
when  prevented  from  this  design,  he  purchased  the 
lordship  of  Bertlioldsdorf,  in  Lusatia,  meaning  there 
to  pass  his  life  in  retirement.  He  was,  however,  in- 
duced by  his  grandmothcj-  to  accept  an  otiice  in  the 
Saxon  Government.  To  this  personage  Christian 
David's  application  was  made  known;  he  replied, 
that  the  emigrants  might  come  when  they  pleased,  he 
would  endnavour  to  provide  for  them  a  place  where 


172 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


they  should  not  be  molested,  and  meantime  would 
receive  them  at  Bertholdsdorf.  Accordingly  tea 
persons  from  the  village  of  Sehlen,  in  Moravia,  setoff 
for  this  asylum  under  Christian  David's  guidance. 
On  their  arrival  it  was  thought  better  that  they 
should  settle  in  some  spot  by  themselves  than  in  the 
village,  and  the  Count's  major-domo,  a  man  who  took 
a  religious  interest  in  their  behalf,  led  them  to  a 
place  where  it  was  intended  they  should  build.  It 
was  a  piece  of  ground  near  a  hill  called  the  Hutberg, 
or  Watch-Hill,  on  the  high  road  to  Zittau :  the  scite 
had  little  to  recommend  it ;  it  was  overgrown  with 
brakes  and  brambles ;  it  was  boggy,  so  that  wagons 
frequently  stuck  fast  there  ;  and  there  was  a  M  ant  of 
water.  Heitz,  the  major-domo,  had  gone  there  twice 
before  sunrise,  to  observe  the  rising  of  the  vapours, 
and  infer  from  thence  in  what  part  a  well  might  be 
dug  with  most  likelihood  of  success ;  and  on  these 
occasions  he  had  prayed  fervently,  that  these  mea- 
sures for  the  benefit  of  these  poor  fugitives  might  be 
successful,  and  had  resolved  that  he  would  build  the 
first  house  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  When  they 
came  to  the  ground,  one  of  the  women  objected  to  it, 
and  asked  where  they  were  to  get  water  in  that  wil- 
derness ; — they  would  rather  have  settled  in  the  vil- 
lage :  Christian  David,  however,  saw  what  conve- 
niences there  were  for  building  on  the  spot,  and 
striking  his  axe  into  one  of  the  trees,  exclaimed, 
«  Here  hath  the  sparrow  found  an  house,  and  the 
swallow  a  nest  for  herself,  even  thine  altars,  O  Lord 
of  hosts  !"  So  they  began  tHeir  work  without  assist- 
ance, but  cheerfully  and  full  of  hope. 

The  Count's  grand-mother,  Lady  Gersdorf,  who 
resided  near  at  Hennersdorf,  sent  them  a  cow,  that 
the  children  might  not  want  milk.  The  first  tree 
was  felled  on  the  17th  of  June  1722,  and  on  the  7th 
of  October  they  entered  -their  first  house.  "  May 
God  bless  the  work," — said  the  major-domo,  in  the 
report  which  he  transmitted  to  his  master, — "  ac- 
cording to  his  loving  kindness,  and  grant  that  Your 
Excellency  may  build  a  city  on  the  Watch  Hill,  {Hut- 


1722.] 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


173 


herg,)  wliich  may  not  only  stand  under  the  Lord's 
guardianship,  but  where  all  the  inhabitants  may 
.stand  upon  the  watch  of  the  Lord !"  (Herrn  Hut.) 
In  allusion  also  to  the  name  of  the  ground,  he  preach- 
ed at  the  dedication  of  the  house  upon  this  text 
from  Isaiah  :  "  I  will  set  watchmen  upon  thy  walls, 
O  Jerusalem!  which  shall  never  hold  their  peace 
day  nor  night :  ye  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord 
keep  not  silence,  and  give  him  no  rest  till  he  esta- 
blish, and  till  he  make  Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the 
earth."  From  these  circumstances  the  settlement 
which  was  thus  formed  obtained  the  well  known 
name  of  Herrnhut,  the  watch  of  the  Lord. 

Zinzendorf  meantime  took  little  thought  of  these 
transactions,  for  he  was  engaged  in  wooing  and 
wedding  the  Countess  Erdmuth  Dorothea  Reuss.  At 
the  close  of  the  year,  as  he  was  taking  his  lady  to 
Hennersdorf,  he  saw  from  the  road  equally  to  his 
surprise  and  satisfaction  a  house  in  the  wood,  upon 
which  he  stopt,  went  in  to  bid  the  Moravians  welcome, 
and  fell  on  his  knees  with  them  and  prayed.  Short- 
ly afterwards  he  took  possession  of  the  mansion 
which  had  been  built  for  him  at  Bertfioklsdorf. 
Here  he  collected  round  him  a  knot  of  religious 
friends,  among  others  Baron  Frederic  de  Watteville, 
his  fellow-student  under  Professor  Frankc,  and  who 
like  himself  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  Pietism  from 
their  tutor.  The  lady  Joanna  de  Zetzschwitz  also 
came  there,  whom  the  Baron  afterwards  married : — 
she  brought  some  girls  to  be  educated  under  her 
care,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  what  was  sub- 
sequently called  the  Economy  of  Girls  at  Herrnhut. 
The  kinsmen  of  the  Moravian  emigrants  were  ques- 
tioned by  their  lords  the  Jesuits  of  Olmutz  concern- 
ing the  flight  of  their  relations,  and  having  under- 
gone some  imprisonment  on  that  account,  and  being 
threatened  with  the  inquisition  because,  after  their 
release,  they  had  requested  leave  to  emigrate  also, 
they  thought  it  best  to  abandon  their  possessions, 
and  fly  to  the  same  place  of  refuge.  The  settlers 
at  Herrnhut  found  themselves  so  comfortably  esta- 


174 


rilt:  MORAVIANS. 


[1726 


blighed  that  some  of  them  went  back  to  bring  away 
their  friends  and  relations;  this  gave  occasion  to  se- 
verities on  the  part  of  the  government ;  and  the 
Count  at  length  thought  it  advisable  to  go  into  Mo- 
ravia himself,  and  explain  to  the  Cardinal  Bishop  of 
Olmutz  that  his  intention  had  only  been  to  grant  an 
asylum  on  his  estates  to  a  few  protestant  families. 
He  endeavoured  to  procure  some  indulgence  for 
them  in  their  own  country  :  this  he  was  told  could 
not  be  done :  it  was  added  that  they  should  not  be 
prevented  from  emigrating*  quietly,  but  that  such  as 
returned  to  instigate  others  to  remove  must  take  the 
consequence.  This  was  a  wise  and  humane  policy 
scarcely  to  have  been  expected  from  an  Austrian 
government  at  that  time. 

x\Il  emigrants,  however,  were  not  indiscriminately 
received  :  they  were  examined  respecting  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  had  left  their  own  country^  and 
their  answers  were  carefully  minuted  that  legal  evi- 
dence might  be  given  if  it  were  required  concerning 
their  reception ;  and  if  after  awhile  it  appeared  that 
any  person  had  removed  for  any  other  than  a  reli- 
gious motive,  he  was  furnished  with  money  for  his 
journey,  and  sent  back.  The  first  discussions  con- 
cerning discipline  were  occasioned  by  five  young 
and  ardent  men,  who  fled  from  Moravia,  before  the 
connivance  of  the  government  was  understood,  and 

*  "  Those,"  says  Cranz,  "  who  sought  nothing  but  the  salva- 
tion of  their  souls,  and  on  that  account  forsook  their  possessions, 
parents  or  children,  friends  and  relations,  were  favoured  with 
such  success,  that  they  were  often  able  to  free  themselves  from 
their  chains  in  a  wonderful  manner,  to  leap  from  an  high  prison 
without  hurt,  to  pass  through  the  guards  undiscovered  in  the  open 
day,  or  to  run  away  and  hide  themselves  from  them.  Were  they 
istopped  on  the  road,  the  upright  representation  of  the  true  end  of 
their  emigrating,  and  the  piteous  cries  of  their  children,  had  such 
an  effect,  that  they  were  suffered  to  pass.  But  those  who  secret- 
ly disposed  of  their  property,  and  took  the  money  with  them,  or 
wanted  to  go  off  with  loaded  wagons,  were  frequently  either  be- 
trayed, or  when  they  had  got  half  way  on  their  journey,  stopped, 
and  brought  back  again,  or  plundered  of  their  effects."  P.  108. 
In  a  certain  stage  of  enthusiasm,  men  are  equally  prone  to  expect 
miracles  and  to  believe  them. 


1727.] 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


175 


set  out  singing  the  same  l)jinn  which  their  predeces- 
sors had  sung  when  they  abandoned  their  country 
in  a  like  manner,  and  for  a  like  cause,  an  hundred 
years  before  them.  One  of  them  was  that  David 
Nitschmann  whom  Wesley  afterwards  found  at  Sa- 
vannah. These  brethren  insisted  that  the  economy 
of  their  fathers  should  be  restored,  and  when  the 
Count  and  the  ministers  at  Herrnhut  did  not  at  once 
accede  to  their  proposal,  they  were  about  more  tlian 
once  to  take  up  their  staves  and  depart.  Disputes 
concerning  doctrine  as  well  as  discipline  soon  sprang 
up,  and  the  evil  passions  by  which  dissention,  schism, 
and  the  mutual  hatred  of  religious  factions  are  pro- 
duced, seemed  at  one  time  likely  to  destroy  the  new 
settlement.  Perhaps  this  is  the  only  instance  in  ec- 
clesiastical history  wherein  such  disputes  have  been 
completely  adjusted;  and  this  must  be  ascribed  to 
the  influence  which  Count  Zinzendorf  possessed  as 
the  patron  and  protector  of  the  emigrants,  at  least  as 
much  as  to  his  great  talents  and  undoubted  piety. 
The  day  upon  which  they  all  agreed  to  a  constitu- 
tion, ecclesiastical  and  civil,  he  ever  afterwards  call- 
ed the  critical  day,  because  it  was  then  decided, 
"  whether  Hernnhut  should  prove  a  nest  of  sects, 
or  a  living  congregation  of  Christ."  It  was,  however, 
subsequently  taken  into  consideration  more  than 
once,  whether  they  should  lay  aside  their  peculiar 
discipline  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  evil  reports ;  Count 
Zinzendorf  himself  inclined  at  onetime  to  (his  con- 
cession, and  thought  it  better  that  they  should  be  en- 
tirely embodied  in  the  Lutheran  church,  with  which 
they  professed  a  perfect  conformity  in  doctrine  :  the 
brethren,  who  were  then  between  5  and  (iOO  in  num- 
ber, regarded  the  discipline  as  the  precious  inheri- 
tance which  had  been  left  them  by  their  fathers,  but 
they  consented  to  let  the  question  be  decided  by  lot, 
in  full  confidence  that  the  decision  would  be  direct- 
ed by  immediate  Providence.  Two  verses  therefore 
from  St.  Paul  were  written  on  separate  papers.  The 
first  was  in  support  of  Count  Zinzendorf "s  motion  : 
"  To  them  that  are  without  law,  be  ye  as  without 


176 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


[1731. 


law,  (being  not  without  law  to  God,  but  under  the 
law  in  Christ,)  that  ye  may  gain  them  that  are  with- 
out law."*  The  text  of  the  second  lot  was  this, 
"  Therefore,  brethren,  stand  fast,  and  hold  the  tra- 
ditions which  ye  have  been  taught."t  The  trial  was 
preceded  by  fervent  prayer:  a  child  of  four  years 
old  drew  the  second  lot;  and  they  "  entered  from 
that  day  (in  their  own  words)  into  a  covenant  with 
each  other,  to  remain  upon  this  footing,  and  in  this 
constitution  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and 
to  preach  his  gospel  in  all  the  world,  and  among  all 
nations  whithersoever  he  should  be  pleased  to  send 
and  scatter  them  abroad." 

By  this  time  the  establishment  at  Herrnhut  had 
excited  much  curiosity  in  Germany.  In  one  day 
above  fifty  letters  were  received  soliciting  informa- 
tion concerning  it,  and  many  visitors,  among  whom 
were  persons  of  high  rank,  came  to  see  things  with 
their  own  eyes.  The  new  community  was  attacked 
also  from  various  quarters.  A  Jesuit  began  the  war, 
and  there  were  Lutheran  divines  who  entered  into  it 
upon  the  same  side.  Count  Zinzendorf  was  too  wise 
to  engage  in  controversy  himself  "  The  world  hates 
me,"  said  he;  that  is  but  natural:  some  of  my  mo- 
ther's children  are  angry  with  me  ;  this  is  grievous- 
The  former  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  me  that 
I  should  lose  my  time  with  it,  and  the  others  are  too 
important  to  me,  to  put  them  to  shame  by  an  answer." 
But  although  his  own  conduct  was  more  uniformly 
discreet  than  that  of  any  other  founder  of  a  Christian 
community,  (it  would  be  wronging  the  Moravian 
brethren  to  designate  them  as  a  sect,)  he  was  in- 
volved in  ditficulties  by  the  indiscretion  of  others, 
and  the  jealousy  of  the  government  under  which  he 
lived.  He  was  therefore  ordered  to  sell  his  estates, 
and  afterwards  banished.  Against  the  first  of  these 
mandates  he  had  provided  by  conveying  his  estates 
to  his  wife ;  and  though  he  was  soon  permitted  to 
return  to  his  own  country,  yet  as  the  brethren  were 


*  1  Cor.  ix.  21. 


t  2  Thess.  ii.  15. 


1731.] 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


177 


only  continuing  in  Saxony  upon  sufTerance,  it  was 
judged  advisable  to  enlarge  themselves  by  establish- 
ing colonies  in  countries,  where  the  magistrates 
would  not  interfere  with  them,  and  no  foreign  prince 
would  interfere  with  their  protectors.  When  the 
Count  resigned  his  estates,  he  devoted  himself  from 
that  time  wholly  to  the  service  of  the  Lord,  and  more 
especially  among  that  congregation  of  exiles  which 
God  had  committed  to  his  care,  and  which  he  re- 
garded as  a  parish  destined  to  him  from  eternity. 
Having  now  resolved  to  enter  into  holy  orders,  he 
wished  at  once  to  obtain  a  rank  in  the  reformed 
church,  which  might  not,  according  to  common 
opinion,  appear  derogatory  to  the  royal  order  of 
Danebrog,  wherewith  the  King  of  Denmark  had  in- 
vested him.  There  was  in  the  duchy  of  VVurtemberg 
a  convent  of  St.  George,  in  the  Black  Forest,  near 
the  Brigach,  which  is  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Da- 
nube :  at  the  Reformation  this  convent  had  been 
made  a  bishopric,  but  having  been  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1634,  it  had  not  been  rebuilt,  and  the  prelacy  had 
ceased.  Count  Zinzendorf  proposed  to  tiie  Duke 
if  he  would  renew  it  in  his  favour,  to  restore  the 
convent  at  his  own  expense,  and  found  a  theological 
seminary  there  as  a  prelate  of  the  Wurtemberg 
church.  But  the  Duke,  ,who  was  a  Roman  Catholic, 
though  the  sovereign  of  a  Protestant  country,  would 
do  nothing  which  could  give  umbrage  to  those  of  his 
own  persuasion. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  German  of  high  birth  enters  into 
holy  orders.  Hitherto,  perhaps,  the  Coutit  had  re- 
tained something  of  the  pride  of  birth.  Upon  this 
repulse  the  last  lemains  were  subdued.  Under  the 
name  of  De  Freydek,  which,  though  it  was  one  of 
his  titles,  sufficiently  disguised  him,  he  went  as  pri- 
vate tutor  into  a  merchant's  family  at  Stralsund,  that 
he  might  pass  through  the  regular  examination  of  the 
clergy  in  that  character,  as  a  candidate  in  divinity  ; 
and  having  preached  and  been  approved  in  that 
city,  he  was  ordained  at  Tubingen,  resigning  his 
Danish  order,  because  he  was  not  permitted  to  wear 

VOL   r.  23 


178 


THE  MORAVlA^'t^. 


[1736. 


it  in  the  pulpit.  Missionaries  were  now  sent  abroad 
from  Herrnhut,  and  colonies  established  in  various 
parts  of  the  Continent.  Nitschmann  was  consecrated 
at  Berlin  by  Jablonsky  and  his  colleague,  to  be  a 
bishop  or  senior  of  the  Moravian  Brethren,  and  in 
the  ensuing  year  he  and  Jablonsky,  in  the  same  city, 
consecrated  the  Count.  He  had  previously  been  in 
England  to  consult  with  Archbishop  Potter  whether 
or  no  there  would  be  any  objection  on  the  part  of  the 
Church  of  England,  to  employing  the  Brethren  as 
their  missionaries  in  Georgia.  The  reply  of  that 
learned  and  liberal  prelate  was,  that  the  Moravian 
Brethren  were  an  Apostolical  and  Episcopal  Church, 
not  sustaining  any  doctrines  repugnant  to  the  Church 
of  England  ;  that  they,  therefore,  could  not  with  pro- 
priety, nor  ought  to  be  hindered  from  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  the  heathen.  And  after  the  Count  had 
been  consecrated,  the  Archbishop  addressed  to  him 
a  letter. 

The  Count  was  still  a  banished  man  from  Saxony, 
when  Wesley  with  his  old  fellow-traveller  Ingham, 
and  six  other  companions  of  the  same  spirit  (three 
of  whom  were  Germans),  left  England  to  visit  the 
Moravian  Brethren  at  Herrnhut;  in  expectation  that 
by  communion  Avith  them  his  faith  would  be  esta- 
blished. They  landed  at  Rotterdam  and  proceeded 
to  Ysselstein;  by  desire  of  the  Princess  Dowager  of 
Orange,  a  colony  had  been  established  here  on  her 
barony,  as  a  convenient  station  where  they  who 
were  about  to  embark  for  foreign  missions  might 
prepare  for  the  voyage.  Baron  de  Watteville  was 
residing  here,  and  here  Wesley  found  some  of  his 
English  acquaintance  domesticated,  and  passed  a 
day  with  the  community  in  religious  exercises,  and 
in  hearing  from  them,"  he  says,  "  the  wonderful 
work  which  God  was  beginning  to  work  over  all  the 
earth."  They  travelled  on  foot  to  Cologne,  went  up 
the  Rhine  to  Mentz,  and  were  received  at  Frankfort 
by  Peter  Boehler's  father.  The  next  day  they  reach- 
ed Marienborn,  where  Zinzendorf  had  a  family  of 
disciples,  consisting  of  about  fifty  persons,  gathered 


J  738  ]  WESLEY   IX  GERMANY.  179 

out  of  many  nations.  "  And  here,"  says  Wesley, 
"  I  continually  met  with  what  I  sought  for, — living 
proofs  of  the  power  of  faith ;  persons  saved  from  in- 
ward as  well  as  outward  sin,  by  the  love  of  God 
shed  abroad  in  their  hearts ;  and  from  all  doubt  and 
fear,  by  the  abiding  witness  of  the  Holy  Ghost  given 
urito  them." 

Here  he  collected  the  opinions  of  the  Count  upon 
those  peculiar  points  of  doctrine  in  which  he  was 
most  interested  :  they  were  fully  delivered  in  a  con- 
ference for  strangers ;  and  in  reply  to  the  question, 
Can  a  man  be  justified  and  not  know  it?  and  they 
were  to  this  effect :  I.  Justification  is  the  forgiveness 
of  sins.  2.  The  moment  a  man  flies  to  Christ,  he  is 
justified  ;  3.  and  has  peace  with  God,  but  not  always 
joy  :  4.  nor  perhaps  may  he  know  he  is  justified  till 
long  after;  5.  for  the  assurance  of  it  is  distinct  from 
justification  itself  6.  But  others  may  know  he  is 
justified,  by  his  power  over  sin,  by  his  seriousness, 
his  love  of  the  brethren,  and  his  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness,  which  alone  proves  the  spiritual 
life  to  be  begun.  7,  To  be  justified  is  the  same 
thing  as  to  be  born  of  God  :— here  Wesley  remarks, 
no ;  this  is  a  mistake.  Lastly,  8.  When  a  man  is 
awakened  he  is  begotten  of  God,  and  his  fear  and 
sorrow,  and  sense  of  the  wrath  of  God,  are  the  pangs 
of  the  new  birth."  These  were  not  the  tenets  which 
Wesley  had  learnt  from  Peter  Boehler,  who  seems 
more  than  any  other  man  to  have  possessed,  at  one 
time,  a  commanding  influence  over  the  English  as- 
pirant. He  taught  thus  :  1 .  When  a  man  has  a  living 
faith  in  Christ,  then  he  is  justified  ;  2.  this  living  faith 
is  always  given  in  a  moment;  3.  and  in  that  moment 
he  has  peace  with  God ;  4.  which  he  cannot  have 
without  knowing  that  he  has  it ;  .'5.  and  being  born  of 
God  he  sinneth  not ;  6.  and  he  cannot  have  this  de- 
liverance from  sin  without  knowing  that  he  has  it. 

Both  statements  Wesley  noted  in  his  journal,  ex- 
pressing no  opinion  upon  either,  though  undoubtedly 
he  agreed  with  Boehler.  Of  the  Count  he  says  little  : 
Zinzendorf  and  Wesley  had  admired  and  loved  each 


180 


WESLEY  IN  C.FRMANV. 


[1738. 


other  at  a  distance,  but  their  friendship  was  not 
likely  to  be  improved  by  nearer  intercourse.  The 
Count  stood  in  the  double  relation  oi'  Prophet  and 
Patron  to  the  Moravians.  He  was  still  the  German 
Baron  ;  and  in  a  country  where  feudal  pride  had 
abated  nothing  of  its  pretensions,  his  rank  and  power 
unavoidably,  though  perhaps  unwittingly,  increased 
and  confirmed  his  authority  over  a  people  who  stood 
in  need  of  his  protection,  and  had  been  bred  up, 
many  of  thera,  in  vassalage,  and  all  in  conscious  in- 
feriority. Watteville,  the  only  member  of  the  Mo- 
ravian church  who  was  his  equal  in  rank,  acknow- 
ledged the  ascendancy  of  his  talents,  and  he  lived 
in  a  spiritual  empire  within  which  his  discourses  and 
writings  were  received  as  oracles,  and  his  influence 
was  supreme.  Wesley  came  to  visit  him  with  im- 
pressions altogether  lavourable;  he  had  submitted 
himself  almost  as  a  disciple  to  Boehler,  and  had  still 
the  feelings  of  a  disciple  rather  than  a  teacher  when 
he  reached  Marienborn.  Yet,  though  in  this  stale  of 
mind  he  would  be  little  disposed  to  provoke  contro- 
versy, and  certainly  had  no  desire  to  detect  errors 
among  a  people  whom  he  hoped  to  find  as  perfect 
as  he  had  fancied  them  to  be,  Zinzendorf  must  some- 
times have  felt  the  edge  of  his  keen  logic.  No  man 
in  the  character  of  a  religious  inquirer,  had  ever 
before  approached  him  upon  a  footing  of  fair  equali- 
ty; and  from  the  mere  novelty  of  this  circumstance, 
if  not  from  instinctive  jealousy,  or  natural  penetra- 
tion, he  was  likely  soon  to  perceive  that  Wesley 
was  not  a  man  who  would  be  contented  with  holding 
a  secondary  place.  They  certainly  parted  with  a 
less  favourable*  opinion  of  each  other,  than  each 
had  entertained  before  the  meeting. 

*  Mr.  Hamppon,  in  his  life  of  Wesley,  relates,  that  the  Connt 
who  regarded  him  as  a  pupil,  ordered  him  one  day  to  dig  in  the 
garden.  "  When  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  there  some  time,  working 
in  his  shirt,  and  in  a  high  perspiration,  he  called  upon  him  to  get 
into  a  carnage  that  was  in  waiting,  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  German 
Count  ;  nor  would  he  suffer  him  either  to  wash  his  hands,  or  to 
put  on  his  coat.    '  You  must  be  simple,  my  brother  !'  was  a  full 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  GERMANY. 


181 


But  Ihc  community  appeared  to  Wesley  sucli  as 
his  ardent  imagination  had  prefigured  them,  and 
under  this  Impression  he  wrote  of  them  from  Ma- 
rienborn  to  his  brother  Samuel.  "  God,"  said  he, 
"  has  given  me,  at  length,  the  desire  of  my  heart, 
I  am  with  a  church  whose  conversation  is  in  Heaven, 
in  whom  is  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ,  and  who  so 
walk  as  he  walked.  As  they  have  all  one  Lord  and 
one  faith,  so  they  are  all  partakers  of  one  spirit,  the 
spirit  of  meekness  and  love,  which  uniformly  and 
continually  animates  all  their  conversation.  Oh ! 
how  high  and  holy  a  thing  Christianity  is  !  and  how 
widely  distant  from  that,  I  know  not  what,  which  is 
so  called,  though  it  neither  purifies  the  heart,  nor 
renews  the  life,  after  the  image  of  our  blessed  Re- 
deemer. 1  grieve  to  think  how  that  holy  name  by 
whicii  we  are  called,  must  be  blasphemed  among  the 
heathen,  while  they  see  discontented  Christians, 
passionate  Christians,  resentful  Christians,  earthly- 
minded  Christians.  Yea,  to  come  to  what  we  are 
apt  to  count  small  things,  while  they  see  Christians 
judging  one  another,  ridiculing  one  another,  speak- 
ing evil  of  one  another,  increasing  instead  of  bearing 
one  another's  burdens.  How  bitterly  would  Julian 
have  applied  to  these,  '  See  how  these  Christians 
iove  one  another !'  I  know  I  myself,  I  doubt  7jou 
sometimes,  and  my  sister  often,  have  been  under 
this  condemnation." 

He  had  intended  to  rest  at  Marienborn  only  for 
a  day  or  two,  but  he  remained  a  fortnight.  As  the 
travellers  advanced  in  Germany  they  were  grievously 
annoyed  by  municipal  and  military  examinations, 
which  were  conducted  with  the  most  pldegmatic 
inhospitality.     These  senseless  interruptions  pro- 


answer  to  all  his  remonstrances  ;  and  away  he  went  like  a  crazed 
man  in  statu  quo."  Mr.  Hainpson  adds,  that  he  has  no  doubt  of 
the  authenticity  of  this  anecdote  :  but  it  is  not  likely  that  Zinzen- 
dorf,  who  had  been  in  England  should  have  exacted  this  proof  of 
docihty  from  an  English  clergyman,  nor  that  Wesley  should  have 
submitted  to  it.  Similar,  but  more  extravagant  tales,  are  common 
in  monastic  history. 


182 


WESLEV  IN  GEKMANY. 


[1738. 


voked  Wesley,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  English 
liberty  in  his  motions,  and  who  was  impatient  of 
nothing  so  much  as  of  loss  of  time.  "  I  greatly 
wonder,"  said  he,  that  common  sense  and  common 
humanity  (for  these,  doubtless,  subsist  in  Germany 
as  well  as  England,)  do  not  put  an  end  to  this  sense- 
less, inhuman  usage  of  strangers,  which  we  met  with 
at  almost  every  German  city.  I  know  nothing  that 
can  reasonably  be  said  in  its  defence  in  a  time  of 
full  peace,  being  a  breach  of  all  the  common,  even 
heathen  laws  of  hospitality.  If  it  be  a  custom,  so 
much  the  worse,  the  more  is  the  pity,  and  the  more 
the  shame."  They  were  sometimes  carried  about 
from  one  magistrate  to  another  for  more  than  two 
hours,  before  they  were  suffered  to  go  to  their  inn. 
After  a  journey  of  eleven  days  from  Marienborn 
they  reached  Herrnhut. 

This  place,  the  first  and  still  the  chief  settlement 
of  the  Moravian  Brethren,  consisted  at  that  time  of 
about  an  hundred  houses,  built  upon  the  great  road 
from  Zittau  to  Lobau.  The  Brethren  had  cho- 
sen to  build  by  the  road-side,  because  they  expect- 
ed to  find  occasion  for  offering  instruction  to  tra- 
vellers as  they  might  be  passing  by.  The  visitors 
were  lodged  in  the  house  appointed  for  strangers. 
And  here  Wesley  foinid  one  of  his  friends  from 
Georgia,  and  had  opportunities  of  observing  and 
inquiring  fully  into  the  economy  of  this  remarkable 
people,  who  without  tlie  restriction  of  a  vow  had 
submitted  to  a  rule  of  life,  as  formal  as  that  of  a 
monastic  order,  and  though  in  some  respects  less 
burthensome,  in  others  not  less  fantastic.  The 
sexes  were  divided  each  into  five  classes,  the 
three  first  consisting  of  children  according  to  their 
growth,  the  two  others  of  the  young,  and  of  the 
married.  The  single  men,  and  single  women  and 
widows  dwelt  in  separate  houses,  but  each  in  com- 
munity. Two  women  kept  a  nightly  watch  in  the 
women's  apartment,  and  two  men  in  the  street. — 
They  were  expected  to  pray  for  those  who  slept,  and 
to  sing  hymns  which  might  excite  feelings  of  devo- 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  GERMANY. 


183 


tion  in  those  who  were  awake.  There  was  an  Eld- 
est over  each  sex,  and  two  inferior  eldests,  over  the 
young  men  and  the  boys,  and  over  tlie  unmarried 
women  and  the  girls.  Besides  this  classification  ac- 
cording to  sex,  age,  and  condition,  each  household 
was  considered  as  a  separate  class,  and  had  its  helper 
or  deacon,  its  censor,  its  monitor,  its  almoner,  and  its 
servant  or  helper  of  the  lowest  order;  in  the  female 
classes  these  offices  were  filled  by  women.  The 
deacon  or  helper  was  to  instruct  them  in  their  pri- 
vate assemblies ;  to  take  care  that  outward  things 
were  done  decently  and  in  order,  and  to  see  that 
every  member  grew  in  grace,  and  walked  suitably  to 
his  holy  calling.  The  censors  were  to  observe  the 
smallest  things  and  report  them  either  to  the  helpers 
or  monitors,  and  the  monitors  might  freely  admonish 
even  the  rulers  of  the  Church.  And  as  if  this  sys- 
tem of  continual  inspection  were  not  sufficient,  there 
were  secret  monitors,  besides  those  who  were  known 
to  hold  that  office.  They  were  sub-divided  into 
bands,  the  members  of  which  met  together  twice  or 
thrice  a  week  to  confess  their  faults  one  to  another, 
and  pray  for  one  another.  Every  band  had  its  leader 
chosen  as  being  a  person  of  the  most  experience, 
and  all  these  leaders  met  the  superior  Eldest  every 
week,  for  the  purpose  of  "  laying  open  to  him  and  to 
the  Lord  whatsoever  hindered  or  furthered  the  work 
of  God  in  the  souls  committed  to  their  charge." 

There  were  four  pastors  or  teachers  as  they  were 
called,  at  Herrnhut,  and  these  persons  were  regu- 
larly ordained.  They  were  overseers  of  the  whole 
flock,  and  were  the  only  men  except  the  eldest,  and 
one  or  two  of  the  helpers,  who  were  allowed  to  con- 
verse with  the  women.  The  elders,  and  teachers, 
and  helpers,  held  one  weekly  conference  concerning 
the  state  of  the  souls  under  their  care,  another  con- 
cerning the  youth,  and  a  daily  one  relating  to  the 
outward  affairs  of  the  church.  The  censors,  moni- 
tors, almoners,  attendants  on  the  sick,  servants, 
schoolmasters,  young  men,  and  even  the  children, 
had  also  their  weekly  conferences  relating  to  their 


184 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


[1738. 


several  offices  atid  duties,  and  once  a  week  there  was 
a  conference  at  which  any  person  might  be  present, 
and  propose  any  question  or  doubt.  Pubhc  service 
was  performed  every  morning  and  evening  at  eight 
o'clock :  it  consisted  of  singing,  and  expounding  the 
Scriptures,  with  a  short  prayer,  which  in  the  evening 
was  usually  mental ;  and  this  latter  service  conclud- 
ed with  the  kiss  of  peace.  On  Sunday,  in  addition 
to  the  daily  service,  and  the  regular  church  service 
at  Bertholdsdorf,  the  superior  eldest  gave  separate 
exhortations  to  ail  the  members  of  the  community, 
who  were  divided  for  that  purpose  into  fourteen 
classes,  spending  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  with 
each  class.  After  the  evening  eight  o'clock  service, 
the  young  men  went  round  the  town  singing  hymns. 
On  the  first  Saturday  in  the  month  the  sacrament  was 
administered,  and  they  washed  each  other's  feet,  the 
men  and  women  apjart;  the  second  was  a  solemn 
prayer  day  for  the  children ;  the  third  was  set  apart 
for  a  general  intercession  and  thanksgiving ;  the 
fourth  was  the  monthly  conference  of  all  the  superiors 
of  the  church.  And  a  round  of  perpetual  prayer 
through  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night  was  kept 
up  by  married  men  and  women,  maids,  bachelors, 
boys  and  girls,  twenty-four  of  each,  who  volunteered 
to  relieve  each  other  in  this  endless  service. 

The  children  were  prepared  by  their  education 
for  a  life  of  such  continual  pupillage.  They  rose  be- 
tween five  and  six,  prayed  awhile  in  private,  and 
worked  till  seven  ;  an  hour's  schooling  followed,  and 
then  the  hour  of  public  service.  From  nine  till  ele- 
ven they  were  at  school,  they  were  then  indulged 
w  ith  an  hour's  walk :  at  twelve  they  dined  all  together, 
and  worked  till  one :  from  one  till  three  writing  or 
working  were  the  order  of  the  day,  arithmetic  at 
three,  history  at  four  :  work  again  at  five,  supper  at 
six.,  and  more  work  till  seven:  a  little  prayer  at  se- 
ven, and  a  little  walking  till  eight,  when  the  younger 
children  went  to  bed,  and  the  larger  to  public  ser- 
vice, and  when  this  was  done  they  were  set  again  to 
work  till  bed-time,  which  was  at  ten.    Latin,  Greek, 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  GERMANY. 


185 


Hebrew,  French,  and  English,  were  taught.  There 
were  no  holy-days  or  relaxation  of  any  kind,  except 
the  little  time  allowed  for  walking. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable,  that  Wesley  should 
have  said  nothing  of  their  customs  respecting  matri- 
mony. He  took  the  account  which  they  presented 
to  the  Theological  Faculty  at  Wittemberg,  and  ap- 
pears not  to  have  inquired  further.  In  this  the  Mo- 
ravians say,  "We  highly  reverence  marriage,  as 
greatly  conducive  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ :  but  nei- 
ther our  young  men  nor  women  enter  into  it  till  they 
assuredly  know  they  are  married  to  Christ.  When 
any  know  it  is  the  will  of  God,  that  they  should  change 
their  state,  both  the  man  and  woman  are  placed  for 
a  time  with  some  married  persons,  who  instruct  them 
how  to  behave,  so  that  their  married  life  may  be 
pleasing  to  God.  Then  their  design  is  laid  before 
the  whole  church,  and  after  about  fourteen  days,  they 
are  solemnly  joined,  though  not  otherwise  habited 
than  they  are  at  other  times.  If  they  make  any  en- 
tertainment, they  invite  only  a  few  intimate  friends, 
by  whose  faithful  admonitions  they  may  be  the  better 
prepared  to  bear  their  cross,  and  fight  the  good  fight 
of  faith."  This  passage  Wesley  inserted  in  the  se- 
cond part  of  his  journal,  without  any  comment  or  fur- 
ther explanation.  The  presumptuousness  of  a  com- 
munity which  could  thus  expect  that  its  individual 
members  would  certainly  be  informed,  whether  it 
was  the  Avill  of  God  that  they  should  marry,  or  re- 
main in  singleness,  and  the  fanatical  spirit  in  which 
this  wild  opinion  is  expressed,  were  too  congruous  to 
his  own  state  of  mind  at  that  time  to  excite  in  him 
either  surprise  or  disapprobation.  There  were, 
however,  other  circumstances  connected  with  the 
subject,  which  it  may  seem  extraordinary  that  he 
should  not  have  noticed.  Tlie  very  account  which 
he  published,  impv?rfect  as  it  is,  exhibits  in  n  manner 
sulliciently  glaring  one  inconvenience  arising  from 
the  unnatural  separation*  of  different  sexes,  ftges,  and 


*  This  is  carried  so  far,  that  in  their  burial-places  there  arc 
"  distinct  squares  for  married  men  and  unmarried,  for  married 
VOL.  I.  -J  I 


186 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


[1738. 


conditions  :  men  and  women  of  marriageable  years, 
were  presumed  to  be  so  ignorant  of  the  manners  and 
duties  of  the  married  life,  that  they  were  "  to  be 
placed  for  a  time  with  some  married  persons"  for 
the  purpose  of  instruction.  This  would  be  ludicrous 
if  it  were  not  pitiable.  The  system  indeed  of  taking 
children  from  their  parents,  breaking  up  domestic 
society,  and  sorting  human  beings,  like  cabbage 
plants,  according  to  their  growth,  is  not  more  conso- 
nant to  nature  than  the  Egyptian  method  of  hatching 
eggs  in  ovens :  a  great  proportion  of  the  chickens 
are  said  to  be  produced  with  some  deformity,  and 
hens  thus  hatched  bear  a  less  price  than  those  which 
have  been  reared  in  the  natural  way,  because  it  often 
happens  that  they  will  not  sit  upon  their  eggs, — the 
course  of  instinct  having  been  disturbed. 


and  unmarried  women,  for  male  and  female  children,  and  for  wi- 
dows." (Wesley's  second  Journal.)  The  same  separation  was 
observed  m  the  burial-grounds  of  the  Guarani  Missions,  and  there 
also,  as  with  the  Moravians,  "  the  church- yard  was  what  a  Chris- 
tian place  of  burial  should  be,  a  sacred  garden  of  the  dead."  I 
transcribe  from  the  Periodical  Accounts  of  the  Moravian  Missions, 
(Vol.  iii.  p.  35.)  the  description  of  that  at  Bavians  Kloof,  in  the 
Cape-Colony.  "  As  our  burying-ground  was  nothing  but  a  wild 
and  rough  looking  field,  divided  from  our  garden  by  a  small  path, 
brother  Rose  undertook  to  make  it  look  more  decent.  Having 
measured  a  square  of  an  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  he  divided  it 
into  nine  compartments,  with  paths  between  them.  As  we  have 
no  stones  here  fit  for  grave  stones,  each  grave  is  marked  with  a 
short  post,  upon  which  a  board  is  fixed,  with  a  number  painted 
upon  it,  referring  to  a  ground-plan  which  exhibits  a  catalogue  of 
the  deceased.  A  broad  path  leads  in  a  straight  line  through  our 
garden,  into  and  through  the  burying-ground, — this  path  is  inclos- 
ed by  rows  of  trees,  and  the  burying-ground  is  surrounded  with  a 
hedge  of  roses.  All  our  Hottentots  assisted  with  great  willingness 
in  completing  this  work,  and  are  highly  pleased  with  the  regular 
and  decent  appearance  of  their  future  resting-place."  < 
It  is  from  what  he  has  seen  among  the  Moravians,  that  MontgOi^ 
mery  has  imagined  his  beautiful  burying-place  of  the  Patriarchs. 

A  scene  sequestered  from  the  haunts  of  men, 
The  loveliest  nook  of  all  that  lovely  glen. 
Where  weary  pilgrims  found  their  last  repose. 
The  little  heaps  were  ranged  in  comely  rows 
With  walks  between,  by  friends  and  kindred  trod. 
Who  dress'd  with  duteous  hands  each  hallowed  sod. 


1738] 


WESLEY  IN  GERMANY. 


187 


From  this  preposterous  education,  it  followed  ne- 
cessarily that  there  could  be  little  predilection  be- 
tween parties  who  had  never  seen  each  other  in  do- 
mestic life,  and  to  whom  indeed  no  opportunities  of 
intercourse  seem  to  have  been  afforded.  In  conse- 
quence therefore  of  this  discipline,  persons  who  were 
disposed  to  marry  usually  left  the  choice  to  the  el- 
ders*, and  even  the  rare  cases  where  there  happen- 


No  sculptured  monument  was  taught  to  breathe 

His  praises  whom  the  worm  devoured  beneath  ; 

The  high,  the  low,  the  mighty  and  the  fair, 

Equal  in  death,  were  undistinguished  there. 

Yet  not  a  hillock  mouldered  near  that  spot, 

By  one  dishonoured,  or  by  all  forgot  ; 

To  some  warm  heart  the  poorest  dust  was  dear. 

From  some  kind  eye  the  meanest  claim'd  a  tear. 

And  oft  the  living  by  affection  led 

Were  wont  to  walk  in  spirit  with  their  dead, 

Where  no  dark  cypress  cast  a  doleful  gloom. 

No  blighting  yew  shed  poison  o'er  the  tomb  ; 

But  white  and  red  with  intermingling  flowers 

The  graves  looked  beautiful  in  sun  and  showers. 

Green  myrtles  fenced  it,  and  beyond  their  bound 

Ran  the  clear  rill  with  ever-murmuring  sound. 

'Twas  not  a  scene  for  grief  to  nourish  care, 

It  breathed  of  hope,  and  moved  the  heart  to  prayer. 

World  before  the  Flood.    Canto  5. 

*  Wesley  had  submitted  to  this  part  of  their  discipline  in  Geor- 
gia. The  origin,  or  if  Cranz  be  accurate  in  so  affirming,  the  revi- 
val of  this  preposterous  practice,  is  ascribed  to  a  sister  who  after- 
wards made  a  considerable  figure  in  London  as  General  Elderess, 
"Among  the  sisters,"  says  their  historian,  (p.  126.)  "out  of 
whom  elderesses  of  the  congregation  had  L»een  chosen  since  1728, 
after  the  example  of  the  ancient  brethren's  church,  the  choice  fell 
this  time  (1730)  by  lot,  upon  Anna  Nitschmann,  whose  youth  was 
supplied  by  a  rich  measure  of  grace  imparted  to  her,  to  be  co-el- 
deress  of  the  congregation.  She  soon  after,  on  the  4th  of  May, 
entered  into  a  covenant  with  seventeen  single  women  who  were  of 
the  same  mind  with  her,  to  devote  themselves  entirely  to  the  Lord  ; 
and  among  other  things,  to  give  no  attention  to  any  thoughts  or 
overtures  of  marriage,  unless  they  were  .brought  to  them  in  the 
way  of  the  ancient  brethren's  order,  by  the  elders  of  the  congre- 
gation. This  covenant  gave  afterwards  occasion  to  the  single  sis- 
ters celebrating,  since  1745,  every  year,  the  4th  of  May ;  as  a  me- 
morial day.  for  a  solemn  renewal  of  their  covenant." 


188 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


[1738. 


ed  to  be  a  previous  preference,  tlie  approbation  of 
the  elders  was  necessary,  and  frequently  the  parties 
were  mated  by  lot.  It  is  said  that  unhappy  mar- 
riages were  seldom  known  among  them,  and  this 
might  be  expected  ;  not  from  any  wisdom  in  the  ar- 
rangement, still  less  from  any  such  interposition  of 
Providence  as  that  whereon  it  presumes,  but  from 
the  rule  under  which  they  lived,  and  the  continual 
inspection  to  which  they  were  subjected  ;  for,  except 
the  power  of  withdrawing  from  the  community,  there 
was  as  little  personal  liberty  at  Herrnhut  as  in  a  con- 
vent, and  less  than  in  a  Jesuit  Reduction. 

To  this  part  of  their  discipline,  and  not  to  any  de- 
pravity of  manners,  that  fanatical  language  of  the  Mo- 
ravians may  be  distinctly  traced,  which  exposed 
them  at  one  time  to  much  obloquy,  and  which  in  any 
other  age  would  most  certainly  have  drawn  upon" 
them  a  fiery  persecution,  with  every  appearance  of 
justice.  Love  in  its  ideal  sense  could  have  no 
more  existence  among  such  a  people  than  among  the 
Chinese,  Avhere  a  husband  never  sees  the  wife  for 
whom  he  has  bargained  till  she  is  sent  home  to  him 
in  a  box.  But  when  Count  Zinzendorf  and  the  found- 
ers of  his  Moravian  Church  had  stript  away  the  beau- 
tiful imaginative  garment,  they  found  it  expedient  to 
provide  fig-leaves  for  naked  nature ;  and  madness 
never  gave  birtli  to  combinations  of  more  monstrous 
and  blasphemous  obscenity,  than  they  did  in  their 
fantastic  allegories  and  spiritualizations.  In  such 
freaks  of  perverted  fancy,  the  abominations  of  the 
Phallus  and  the  Lingam  have  unquestionably  origi- 
nated;  and  in  some  such  *  abominations  Moravian- 
ism  might  have  ended,  had  it  been  instituted  among 
the  Mingrelian  or  Malabar  Christians,  where- there 
was  no  antiseptic  influence  of  surrounding  circum- 
stances to  preserve  it  from  putrescence.  Fortunate- 

*  The  reader  who  may  have  pcruseJ  Rimius's  Narrative  of  the 
Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Herrnhuters,  and  the  Responsorial  Let- 
ters of  the  Theological  Faculty  of  Tubingen,  annexed  to  it,  will  not 
think  this  language  too  strong. 


i73<{.]  WESLEY  IN  GERMANY.  189 

]y  for  themselves  and  for  that  part  of  the  heathen 
world,  among  whom  they  have  laboured,  and  still  are 
labouring  with  exemplary  devotion,  the  Moravians 
were  taught  by  their  assailants  to  correct  this  peri- 
lous error  in  time.  They  were  an  innocent  people, 
and  could  therefore  with  serenity  oppose  the  testi- 
mony of  their  lives  to  the  tremendous  charges  which 
upon  the  authority  of  their  own  writings  were  brought 
against  them.  And  then  first  seeing  the  offensive- 
ress,  if  not  the  danger  of  the  loathsome  and  impious 
extravagances  into  which  they  had  been  betrayed, 
they  corrected  their  books  and  their  language  ;  and 
from  that  time  they  have  continued  not  merely  to 
live  without  reproach,  but  to  enjoy  in  a  greater  de- 
gree than  any  other  sect,  the  general  good  opinion  of 
every  other  religious  community. 

This  beneficial  change  was  not  effected  till  several 
years  after  Wesley's  visit  to  Herrnhut.  He  was  not 
sutficiently  conversant  with  the  German  language  to 
discover  the  offence,  and  perhaps  for  the  same  rea- 
son remained  ignorant  of  certain  whimsical  opinions, 
which  might  entitle  Count  Zinzendorf  to  a  conspicu- 
ous place  in  the  history  of  heresy.  During  his  stay 
there,  Christian  David  arrived.  Wesley  had  heard 
much  of  this  extraordinary  man,  and  was  prepared 
to  expect  great  benefit  from  his  conversation.  When 
he  mentions  liis  arrival  in  the  journal,  he  adds,  "  Oii 
may  God  make  him  a  messer\ger  of  glad  tidings !" 

Four  times,"  he  says,  "  I  enjoyed  the  blessing  of 
hearing  liim  preach,  and  every  time  he  chose  the 
very  subject  which  I  should  have  desired  had  I  spo- 
Icen  to  him  before."  This  was  IjIs  doctrine  concern- 
ing the  ground  of  faith.  "  You  must  be  humbled  be- 
fore God :  you  must  have  a  broken  and  contrite 
heart.  But  observe,  this  is  not  the  foundation !  It 
is  not  this  by  which  you  are  justified.  This  is  not 
the  righteousness,  it  is  no  part  of  the  righteousness 
by  which  you  are  reconciled  unto  God.  This  is  no- 
thing to  your  justification.  The  remission  of  your 
sins  is  not  owing  to  this  cause,  either  in  whole  or  in 
part.    Nay,  it  may  hinder  justification  if  you  build 


190 


THE  MORAVIANS. 


[1738. 


any  thing  upon  it.  To  think  you  must  be  more  con- 
trite, more  humble,  more  grieved,  more  sensible  of 
the  weight  of  sin  before  you  can  be  justified,  is 
to  lay  your  contrition,  your  grief,  your  humilia- 
tion for  the  foundation  of  your  being  justified,  at 
least  for  a  part  of  it.  Therefore  it  hinders  your 
justification,  and  a  hindrance  it  is  which  must  be 
removed.  The  right  foundation  is  not  your  contri- 
tion, (though  that  is  tiotyour  o?^«,)  not  ^owr  righteous- 
ness, nothing  of  your  own  :  nothing  that  is  wrought 
in  you  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  but  it  is  something  with- 
out yon, — the  righteousness  and  the  blood  of  Christ. 
For  this  is  the  word,  'to  him  that  believeth  on  God, 
that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for 
righteousness.'  This  then  do  if  you  would  lay  a  right 
foundation.  Go  straight  to  Christ  with  all  your  un- 
godliness ;  tell  him,  thou  whose  eyes  are  as  a  flame 
of  fire  searching  my  heart,  seest  that  I  am  ungodly  ! 
I  plead  nothing  else.  I  do  not  say  I  am  humble  or 
contrite;  but  lam  ungodly,  therefore  bring  me  to 
him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly  !  Let  thy  blood  be  the 
propitiation  for  me ! — Here  is  a  mystery,  here  the 
wise  men  of  the  world  are  lost :  it  is  foolishness  unto 
them.  Sin  is  the  only  thing  which  divides  men  from 
God,  sin  (let  him  that  heareth  understand)  is  the 
only  thing  which  unites  them  to  God, — for  it  is  the 
only  thing  which  moves  the  Lamb  of  God  to  have 
compassion  upon  them,  and  by  his  blood  to  give 
them  access  to  the  Father.  This  is  the  word  of 
reconciliation  which  we  preach  :  this  is  the  founda- 
tion which  never  can  be  moved." 

Wesley,  who  wrote  down  the  substance  of  this 
discourse,  did  not  perhaps  immediately  perceive 
how  easily  this  doctrine  might  be  most  mischievously 
abused;  but  he  saw  at  once  with  what  forcible  effect 
it  might  be  preached,  and  it  will  be  seen  how  well 
he  profited  by  the  lesson.  He  heard  also  from 
Christian  David  and  from  other  of  the  Brethren, 
accounts  of  what  is  called  their  experience, — the 
state  of  feeling  and  conflicts  of  thought  through 
which  they  had  passed  before  they  attained  a  settled 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  GERMANY. 


191 


religious  peace.  This  full  assurance,  or  plerophory 
of  faith  as  it  is  termed  by  Wesley,  was  defined  to 
him  by  Arvid  Gradin,  a  Swede.  "  I  had,"  said  the 
Swede,  "  from  our  Lord  what  I  asked  of  him,  the 
7rA))$o(pop»*  TTjffwf,  the  fulness  of  faith,  which  is  repose* 
in  the  blood  of  Christ :  a  firm  confidence  in  God  and 
persuasion  of  his  favour,  with  a  deliverance  from 
every  fleshly  desire,  and  a  cessation  of  all,  even 
inward  sins.  In  a  word,  my  heart  which  before  was 
agitated  like  a  troubled  sea,  was  in  perfect  quietness 
like  the  sea  when  it  is  serene  and  calm."  "  This," 
says  Wesley,  "  was  the  first  account  I  ever  heard 
from  any  living  man,  of  what  I  had  before  learned 
myself  from  the  oracles  of  God,  and  had  been  pray- 
ing for,  with  the  little  company  of  my  friends,  and 
expecting  for  several  years." 

"  I  would  gladly,"  he  says,  "  have  spent  my  life 
here  :  but  my  master  calling  me  to  labour  in  another 
part  of  his  vineyard,  I  was  constrained  to  take  my 
leave  of  this  happy  place."  After  a  fortnight's  tar- 
riance,  therefore,  he  departed  on  foot  as  he  came, 
and  returned  to  England. 

*  "  Requies  in  sanguine  Christi ;  firma  Jiducia  in  Deum,  et  per- 
suasio  de  gratia  divind  ;  tranquillitas  mentis  sximma,  atquc  serenitas 
et  pax  ;  cum  absentia  omnis  desiderii  carnalis,  et  cessatione  pecca- 
torum  etiam  internorum.  Verba,  cor  quod  antea  inslar  maris 
turbulenti  agitabatur,  in  summd  fuit  requie,  insiar  maris  sereni  et 
tranquilli." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


WESLEY  IN  LONDON.  WHITEFIELD  RETUKNS  TO  ENGLAND. 

 WHITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL. 

Charles  Wesley  had  not  known  his  brother's 
intention  of  visiting  Herrnhut  till  he  had  set  out  for 
Germany.  He  was  not  sufficiently  recovered  to 
have  accompanied  him,  but  he  kept  up,  during  his 
absence,  the  impression  which  had  been  produced, 
and  John  found,  upon  his  return,  that  the  society 
which  now  met  together  consisted  of  thirty-two  per- 
sons. His  presence,  however,  was  required ;  "  for 
though,"  says  he,  "  a  great  door  had  been  opened, 
the  adversaries  had  laid  so  many  stumbling  blocks 
before  it,  that  the  weak  were  daily  turned  out  of  the 
way.  Numberless  misunderstandings  had  arisen, 
by  means  of  which  the  way  of  truth  was  much  blas- 
phemed ;  and  thence  had  sprung  anger,  clamour, 
bitterness,  evil-speaking,  cnvyings,  strifes,  railings, 
evil  surmises,  whereby  the  enemy  had  gained  such 
an  advantage  over  the  little  flock,  that  of  the  rest 
durst  no  man  join  himself  to  them."  Nor  was  this 
.  all, — a  dispute  arose  concerning  predestination,  the 
I  most  mischievous  question  by  which  human  presump- 
tion has  ever  been  led  astray.  This  matter  was  laid 
to  rest  for  the  present,  and  a  few  weeks  after  his 
return,  Wesley  had  eight  bands  of  men  and  two  of 
women  under  his  spiritual  direction. 

He  informed  his  German  friends  of  the  state  of 
things  in  an  epistle  with  the  superscription,  "  To 
the  Church  of  God  which  is  in  Herrnhut,  John 
Wesley,  an  unworthy  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of 
God  which  is  in  England,  wisheth  all  grace  and 
peace  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  style  of  this 
epistle  corresponded  to  the  introduction.  It  began 
thus:  "Glory  be  to  God,  even  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  his  unspeakable  gift!  for 


1738.] 


WESLET   IN  LONDON. 


193 


giving  me  to  be  an  eye  witness  of  your  faith  and 
love,  and  holy  conversation  in  Christ  Jesus.  I 
have  borne  testimony  thereof,  with  all  plainness 
of  speecii,  in  many  parts  of  Germany,  and  thanks 
have  been  given  to  God,  by  many,  on  your  behalf 
We  are  endeavouring  here  also,  by  the  grace  which 
is  given  us,  to  be  followers  of  you,  .as  ye  are  of 
Christ."     He    wrote   also  to   Couiit  Zinzenclorf 

May  our  gracious  Lord,  who  counteth  whatso- 
ever is  done  to  the  least  of  his  brethren  as  done  to 
himself,  return  seven-fold  to  you  and  the  Countess, 
and  to  all  the  brethren,  the  kindness  you  did  to  us. 
It  would  have  been  great  satisfaction  to  me,  if  I 
could  have  spent  more  time  with  the  Christians 
who  love  one  another.  But  that  could  not  be  now, 
my  Master  having  called  me  to  work  in  another 
part  of  his  vineyard.  I  hope,"  he  added,  *'  if 
God  permit,  to  see  them  at  least  once  more,  were  it 
only  to  give  them  the  fruit  of  my  love,  the  speaking 
freely  on  a  few  things  which  I  did  not  approve,  per^ 
haps  because  I  did  not  understand  them." 

Count  Zinzendorf  would  not  have  been  very  well 
pleased  if  he  had  known  that  one  of  the  things  which 
VV^csley  disapprov^ed,  was  the  supremacy  which  he 
exercised  over  the  Moravians.  For  Wesley,  imme- 
diately upon  his  return,  had  begun  a  letter  to  the 
Moravian  Church,  in  a  very  different  strain  trom  the 
epistle  which  he  afterwards  substituted  for  it.  In- 
stead of  a  grave  and  solemn  superscription,  it  began 
with,  "My  dear  Brethren  ;"  and  after  saying  that  he 
greatly  approved  of  their  conferences  and  bands, 
their  method  of  instructing  children,  and  their  great 
care  of  the  souls  committed  to  their  charge,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  propose,  "  in  love  and  meekness,"  doubts 
Concerning  certain  parts  of  their  conduct,  which  he 
wished  them  to  answer  plainly,  and  to  consider  well. 
"  Do  you  not,"  he  pursued,  "  wlioU^:^  neglect  joint 
fasting.''  Is  not  the  Count  all  in  all.'^  Are  not  the 
rest  mere  shadows,  calling  him  Rablji ;  almost  impli- 
citly both  believing  and  obeymg  iiim.'*  la  there  not 
something  of  levity  in  your  behaviour.'*    Arc  you  in 

VOL.  I.  '  2.^ 


194 


WESLKY  IN  LOKDOR. 


general  serious  enough  ?  Are  you  zealous  and  watch- 
ful to  redeem  time  ?  Do  you  i;ot  sometimes  fall  in- 
to trifling  conversation  ?  Do  you  not  magnify  your 
own  church  too  mucli  ?  Do  you  beUeve  any  w  ho 
are  not  of  it  to  be  in  gospel  liberty  ?  Are  you  not 
straitened  in  your  love?  Do  you  love  you^  enemies 
and  wicked  men  as  yourselves  ?  Do  you  not  mix 
human  wisdom  with  divine,  joining  worldly  prudence 
with  heavenly?  Do  you  not  use  cunning,  guile,  or 
dissimulation  in  many  cases?  Are  you  not  of  a  close, 
dark,  reserved  temper  and  behaviour?  Is  not  the 
spirit  of  secrecy  the  spirit  of  your  communion?  Have 
you  that  child-like  openness,  frankness,  and  plain- 
ness of  speech,  so  manifest  to  all  in  the  Apostles  and 
first  Christians?"  ,  , 

Some  of  these  queries  savour  of  supererogatory 
righteousness,  and  as  they  contain  no  alhision  either 
to  the  wild  heretical  fancies  which  are  deducible 
from  Count  Zinzendorf's  writings,  nor  to  his  execrable 
language,  it  is  evident  that  "Wesley  must  have  been 
ignorant  of  both.  He  saw  much  to  disapprove  in  the 
Moravians,  but  he  says,  that  being  fearful  of  trusting 
his  own  judgment,  he  determined  to  wait  yet  a  little 
longer.  Indeed  he  thought  that  whatever  might  be 
the  errors  of  the  United  Brethren,  the  good  greatly 
preponderated  ;  and  therein  he  judged  of  them  more 
truly,  as  well  as  more  charitably,  that  when  he  af- 
terwards separated  Irom  them. 

How  he  judged  of  himself  at  this  time  ?ippe?irs  by 
the  result  of  a  curious  self  examination,  in  which  he 
tried  himself  by  the  lest  of  St.  Paul :  "i/"  ra/y  man  be 
in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature.  Old  things  are  past  atvay. 
Behold  all  things  are  become  new.''''  "  First,"  says  Wes- 
ley, "  his  judgments  are  new ;  his  judgment  of  hini- 
self,  of  happiness,  of  holiness.  He  judges  himself  to 
be  altogether  fallen  short  of  the  glorious  image  of 
God  ;  to  have  no  good  thing  abiding  in  him.  but  all 
that  is  corrupt  and  abominable;  in  a  word,  to  be 
wholly  earthly,  sensual,  and  devilish,  a  motley  mix- 
ture of  beast  and  devil.  Thus,  by  the  grace  of  God 
in  Christ,  I  judge  of  myself.  Therefore  I  am  in  this 
respect  a  new  creature. 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  LO.N'DO.V. 


195 


"  Again,  hisjudgment  concerning  happiness  is  new. 
He  would  as  soou  expect  to  dig  it  out  of  the  earth, 
as  to  lind  it  in  riches,  honour,  pleasure,  (so  called,)  or 
indeed  in  the  enjoyment  of  any  creature.  He  knows 
there  can  be  no  happiness  on  earth,  but  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  God,  and  in  the  foretaste  of  those  rivers  of 
pleasure  which  tiow  at  his  right  hand  for  evermore. 
Thus  by  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ  I  judge  of  happi- 
ness. Therefore  I  am  in  this  respect  a  new  crea- 
ture. 

"  Yet  again,  his  judgment  concerning  holiness  is 
new.  He  no  longer  judges  it  to  be  an  outward  thing; 
to  consist  either  in  doing  no  harm,  in  doing  good,  or 
in  using  the  ordinances  of  God.  He  sees  it  is  the 
life  of  God  in -the  soul;  the  image  of  God  fresh 
stamped  on  the  heart ;  an  entire  renewal  of  the  mind 
in  every  temper  and  thought,  after  the  likeness  of 
Him  that  created  it.  Thus,  by  the  grace  of  God  in 
Christ,  I  judge  of  holiness.  Therefore  1  am  in  this 
respect  a  new  creature. 

"  Secondly,  his  designs  are  new.  It  is  the  design 
of  his  life,  not  to  heap  up  treasures  upon  earth,  not 
to  gain  the  praise  of  men,  not  to  indulge  the  desires 
of  the  flesh,  the  desire  of  the  eye,  or  the  pride  of  life  : 
but  to  regain  the  image  of  God,  to  have  the  life  of 
God  again  planted  in  his  soul,  and  to  be  renewed  af- 
ter his  likeness  in  righteousness  and  all  true  holi- 
ness. This,  by  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ,  is  the 
design  of  ifiy  life.  Therefore  I  am  in  this  respect  a 
new  creature. 

•'Thirdly,  his  desires  are  new,  and  indeed  the 
whole  train  of  his  passions  and  inclinations  ;  they 
are  no  longer  fixed  on  earthly  things;  they  are  now 
set  on  the  things  of  Heaven.  His  love  and  joy  and 
hope,  his  sorrow  and  fear,  have  all  respect  to  things 
above:  they  all  point  heavenward.  Where  his  trea- 
sure is,  there  is  his  heart  also. — I  dare  not  say  I  am  a 
new  creature  in  this  respect,  for  other  desires  often 
arise  in  my  heart :  but  they  do  not  reign,  I  put  them 
all  under  my  feet  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 


196 


WESLEY  IN  LONDON. 


[1738. 


me  ;  therefore,  I  believe  that  He  is  creating  me  anew 
in  this  also,  and  that  He  has  begun,  though  not  finish- 
ed his  work. 

Fourthly,  his  conversation  is  new.  It  is  ahcays 
seasoned  with  salt,  and  jit  to  minister  grace  to  the  hearers. 
So  is  mine,  by  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ;  therefore, 
I  am  in  this  respect  a  new  creature. 

Fifthly,  his  actions  are  new.  The  tenor  of  his 
life  singly  points  at  the  glory  of  God ;  all  his  sub- 
stance and  time  are  devoted  thereto  :  whether  he  eats 
or  drinlcs,  or  whatever  he  does,  it  either  springs  from,  or 
leads  to  the  love  of  God  and  man.  Such,  by  the 
grace  of  God  in  Christ,  is  the  tenor  of  my  life ;  there- 
fore, in  this  respect,  I  am  a  new  creature. 

"  But  St.  Paul  tells  us  elsewhere,  that  the  fruit  of 
the  Spirit  is  love,  peace,  joy,  long-suffering,  gentleness, 
meekness,  temperance.    Now  although,  by  the  grace  of 
God  in  Christ,  I  find  a  measure  of  some  of  these  in 
myself,  viz.  of  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  meek 
ness,  temperance ;  yet  others  I  find  not :  I  canno 
find  in  myself  the  love  of  God  or  of  Christ;  hence 
my  deadness  and  vvantlerings  in  public  prayer;  henc 
it  is  that  even  in  the  holy  communion,  I  have  rarel 
any  more  than  a  cold  attention ;  hence,  when  I  hea 
of  the  highest  instance  of  God's  love,  my  heart  is  stil 
senseless  and  unaffected ;  yea,  at  this  moment  I  fee 
no  more  love  to  Him  than  to  one  I  had  never  hear 
of    Again,  I  have  not  that  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  n 
settled,  lasting  joy  ;  nor  have  I  such  a  pCace  as  ex 
eludes  the  possibility  either  of  fear  or  doubt.  Whe 
holy  men  have  told  mc  I  had  no  faith,  I  have  ofte 
doubted  whether  I  had  or  no  ;  and  those  doubts  hav 
made  me  very  uneasy,  till  1  was  relieved  by  praye 
and  the  Holy  Scriptures.    Yet  upon  the  whole,  al 
though  I  have  not  yet  that  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  no 
that  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  my  heart,  nor  the  ful 
assurance  of  faith,  nor  the  (proper)  witness  of  th 
Spirit  with  my  spirit  that  1  am  a  child  of  God,  muc 
less  am  I,  in  the  full  and  proper  sense  of  tbe  word 
in  Christ  a  new  creature;  1  nevertheless  trust  that 
have  a  measure  of  faith,  and  am  accepted  in  the  Be 


1738.] 


WESLEY   IN  LONDON. 


197 


loved  :  I  trust  the  handwriting  that  was  against  me 
is  blotted  out,  and  that  I  am  reconciled  to  God  through 
his  Son." 

This  representation  of  his  own  state  is  evidently 
faithful ;  his  Moravian  friends  did  not,  however, 
judge  of  it  so  favourably.    Delamotte,  whose  less 
active  and  less  ambitious  spirit  rested  contentedly 
after  he  had  joined  the  brethren,  said  to  him,  "  You 
are  better  than  you  was  at  Savannah.  You  know  that 
you  was  then  quite  wrong;  but  you  are  not  right  yet. 
You  know  that  you  was  then  blind  ;  but  you  do  not 
see  now.    I  doubt  not  but  God  will  bring  you  to  the 
right  foundation ;  but  I  have  no  hope  for  you  while 
you  are  on  the  present  foundation,  it  is  as  different 
'  from  the  true,  as  the  right  hand  from  the  left.  You 
have  all  to  begin  anew.    I  have  observed  all  your 
words  and  actions,  and  I  see  you  are  of  the  same 
spirit  still :  you  have  a  simplicity,  but  it  is  a  simpli- 
city of  your  own ;  it  is  not  the  simplicity  of  Christ. 
You  think  you  do  not  trust  in  your  own  works;  but 
you  do  trust  in  your  own  works.    You  do  not  believe 
in  Christ.    You  have  a  present  freedom  from  sin ; 
but  it  is  only  a  temporary  suspension  of  it,  not  a  de- 
liverance from  it  ;  and  you  have  a  peace,  but  it  is 
not  a  true  peace :  if  death  were  to  approach,  you 
would  find  all  your  fears  return ;  but  I  am  forbid  to 
i'  3ay  any  more;  my  heart  sinks  in  me  like  a  stone." 
This  censure  lost  nothing  of  its  oracular  solemnity 
by  the  manner  in  which  it  was  concluded.  \Ve.sl£y 
ftaairiJilbled^y  it,  and  had  recourse  to  bibliomancy, 
-  v?iuch-iiiasJhexi  his  favourite  practice  tor  comfort. — 
■  He  begged  of  God,  he  says,  an  answer  of  peace,  and 
•-  Opened  on  these  words  :  "  As  many  as  tvalk  according 
to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  (hem,  and  mercy  vpon  the  Israel  of 
God.''''    A  second  trial  gave  him  for  a  text.  My  hour 
!  w  not  yet  come.    'J'he  opinion  of  ordinary  men  he  de- 
spised :  he  triumphed  over  obloquy,  and  he  was  im- 
penetrable to  all  reasoning  which  opposed  his  fivour- 
ite  tenets,  or  censured  any  part  of  his  conduct ;  but 
when  one  who  entered  into  his  feelir)gs  with  kindred 
feeling,  and.  agreed  with  him  entirely  in  opinion,  as- 


198 


WESLEY  IN  LOiNBON. 


[1738. 


sumed  towards  him  the  language  of  reproof  and  com- 
miseration, then  he  was  disturbed,  and  those  doubts 
came  upon  him  again,  which  might  have  led  him  to 
distrust  his  enthusiastic  doctrine  of  assurance.  This 
disquietude,  which  chance  texts  of  Scripture  might 
as  easily  have  aggravated  as  allayed,  was  removed 
by  the  stimulants  of  action  and  opposition,  and  more 
especially  by  sympathy  and  success;  for  though  he 
might  easily  err  concerning  the  cause  of  the  eflTects 
which  he  produced,  it  was  impossible  to  doubt  their 
reality,  and  in  many  cases  their  utility  was  as  evident 
as  their  existence. 

During  his  absence  in  Germany,  Charles  had  pray- 
ed with  some  condemned*  criminals  in  Newgate,  and 
accompanied  them,  with  two  other  clergymen,  to 
Tyburn.  In  consequence  of  this,  another  party  of 
poor  creatures  in  the  same  dreadful  situation  implor- 
ed the  same  assistance,  and  the  two  brothers  wrought 
them  into  a  state  of  mind  not  less  happy  than  that  of 
Socrates  when  he  drank  the  hemlock.  "  It  was  the 
most  glorious  instance,"  says  Wesley,  "  I  ever  saw, 
of  faith  triumphing  over  sin  and  death."  One  of  the 
suflerers  was  asked  how  he  felt  a  few  minutes  only 
before  the  point  of  death,  and  he  calmly  answered, 
"  I  feel  a  peace  which  I  could  not  have  believed  to  be 
possible :  and  I  know  it  is  the  peace  of  God,  which 
passeth  all  understanding."  Well  might  he  be  en- 
couraged in  his  career  by  such  proofs  of  his  own 
power!  Even  frenzy  was  rebuked  before  him:  in 
one  of  the  workhouses  which  he  visited,  was  a  young 
Avoman  raving  mad,  screaming  and  tormenting  her- 
self continually.    His  countenance,  and  manner,  and 

*  The  Ordinary,  on  these  occasions,  made  but  a  sorry  figure. 
"  Re  would  read  prayers,"  Charles  Wesley  says,  "  and  he  preach- 
ed most  miserably."  When  this  poor  man,  who  seems  willing 
enough  to  have  done  his  duty  if  he  had  known  how,  would  have 
got  upon  the  cart  with  the  prisoners  at  the  place  of  execution, 
they  begged  that  he  would  not,  and  the  mob  kept  him  down.— 
What  kind  of  machine  a  Newgate  Ordinary  was  in  those  days, 
may  be  seen  in  Fielding  :  the  one  who  edifies  Jonathan  Wild  wi]th 
a  sermon  before  the  punch  comes  in,  seems  to  have  been  drawit. 
from  the  life. 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  I-ONDON, 


199 


voice,  always  impressive,  and  doubly  so  to  one  who 
had  been  little  accustomed  to  looks  of  kindness  and 
words  of  consolation,  acted  upon  her  as  oil  upon  the 
waves:  the  moment  that  he  began  she  was  still,  and 
while  he  encouraged  her  to  seek  relief  in  prayer, 
saying,  "Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  able  and  willing  to 
deliver  you,"  the  tears  ran  down  her  cheeks.  O 
where  is  faith  upon  earth  he  exclaims,  when  he 
relates  this  anecdote ;  "  why  are  these  poor  wretches 
left  under  the  open  bondage  of  Satan.'*  Jesus!  Mas- 
ter! give  thou  medicine  to  heal  their  sickness;  and 
deliver  those  who  are  now  also  vexed  with  unclean 
spirits!"  Wesley  always  maintained  that  madness 
was  frequently  occasioned  by  demoniacal  possession, 
and  in  this  opinion  he  found  many  to  encourage  him. 
At  this  time  his  prayers  were  desired  for  a  child  who 
was  lunatic,  and  sore  vexed  day  and  night,  that 
our  Lord  might  be  pleased  to  heal  him,  as  he  did 
those  in  the  days  of  his  flesh."  While  the  apostoli- 
cal character  which  he  assumed  was  thus  acknow- 
ledged, and  every  day's  experience  made  him  more 
conscious  of  his  own  strength,  opposition  of  any  kind 
served  only  to  make  him  hurry  on  in  his  career,  as 
water  when  it  is  poured  into  a  raging  conflagration, 
augments  the  violence  of  the  fire. 

Gibson  was  at  that  time  Bishop  of  London  :  he 
was  of  a  mild  and  conciliating  temper ;  a  distinguish- 
ed antiquary,  a  sound  scholar,  equally  frugal  and  be- 
neficent, perfectly  tolerant  as  becomes  a  Christian, 
and  conscientiously  attached  as  becomes  a  Bishop 
to  the  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  Church  in  which 
he  held  so  high  and  conspicuoui«  a  station.  The  two 
brothers  waited  upon  him  to  justify  their  conduct; 
this  seems  to  have  been  a  voluntary  measure  on  their 
part,  and  the  conversation  which  took  place,  as  far 
as  it  has  been  made  public,  reflects  more  credit  up- 
on the  Bishop  than  upon  them.  With  regard  to  that 
particular  tenet  which  now  notoriously  characterized 
their  preaching,  the  prelate  said,  "If  by  assurance 
ydw  mean  an  inward  persuasion,  whereby  a  man  is 
conscious  in  himself,  after  examining  his  life  by  the 


200 


WESLEY  IN  LONDOX. 


[173a 


law  of  God  and  weighing  his  own  sincerity,  that  he 
is  in  a  state  of  salvation,  and  acceptable  to  God,  I  do 
not  see  how  any  good  Christian  can  be  without  such 
an  assurance."  They  made  answer  that  they  con- 
tended for  this,  and  complained  that  they  had  been 
charged  with  Antinomianism  because  they  preached 
justification  by  faith  alone.  But  this  was  not  the  as- 
surance for  which  they  contended ;  they  contended 
against  it ;  and  in  the  place  of  that  calm  and  settled 
reliance  upon  the  goodness  of  Almighty  God,  which 
results  from  reason  and  revelation,  and  is  the  reward 
of  a  well  spent  life,  they  required  an  enthusiastic  con- 
fidence as  excessive  as  the  outrageous  self-condem- 
riation  by  which  it  was  to  be  preceded,  and  in  which 
it  was  to  Iiave  its  root. 

They  spoke  also  upon  the  propriety  of  rebaptizing 
Dissenters:  Wesley  said  that  if  any  person  dissatisfi- 
ed with  lay-baptism  should  desire  episcopal,  he 
should  think  it  his  duty  to  administer  it :  the  Bishop 
said  he  was  against  it  himself;  and  the  interview 
ended  with  his  telling  them  that  they  might  have 
free  access  to  him  at  all  times.  In  the  course  of 
a  few  weeks  Charles  availed  himself  of  this  per- 
mission, and  informed  him  that  a  woman  had  desired 
him  to  baptize  her,  not  being  satisfied  with  her  bap- 
tism by  a  Dissenter;  she  said  sure  and  unsure  were 
not  the  same.  The  Bishop  replied,  that  he  wholly 
disapproved  of  it;  and  Charles  Wesley  made  answer 
that  he  did  not  expect  his  approbation,  but  only  came 
in  obedience  to  give  him  notice  of  his  intention.  "It 
is  irregular,"  said  the  Bishop,  "  I  never  receive  any 
such  information,  but  from  the  minister." — My 
Lord,  the  Rubric  does  not  so  much  as  require  the 
minister  to  give  you  notice,  but  any  discreet  person : 
I  have  the  ministers  leave." — "  Who  gave  yoa 
authority  to  baptize  — "  Your  Lordship,"  repli- 
ed Charles,  (for  he  had  been  ordained  priest  by 
him,)  "and  I  shall  exercise  it  in  any  part  of  the  , 
known  world." — "  Are  you  a  licensed  curate.''"  said 
the  Bishop,  who  began  to  feel  justly  offended  at  the  i 
tenor  of  this  conversation ;  and  Charles  Wesley,  who  j 
then  perceived  that  he  could  no  longer  appeal  to  ^ 


1738.] 


WESLEY  I.V  LONDON. 


201 


the  letter  of  the  law,  replied  he  had  the  leave  of  the 
proper  minister. — "  But  do  you  not  know  that  no 
man  can  exercise  parochial  duty  in  London  without 
my  leave."*  It  is  only  sub  silentio.'''' — But  you  know 
many  do  take  that  permission  for  authority,  and  you 
yourself  allow  it."—"  It  is  one  thing  to  connive,"  said 
the  Bishops  "  and  another  to  approve  :  I  have  power 
to  inhibit  you." — "  Does  your  Lordship  exact  that 
power.'*  Do  you  now  inhibit  me.>"  The  answer 
was,  "  Oh,  why  will  you  push  matters  to  an  extreme  !" 
and  the  Bishop  put  an  end  to  this  irritating  inter- 
view by  saying,  "  Well,  Sir,  you  knew  my  judgment 
before,  and  you  know  it  now."  Charles  Wesley 
would  not  reflect  with  much  satisfaction  upon  this 
dialogue  when  he  and  his  brother  altered  their  opi- 
nions respecting  the  point  in  dispute.  They  had  in- 
deed, great  reason  to  admire  the  temper  and  the 
wisdom  of  this  excellent  Prelate,  and  of  the  Primate 
also  upon  whom  they  waited  to  justify  themselves, 
soon  afterwards,  without  a  summons.  "  He  showed 
us,"  says  Charles,  "  great  aflfection,  and  cautioned 
us  to  give  no  more  umbrage  than  was  necessary  for 
our  own  defence,  to  forbear  exceptionable  phrases, 
and  to  keep  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church."  We 
told  him  we  expected  persecution  would  abide  by 
the  Church  till  her  articles  and  homilies  were  repeal- 
ed. He  assured  us  he  knew  of  no  design  in  the 
governors  of  the  Church  to  innovate  ;  neither  should 
there  be  any  innovation  while  he  lived.  It  was  pro- 
bably at  this  time  that  this  "  great  and  good  man," 
as  Wesley  deservedly  calls  Archbishop  Potter,  gave 
him  an  advice  for  which  he  acknowledged,  many 
years  afterwards,  that  he  had  ever  since  had  occa- 
sion to  bless  God,  "  If  you  desire  to  be  extensively^ 
useful,  do  not  spend  your  time  and  strength  in  con- 
tending for  or  against  such  things  as  are  of  a  disputa- 
ble nature;  but  in  testi/yiiig  against  open,  notorious  | 
vice,  and  in  promoting  real,  essential  holiness." 

But  whatever  benefit  Wesley  might  have  derived 
from  this  wise  counsel  in  his  cooler  years,  he  was 
in  no  state  to  profit  by  it  when  it  was  given.  At 

VOL.  \.  !2ti 


202 


WESLEY  IN  LONDON. 


that  time  he  exclaimed,  "  God  deliver  me  and  all 
that  seek  him  in  sincerity,  from  what  the  world  calls 
Christian  prudence  r''  He  w  as  in  the  high  fever  ot 
enthusiasm,  and  they  among  whom  he  conversed 
were  continually  administering  cordials  which  kept 
the  passion  at  its  height.  One  of  them  thus  describe 
the  manner  in  which  he  was  "  born  of  God :  it  wa 
an  instantaneous  act :  my  whole  heart  was  filled  witii 
a  divine  power,  drawing  all  the  faculties  of  my  soul 
after  Christ,  which  continued  three  or  four  nights 
and  days.  It  was  as  a  mighty  rushing  wind  coming 
into  the  soul,  enabling  me  from  that  moment  to  be 
more  than  conqueror  over  those  corruptions  which 
before  I  was  always  a  slave  to.  Since  that  time  the 
whole  bent  of  my  will  hath  been  towards  him  day 
and  night,  even  in  my  dreams.  I  know  that  I  dwell 
in  Christ  and  Christ  in  me ;  I  am  bone  of  his  bone, 
and  flesh  of  his  flesh."  This  looks  like  Moravian 
language :  but  the  most  extraordinary  effusion  of 
enthusiastic  raptures  which  has,  perhaps,  ever  been 
produced  in  a  Protestant  country,  was  addressed  to 
Wesley  at  this  time  by  one  of  his  disciples,  a  young 
woman,  in  her  twentieth  year,  who  calls  him  her 
most  dear  and  honoured  father  in  Chi  ist.  Her  eyes, 
she  said,  had  been  opened,  and  though  her  life  had 
been  what  the  world  calls  irreproachable,  she  had 
found  that  her  sins  were  great,  and  that  God  kept 
an  account  of  them.  Her  very  tears  w  ere  sin  ;  she 
doubted,  feared,  and  sometimes  despaired  ;  her  heart 
became  hard  as  a  stone,  even  the  joy  which  she 
received  at  the  sacrament  went  out  like  a  lamp  for 
want  of  oil,  and  she  fell  into  her  old  state,  a  state  of 
damnation.  A  violent  pain  in  the  head  seized  her 
whenever  she  began  to  pray  earnestly,  or  cry  out 
aloud  to  Christ.  When  she  was  in  this  state,  her 
sister,  who  had  just  received  the  atonement,  came  to 
see  her,  and  related  her  own  happy  regeneration. 
"  That  night,"  she  continues,  "  I  went  into  the  gar- 
den, and  considering  what  she  had  told  mo,  I  saw 
Him  by  faith,  whose  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,  Him 
who  justifieth  the  ungodly.    I  told  Him  I  was  ungod- 


1738.] 


WESLEY  IN  LONDON. 


203 


ly,  and  it  was  for  me  that  He  died  :  His  blood  did  I 
plead  with  great  faith,  to  blot  out  the  hand-writing 
that  was  against  me.    I  told  my  Saviour  that  He 
had  promised  to  give  rest  to  all  that  were  heavy 
laden;  this  promise  I  claimed,  and  I  saw  Him  by 
faith  stand  condemned  before  God  in  my  stead.  I 
saw  the  fountain  opened  in  His  side.    As  I  hungered 
He  fed  me;  as  I  thirsted  He  gave  me  out  of  that 
fountain  to  drink.    And  so  strong  was  my  faith,  that 
if  I  had  all  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  laid  upon  me, 
I  knew  and  was  sure  one  drop  of  His  blood  was  suf- 
ficient to  atone  for  all.    Well,  I  clave  unto  him,  and 
He  did  wash  me  in  flis  blood  ;  He  hath  clothed  me 
with  His  righteousness,  and  has  presented  me  to  His 
Father,  to  His  God  and  my  God,  a  pure  spotless 
virgin,  as  if  I  had  never  committed  any  sin. — Think 
what  a  transport  of  joy  I  was  then  in,  when  I  that 
was  lost  and  undone,  dropping  into  hell,  felt  a  Re- 
deemer come  who  is  mighty  to  save,  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most !  Yet  I  did  not  receive  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
at  that  time;  but  in  about  half  an  hour  the  devil 
came  with  great  power  to  tempt  me;  however,  I 
minded  him  not,  but  went  in  and  lay  down  pretty 
much  composed  in  my  mind.    My  sins  were  forgiven, 
but  I  knew  I  w  as  not  yet  born  of  God.    In  the  morn- 
ing I  found  the  work  of  the  Spirit  was  very  powerful 
upon  me;  as  my  mother  bore  me  with  great  pain,  so 
did  I  feel- great  pain  in  my  soul  in  being  born  of  God, 
Indeed  I  thought  the  pains  of  death  were  upon  me, 
and  tliat  my  soul  was  then  taking  leave  of  the  body ; 
I  thought  I  was  going  to  Him  w  horn  I  saw  with  strong 
faith,  standing  ready  to  receive  me.    In  this  violent 
agony  I  continued  about  four  hours,  and  then  I  be- 
gan to  feel  the  Spirit  of  God  bearing  witness  with  my 
spirit  that  I  ivas  born  of  God. — Oh,  mighty,  powerful, 
happy  change  ! — The  love  of  God  was  shed  abroad 
in  ray  heart,  and  a  flame  kindled  there  with  pains  so 
violent,  yet  so  very  ravishing,  that  my  body  was  al- 
most torn  asunder.    I  loved  ;  tlie  Spirit  cried  strong 
in  my  heart;  I  sweated;  I  trembled;  I  fainted;  I 
sung ;  I  joined  my  voice  with  those  that  excel  in 


204  WHITEFIELD   RETL'RNS  TO  ENGLAND.  [l73{5. 


strength;  my  soul  was  got  up  into  the  holy  Mount; 
1  had  no  thoughts  of  coming  down  again  into  the 
body  ;  I  who  not  long  before  had  called  to  the  rocks 
to  fall  on  me,  and  the  mountains  to  cover  me,  could 
now  call  for  nothing  else,  but  Come,  Lord  Jesus  !  Come 
quickly  /—Oh,  I  thought  ray  head  was  a  fountain  of 
water!  1  was  dissolved  in  love:  My  beloved  is  mine, 
and  1  am  his  :  He  has  all  charms  ;  He  has  ravished 
my  heart ;  He  is  my  comforter,  my  friend,  my  all. 
lie  is  now  in  his  garden,  feeding;  among  the  liHes  ! 
OA,  /  am  sick  of  love ;  He  is  altogether  lovely,  the 
chiefest  among  ten  thousand!  Oh,  how  Jesus  fills,  Jesus 
extends,  Jesus  overwhelms  the  soul  in  which  he 
dwells  !"  That  a  Franciscan  or  Dominican  confessor 
should  encourage  ravings  and  raptures  like  these  in 
an  enthusiastic  girl,  with  a  view  to  some  gainful  im- 
posture, or  to  fouler  purposes,  would  be  nothing 
extraordinary;  for  such  things  have  sometimes  pass- 
ed current,  and  sometimes  been  detected.  In  Wes- 
ley's case  it  is  perfecti}'  certain  that  no  ill  motive 
existed,  and  that  when  he  sanctioned  the  rhapsody 
by  making  it  public,  he  was  himself  in  as  high  a  state 
of  excitement  as  his  spiritual  daughter :  but  it  is  re- 
markable that  when  the  fermentation  of  his  zeal  was 
over,  when  time  and  experience  had  matured  his 
mind,  and  Methodism  had  assumed  a  sober  charac- 
ter as  well  as  a  consistent  form,  he  should  have  con- 
tinued to  send  it  abroad  without  one  qualifying  sen- 
tence, or  one  word  of  caution  to  those  numerous 
readers,  who,  without  such  caution,  would  undoubt- 
edly suppose  that  it  was  intended  for  edification  and 
•"xample. 

In  the  latter  end  of  the  year  Whitefield  returned 
from  Georgia:  during  a  residence  of  three  months 
ihere,  be  had  experienced  none  of  those  vexations 
which  had  embittered  Wesley's  life  among  the  colo- 
nists ;  for  though  he  discharged  his*  duty  with  equal 

*  "  My  ordinary  way,"  he  saj"^?,  "  ofdivitling  my  ministerial 
labours  has  been  as  follows  :  On  Sunday  morning,  at  five  o'clock, 
I  publicly  expound  the  lesson  for  the  morning  or  evening  service, 

I  see  most  suited  to  the  people's  edification  ;  at  ten  I  preach 


J  738.]        WHITEFIELD  RETURNS  TO  ENGLAND. 


205 


fervour  and  equal  plainness,  he  never  attempted  to 
revive  obsolete  forms,  nor  insisted  upon  unnecessary 
scruples.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  ^people  of  Savan- 
nah, that  though  they  knew  his  intimacy  with  Wes- 
ley, they  received  him  at  first  without  any  appear- 
ance of  ill-will,  and  soon  became  so  attached  to 
him,  that,  as  he  says,  he  was  really  happy  in  his 
little  foreign  cure,  and  could  have  cheerfully  remain- 
ed among  them.  Two  objects,  however,  rendered  it 
necessary  for  him  to  return  to  England  ;  first,  that  he 
might  receive  priest's  orders  ;  and  secondly,  that  he 
might  raise  contributions  for  founding  and  supporting 
an  orphan-house  in  the  colony.  To  this  design  his 
attention  had  previously  been  called  by  Charles 
Wesley  and  General  Oglethorpe;  and  he  was  en- 
couraged by  the  signal  success  of  Professor  Franck, 
in  establishing  a  similar  institution  at  Halle.  Ac- 
cordingly he  sailed  for  Europe,  and  after  a  miserable 
voyage  of  nine  weeks  and  three  days,  when  they  had 
been  long  upon  short  allowance,  had  exhausted  their 
last  cask  of  water,  and  knew  not  where  they  were, 
they  came  safe  into  Limerick  harbour. 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  in  London,  he  waited  on  the 
Bishop  and  on  the  Primate :  they  received  him  fa- 
vourably, and  no  doubt  were  in  hopes  tltat  the  great 
object  which  he  now  had  in  view  would  fix  him  in 
Georgia,  where  there  was  no  danger  that  his  enthu- 
siasm should  take  a  mischievous  direction.  The 
trustees  highly  approved  his  conduct ;  at  the  request 


1  and  read  prayers  ;  at  three  in  the  afternoon  I  do  the  same,  and  at 
1  seven  expound  part  of  the  Church  Catechism,  at  which  great 
numbers  are  usually  present.  1  visit  from  house  to  house,  read 
public  prayers,  and  catechize  (unless  something  extraordinarj' 
happens)  and  visit  the  sick  every  day  ;  and  read  to  as  many  of  the 
]>;irishioners  as  will  come  to  the  parsonage-house  thrice  a  week.'" 
(Journals,  p.  90.)  And  in  one  of  his  letters  he  says,  "  I  visit  from 
house  to  house,  catechize,  read  prayers  twice,  and  expound  the 
two  second  lessons  every  day  ;  read  to  a  house-full  of  people 
three  times  a  week  ;  expound  the  two  lessons  at  five  in  the  morn- 
ins;,  read  prayers  and  preach  twice,  and  expound  the  catechism 
to  servants,  &c.  at  seven  in  the  evening  every  Sunday."  (Let- 
Utr  40.) 


206  WHITEFIELD  RETURNS  TO  ENGLAND.  [1739. 


of  the  magistrates  and  settlers  they  presented  him 
with  the  Hving  of  Savannah,  and  he  was  ordained 
priest  by  his  venerable  friend  the  Bishop  of  Glouces- 
ter. "God  be  praised,"  says  he;  "I  was  praying 
night  and  day  whilst  on  shipboard,  if  it  might  be  the 
divine  will,  that  good  Bishop  Benson,  who  laid  hands 
on  me  as  a  deacon,  might  now  make  me  a  priest; 
and  now  my  prayer  is  answered."  There  remained 
the  business  of  raising  money  for  the  orphan-house, 
and  this  detained  him  in  England  long  enough  to 
take  those  decisive  measures  which,  in  their  inevita- 
ble consequences,  led  step  by  step  to  the  separation 
of  the  Methodists  from  the  Church,  and  their  organi- 
zation as  a  sect. 

Many  societies  had  -by  this  time  been  formed  in 
London,  but  the  central  place  of  meeting  was  a  large 
room  in  Fetter-lane.  Here  they  had  their  love- 
feasts,  at  which  they  ate  bread  and  water  in  the  in- 
tervals of  singing  and  praying,  and  where  they  en- 
couraged each  other  in  excesses  of  devotion,  which, 
if  they  found  the  mind  sane,  were  not  likely  long  to 
leave  it  so.  "On  the  first  night  of  the  new  year," 
says  Wesley,  "Mr.  Hall,  Kinchin,  Ingham,  Whitefieid, 
Hutchins,  and  my  brother  Charles,  w^ere  present  at 
our  love-feast,  with  about  sixty  of  our  brethren. 
About  three  in  the  morning,  as  we  were  continuing 
instant  in  prayer,  the  power  of  God  came  mightily 
upon  us,  insomuch,  that  many  cried  out  for  exceeding 
joy,  and  many  fell  to  the  ground.  As  soon  as  we 
were  recovered  a  little  from  that  awe  and  amaze- 
ment at  the  presence  of  his  majesty,  we  broke  out 
with  one  voice,  Wc  prcme  thee,  O  God ;  we  achiowkdge 
thee  to  be  the  Lord.''"  "  It  w  as  a  Pentecost  season  in- 
deed," says  Whitefieid  :  "  sometimes  whole  nights 
were  spent  in  prayer.  Often  have  we  been  filled  as 
with  new  wine  ;  a[id  often  have  I  seen  them  over- 
whelmed with  the  Divine  Presence,  and  cry  out, 
'  Will  God  indeed  dwell  with  men  upon  earth  ?  How 
dreadful  is  this  place !  This  is  no  other  than  the 
house  of  God  and  the  gate  of  Heaven  !' " 

Meetings  of  this  kiiid  prolonged  far  into  the  mid- 


1739.] 


WHITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL. 


207 


night,  and  even  through  the  night,  were  what  neither 
the  Wesley s  nor  Whitefield  approved  in  their  cooler 
age.  They  gave  just  offence  to  the  better  part  of 
the  clergy ;  and  men  who  were  neither  deficient  in 
piety  nor  in  zeal,  properly  refused  to  lend  their  pul- 
pits to  preachers  who  seemed  to  pride  themselves 
upon  setting  prudence  at  defiance.  But  if  this  had 
not  driven  them  to  field-preaching,  they  would  have 
taken  to  that  course,  from  a  necessity  of  a  different 
nature.  One  Sunday,  when  Whitefield  was  preach- 
ing at  Bermondsey  church,  as  he  tells  us,  "  with 
grfeat  freedom  in  his  heart,  and  clearness  in  his  voice," 
to  a  crowded  congregation,  near  a  thousand  people 
stood  in  the  church-yard  during  the  service,  hun- 
dreds went  away  who  could  not  find  room,  and  he 
had  a  strong  iiK'lination  to  go  out  and  preach  to 
them  from  one  of  the  tomb-stones.  "  This,"  he  says, 
"  put  me  first  upon  thinking  of  preaching  without 
doors.  I  mentioned  it  to  some  friends,  who  looked 
upon  it  as  a  mad  notion.  However  we  knelt  down 
and  prayed  that  nothing  may  be  done  rashly.  Hear 
and  answer,  O  Lord,  for  thy  name's  sake  !" 

About  a  fortnight  afterwards  he  went  to  Bristol. 
Near  that  city  is  a  tract  of  country  called  Kings- 
wood;  formerly,  as  its  name  implies,  it  had  been  a 
royal  chase,  containing  between  three  and  four  thou- 
sand acres,  but  it  had  been  gradually  appropriated 
by  t!ie  several  lords  whose  estates  lay  round  about 
its  borders;  and  their  title,  which  for  a  long  time 
was  no  better  than  what  possession  gave  them,  had 
been  legalized.  The  deer  had  long  since  disappear- 
ed, and  tlie  greater  part  of  the  wood  also;  and  coal 
mines  having  been  discovered  there,  from  which  Bris- 
tol derives  its  chief  supply  of  fuel,  it  was  now  inha- 
bited by  a  race  of  people  as  lawless  as  the  foresters 
their  forefathers,  but  far  more  brutal,  and  differing  as 
much  from  the  people  of  the  surrounding  country  in 
dialect  as  in  appe  irance.  They  had  at  that  time  no 
place  of  worship,  for  Kingswood  then  belonging  to 
the  out-parish  of  St.  Philip  and  Jacob  ;  and  if  the  col- 
liers had  been  disposed  to  come  from  a  distance  of 


208 


WHITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


three  and  four  miles,  they  would  have  found  no  room 
in  the  parish  church  of  a  populous  suburb.  When  upon 
his  last  visit  to  Bristol,  before  his  embarkation,  White- 
field  spoke  of  converting  the  savages,  many  of  his 
friends  said  to  him,  "What  need  of  going  abroad  for 
this  ?  Have  we  not  Indians  enough  at  home  ?  If  you 
have  a  mind  to  convert  Indians,  there  are  colliers 
enough  in  Kingswood." 

Toward  these  colliers  Whitefield,  as  he  says,  had 
long  felt  his  bowels  yearn,  for  they  were  very  numer- 
ous, and  yet  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd.  In  trutji, 
it  was  a  m<atter  of  duty  and  of  sound  policy,  (which  is 
always  duty,)  that  these  people  should  not  be  left  in 
a  state  of  bestial  ignorance  ;  heathens,  or  worse  than 
heathens,  in  the  midst  of  a  Christian  country,  and  bru- 
tal as  savages,  in  the  clos  e  vicinity  of  a  city  which 
was  then  in  extent,  wealth,  population,  and  commer- 
cial importance,  the  second  city  in  England.  On  the 
afternoon,  therefore,  of  Saturday,  Feb.  17,  1739,  he 
stood  upon  a  mount,  in  a  place  called  Rose  Green,  his 

first  field  pulpit,"  and  preached  to  as  many  as  came 
to  hear,  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  such  an  address. 

I  thought,"  says  he,  "  it  might  be  doing  the  service 
of  my  Creator,  who  had  a  mountain  for  his  pulpit,  and 
the  heavens  for  a  sounding-board ;  and  who,  when 
his  gospel  was  refused  by  the  Jews,  sent  his  servants 
into  the  highways  and  hedges."  Not  above  two 
hundred  persons  gathered  round  him,  for  there  had 
been  no  previous  notice  of  his  intention;  and  these 
perhaps  being  no  way  prepared  for  his  exhortations, 
were  more  astonished  than  impressed  by  what  they 
heard.  But  the  first  step  was  taken,  and  Whitefield 
was  fully  aware  of  its  importance.  "  Blessed  be 
God,"  he  says  in  his  journal,  "that  the  ice  is  now 
broke,  and  I  have  now  taken  the  field.  Some  may 
censure  me  ;  but  is  there  not  a  cause  ?  Pulpits  are 
denied,  and  the  poor  colliers  ready  to  perish  ibr  lack; 
of  knowledge."  It  was  not,  however,  because  pul-| 
pits  were  denied  him  that  he  had  preached  upon  the 
mount  at  Rose  Green ;  but  in  the  course  wherein  he 


WHITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL. 


20D 


was  proceeding,  that  which  at  first  was  choice,  soon 
became  necessity. 

When  Whitefield  arrived  at  Bristol,  the  Chancel- 
lor of  that  diocese  had  told  him  that  he  would  not 
prohibit  any  minister  from  lending  him  a  church; 
but  in  the  course  of  the  week  he  sent  for  him,  and 
told  him  he  intended  to  stop  his  proceedings.  He 
then  asked  him  by  what  authority  he  preached  in  the 
diocese  of  Bristol  without  a  license.  Whitefield  re- 
pHed,  I  thought  that  custom  was  grown  obsolete. — 
And  why,  pray.  Sir,  did  not  you  ask  the  clergyman 
this  question  who  preached  for  you  last  Thursday.'*" 
This  reply  he  relates  without  the  slightest  sense  of 
its  impropriety  or  its  irrelevance.  The  Chancellor 
then  read  to  him  those  canons  which  forbade  any 
minister  from  preaching  in  a  private  house.  White- 
field  answered,  he  apprehended  they  did  not  apply 
to  professed  ministers  of  the  Church  "of  England. — 
When  he  was  informed  of  his  mistake,  he  said, 
"  There  is  also  a  canon,  Sir,  forbidding  all  clergy- 
men to  frequent  taverns  and  play  at  cards ;  why  is 
not  that  put  in  execution.'*"  and  he  added,  that  not- 
withstanding those  canons,  he  could  not  but  speak 
the  things  which  he  knew,  and  that  he  was  resolved 
to  proceed  as  usual.  The  answer  was  written  down, 
and  the  Chancellor  then  said,  "  I  am  resolved.  Sir,  if 
I  you  preach  or  expound  any  where  in  this  diocese  till 
[  you  have  a  license,  I  will  first  suspend,  and  then  ex- 
i  communicate  you."  With  this  declaration  of  war  they 
parted  :  but  the  advantage  was  wholly  on  the  side  of 
Whitefield,  for  the  day  of  ecclesiastical  discipline 
was  gone  by :  laws  which  have  long  slept  may  some- 
times be  awakened  to  an  ill  purpose,  rarely  to  a  good 
one;  and  where  discipline  is  obsolete,  and  the  laws 
are  feeble,  enthusiasm,  like  Drawcansir  in  the  Re- 
lioarsal,  can  do  whatever  it  dares. 

Whitefield  had  none  of  that  ambition  which  form- 
ed so  prominent  a  part  of  Wesley's  character :  but 
he  had  a  great  longing  to  be  persecuted.  Upon  re- 
cording his  interview  with  the  Cfiancellor  in  his  jour- 
nal, he  says,  "This  day  my  Master  honoured  me 
^  or,.  I.  27 


210 


WHITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL.  [1739. 


more  than  ever  he  did  yet;"  and  his  letters  are  full 
of  aspirations  for  martyrdom,  and  prophetic  hopes 
which,  in  a  persecuting  age,  would  infallibly  have 
wrought  their  own  accomplishment.  "  O  dear  Mr. 
H.,"  he  says  to  one  of  his  correspondents,  "  my  heart 
is  drawn  towards  London  most  strangely.  Perhaps 
you  may  hear  of  your  friend's  imprisonment ;  I  ex- 
pect no  other  preferment.  God  grant  I  may  behave 
so,  that  when  I  suffer  it  may  be  not  for  my  own  im- 
prudencies,  but  for  righteousness  sake,  and  then  tarn 
sure  the  spirit  of  Christ  and  of  glory  will  rest  upon 
my  soul."  Soon  afterwards  he  says,  "  The  hour  of 
my  imprisonment  is  not  yet  come  ;  I  am  not  fit  as  yet 
to  be  so  highly  honoured."  Then  again  his  hopes 
are  exalted  :  "  I  am  only  beginning  to  begin  to  be  a 
Christian.  I  must  suffer  also  as  well  as  do  for  my  dear 
Master.  Perhaps  a  storm  is  gathering.  I  believe 
God  will  perrhit  it  to  fall  on  my  head  first.  This 
comes  then,  honoured  Sir,  to  desire  your  prayers 
that  none  of  those  things  may  move  me  ;  and  that  I 
may  not  count  even  my  life  dear  unto  me  ;  so  that  I 
may  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry 
which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Though 
I  die  for  him,  yet  I  beseech  you,  honoured  Sir,  to 
pray  that  I  may  not  in  any  way  deny  him."  And 
again,  "  The  hour  of  suffering  is  not  yet  come.  God 
prepare  us  all  for  it !  I  expect  to  suffer  for  my  bless- 
ed Master's  name-sake.  But  wherefore  do  I  fear? 
my  Master  will  pray  for  me:  if  the  gospel  continues 
to  run  and  have  such  free  course,  I  must  suffer  as 
well  as  preach  for  my  dear  Lord  Jesus.  Oh  lift  up 
your  hands,  dear  Sir,  in  the  congregation  of  the  faith- 
ful, that  I  may  willingly,  if  need  be,  resist  unto  biood; 
but  not  with  carnal  weapons.  Taking  the  sword  out 
of  the  hand  of  God's  spirit,  I  fear,  has  more  than 
once  stopped  the  progress  of  the  Gospel.  The  Qua- 
kers, though  wrong  in  their  principles,  yet  I  think 
have  left  us  an  example  of  patient  suffering,  and  did 
more  by  their  bold,  unanimous,  and  persevering  tes- 
timonies, than  if  they  had  taken  up  all  the  arms  in  the 
kingdom.    In  this  respect  I  hope  I  shall  Ibllow  them 


1739] 


WHITEFIF.LD  AT  BRISTOL. 


211 


as  they  did  Christ;  and  though  I  die  for  him,  yet 
take  up  no  carnal  weapon  in  defence  of  him  in  any 
wise." — "  If  the  work  goes  on,  a  trying  time  will 
come.  I  pray  God  the  same  spirit  may  be  found  in 
all  that  profess  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  was  in  the  primi- 
tive saints,  confessors,  and  martyrs.  As  for  my  own 
part  I  expect  nothing  but  afflictions  and  bonds.  The 
spirit,  as  well  as  the  doctrines  of  popery,  prevails 
much  in  many  protestants'  hearts;  they  already 
breathe  out  threatenings ;  what  wonder  if,  when  in 
their  power,  they  should  breathe  out  slaughters  also  ? 
This  is  my  comfort,  the  doctrines  I  have  taught  are 
the  doctrines  of  Scripture,  the  doctrines  of  our  own 
and  of  other  reformed  churches.  If  I  suffer  for  preach- 
ing them,  so  be  it !  Thou  shalt  answer  for  me,  O  Lord 
my  God  !  I  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  it,  and  beseech 
thee,  my  dear  Redeemer,  to  strengthen  me  in  a  suf- 
fering hour."  Such  fears,  or  rather  such  hopes,  were 
suited  to  the  days  of  Queen  Mary,  Bishop  Gardiner, 
and  Bishop  Bonner; — they  are  ridiculous  or  disgust- 
ing in  the  time  of  George  the  Second,  Archbishop 
Potter,  and  Bishop  Gibson.  It  might  be  suspected 
that  Whitefield  had  grown  deranged  by  the  perpetual 
reading  of  Fox's  Martyrs,  like  Don  Quixote  over  his 
books  of  chivalry,  and  Loyola  over  the  Lives  of  the 
Saints.  But  it  was  neither  by  much  reading,  nor 
much  learning,  that  Whitefield  was  affected.  His 
heart  was  full  of_b.enevolence  and  piety, — his  feelings 
were  strong  and  ardent,  his  knowledge  little,  and  his 
judgment  weak, — and,  by  gazing  intensely  and  con- 
tinuously upon  one  bright  and  blazing  truth,  he  had 
blinded  himself  to  all  things  else. 

Having  once  taken  the  field,  he  was  soon  encou- 
raged to  persevere  in  so  promising  a  course.  All 
the  churches  being  now  shut,  and,  as  he  says,  if  open, 
not  able  to  contain  half  that  came  to  hear,  he  went 
again  to  Kingswood  :  his  second  audience  consisted 
of  some  two  thousand  persons,  his  third  from  four  to 
five  thousand,  and  they  went  on  increasing  to  ten, 
fourteen,  twenty  thousand.  "  The  sun  shone  very 
bright,"  he  says,  "  and  the  people  standing  in  such 


212 


M'HITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


an  awful  manner  round  the  mount,  in  the  profound- 
est  silence,  filled  me  with  a  holy  admiration.  Bless- 
ed be  God  for  such  a  plentiful  harvest.  Lord,  do  j 
thou  send  forth  more  labourers  into  thy  harvest !"  I 
On  another  occasion  he  says,  The  trees  and  hedges 
were  full.  All  was  hush  when  I  began  :  the  sun 
shone  bright,  and  God  enabled  me  to  preach  for  an 
hour  with  great  power,  and  so  loud,  that  all,  I  was  i 

told,  could  hear  me.    Blessed  be  God  Mr.  spoke 

right ;  the  fire  is  kindled  in  the  country — "  To  behold 
such  crowds  standing  together  in  such  an  awful  si- 
lence, and  to  hear  the  echo  of  their  singing  run 
from  one  end  of  them  to  the  other,  was  very  solemn 
and  striking.  How  infinitely  more  solemn  and  strik- 
ing wiil  the  general  assembly  of  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect  be,  when  they  join  in  singing  the 
song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  in  Heaven  !"  Yet  he 
says,  "  As  the  sene  was  new,  and  I  had  just  began  to 
be  an  extempore  preacher,  it  often  occasioned  many 
inward  conflicts.  Sometimes,  when  twenty  thousand 
people  were  before  me,  I  had  not,  in  my  own  appre- 
hension, a  word  to  say  either  to  God  or  them.  But 
I  never  was  totally  deserted  ;  and  frequently  (for  to 
deny  it  would  be  lying  against  God)  so  assisted,  that 
I  knew  by  happy  experience  what  our  Lord  meant 
by  saying,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  wa- 
ters^  The  deep  silence  of  his  rude  auditors  was 
the  first  proof  that  he  had  impressed  them ;  and  it 
may  well  be  imagined  how  greatly  the  consciousness 
and  confidence  of  his  own  powers  must  have  been 
increased,  when,  as  he  says,  he  saw  the  white  gutters  i 
made  by  the  tears  which  plentifully  fell  down  their  j 
black  cheeks, — black  as  they  came  out  of  their  coal- 
pits. "  The  open  firmament  above  me,"  says  he,  i 
^'  the  prospect  of  the  adjacent  fields,  with  the  sight 
of  thousands  and  thousands,  some  in  coaches,  some  • 
on  horsebnck,  and  some  in  the  trees,  and  at  times 
all  afTected  and  drenched  in  tears  together ;  to 
which  sometimes  was  added  the  solemnity  of  the  ap- 
proaching evening,  was  almost  too  much  for,  and 
quite  overcame  me." 


1739] 


WHITEFIELi)  AT  BRISTOL. 


213 


While  Whitefield  thus  with  such  signal  success 
was  renewing  a  practice  which  had  not  been  seen 
in  England  since  the  dissolution  of  the  monastic  or- 
ders, Methodism  in ^Ijondon  had  readied,  its  highest 
point  of  extravag^ance,  and  produced  upon  suscepti- 
ble  subjects  a  bodilj  disease,  peculiar  and  infec- 
tioijS  v  which  both  by  those  who  excited  and  those 
who  experienced  it,  was  believed  to  be  part  of  the 
process  of  regeneration,  and,  therefore,  the  work  of 
Cpd.  The  first  patients  having  no  example  to  en- 
courage them,  naturally  restrained  themselves  as 
much  as  they  could;  they  fell  however  into  convul- 
sive^ motions^  and  could  not  refrain  from  uttering 
criesT  and  these  things  gave  offence  at  first,  and  oc- 
casioned disputes  in  the  society.  Charles  Wesley 
thought  them  "  no  sign  of  grace."  The  first  violent 
case  which  occurred,  was  that  of  a  middle  aged  wo- 
man in  the  middle  rank  of  life,  who  for  three  years 
had  been  "  under  strong  convictions  of  sin,  and  in 
such  a  terror  of  mind,  that  she  had  no  comfort  in  any 
thing,  nor  any  rest  day  or  night,"  The  minister  of 
her  parish,  whom  she  had  consulted,  assured  her 
husband  that  she  was  stark  mad,  and  advised  him  to 
send  immediately  for  a  physician  ;  and  the  physician 
being  of  the  same  opinion,  she  was  bled,  bhstered, 
and  drenched  accordingly.  One  evening  in  a  meet- 
ing where  Wesley  was  expounding  to  five  or  six 
hundred  persons,  she  suddenly  cried  out  as  if  in  the 
agonies  of  death,  and  appeared  to  some  of  those 
about  her  almost  to  be  in  that  state ;  others,  however, 
who  began  to  have  some  experience  in  such  cases, 
understood  that  it  was  the  crisis  of  her  spiritual  strug- 
gles. "  We  prayed,"  says  Wesley  in  a  letter  to 
Whitefield,  "  that  God  who  had  brought  her  to  the 
birth  would  give  her  strength  to  bring  forth,  and  that 
he  would  work  speedily  that  all  might  see  it,  and 
fear,  and  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord." — ''Five  days 
she  travailed  and  groaned  being  in  bondage ;  then," 
he  continues,  "our  Lord  got  himself  the  victory," 
and  from  that  time  the  woman  was  full  of  joy  and 


214 


WHITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


love,  and  thanksgivings  Were  rendered  on  her  ac- 
count. 

Another  woman  was  affected  under  more  remark- 
able circumstances :  Wesley  visited  her  because  she 
was  "  above  measure  enraged  at  the  new  way,  and 
zealous  in  opposing  it."  He  argued  with  her  till  he 
perceived  that  argument  had  its  usual  eflfect  of  in- 
flaming more  and  more  a  mind  that  was  already  fe- 
verish. He  then  broke  off  the  dispute,  and  entreated 
that  she  would  join  with  him  in  prayer,  and  she  so 
far  consented  as  to  kneel  down:  this  was,  in  fact, 
submitting  herself  "  In  a  few  minutes  she  fell  into 
an  extreme  agony  both  of  body  and  soul,  and  soon  af- 
ter cried  out  with  the  utmost  earnestness,  '  Now  I 
know  I  am  forgiven  for  Christ's  sake  !'  Many  other 
words  she  uttered  to  the  same  effect,  witnessing  a 
hope  full  of  immortality.  And  from  that  hour  God 
set  her  face  as  a  flint  to  declare  the  faith  which  be- 
fore she  persecuted."  This  Wesley  calls  one  of  the 
most  surprising  instances  of  divine  power  that  he 
ever  remembered  to  have  seen.  The  sincerity  of 
the  subject  he  never  questioned,  and  perhaps  there 
was  no  cause  for  questioning  it ;  like  Mesmer  and 
lus^isciples,  he  had  produced  a  newTTisease,  andTic 
acco^uHcil T^r  it  Jb^  instead  ofa 

phjsical  one.  As  men  are  intoxrcated  by  strong 
drink,  affecting  the  mind  through  the  body,  so  are 
they  by  strong  passions  inf1uencin^tIie_body^ 
the.jmnd.  Here  there  was  nothing  but  wtiat  would 
naturally  follow  when  persons,  in  a  state  of  spiritual 
drunkenness,  abandoned  themselves  to  their  sensa- 
tions, and  such  sensations  spread  rapidly,  both  by  vo- 
luntary and  involuntary  imitation. 

Whitefield  was  at  this  time  urging  Wesley  that  he 
would  come  to  Bristol  without  delay,  and  keep  up 
the  sensation  which  had  been  produced  there,  for  he 
himself  must  prepare  for  his  return  to  Georgia. — 
These  solicitations  were  enforced  by  Mr.  Seward  of 
Evesham,  a  young  man  of  education  and  fortune,  one 
of  the  most  enthusiastic  and  attached  of  Whitefield's 
converts.    It  might  have  been  thought  that  Wesley, 


1739.]  WHITEPTCLD  AT  BRISTOL. 


215 


to  whom  alijgilaces  were^like,  would  have  hastened 
at  the  callTbut  he  arid  his  brother,  instead  of  taking 
the  matter  into  calm  and  rational  consideration,  had 
consulted  the  Bible  upon  the  business,  and  stumbled 
upon  uncomfortable  texts.  The  first  was,  "  ^l)id  so?ne 
of  them  would  have  taken  him  ;  but  no  man  laid  hands  on 
him,'''  to  which  they  added,  not  till  the  time  was 
come,"  that  its  import  might  correspond  with  the 
subsequent  lots.  Another  was,  "  Get  thee  up  into  this 
mountain,  and  die  in  the  Mount,  whither  thou  goest  %ip,  and 
be  gathered  unto  thy  people.'^''  The  next  trial  confirmed 
tlie  impression  which  these  had  made  :  "  And  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  wept  for  Moses  in  the  plains  of  Moab  thirty 
days.'''  These  verses  were  sufficiently  ominous,  but 
worse  remained  behind  :  "  /  will  show  him  hoiv  great 
things  he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake,'''  and  pushing 
the  trial  still  further,  they  opened  upon  the  burial  of 
St.  Stephen  the  proto-martyr.  "  Whether,"  says  Wes- 
ley in  his  journal,  "  this  was  permitted  only  for  the 
trial  of  our  faith,  God  knoweth,  and  the  event  will 
show."  These  unpropitious  texts  rendered  him  by 
no  means  desirous  of  undertaking  the  journey,  and 
when  it  was  proposed  at  the  society  in  Fetterlane, 
Charles  would  scarcely  bear  it  to  be  mentioned. — 
Yet,  like  a  losing  gamester,  who,  the  worse  he  finds 
his  fortune,  is  the  more  eagerly  bent  upon  tempting 
it,  he  appealed  again  to  the  oracles  of  God,  which 
.were  never  designed  thus  to  be  consulted  in  the  spi- 
rit of  heathen  superstition.  "  He  received,"  says  the 
journal,  "  these  words,  as  spoken  to  himself,  and  an- 
swered not  again,"  Son  of  man,  behold  I  take  from 
thee  the  desire  of  thine  eyes  with  a  stroke,  and  yet  shalt  thou 
not  mourn  or  weep,  neither  shall  thy  tears  run  doicn."" — 
However  disposed  the  brothers  might  have  been  that 
he  should  have  declined  the  journey  without  further 
consultation,  the  members  of  the  society*  continued 

*  "  It  was  a  rule  of  the  Society,"  says  Dr.  Whitehead,  "  that 
any  person  who  desired  or  designed  to  take  a  journey,  should  first, 
if  it  were  possible,  have  the  approbation  of  the  bands  ;  so  entire- 
ly at  this  time  were  the  ministers  under  the  direction  of  the  peo- 
ple."' But  as  there  were  no  settled  ministers,  and  no  settled  place 
at  this  time,  it  is  evident  that  tliis  rule  had  nothing  to  do  witli 
church  discipline. 


216 


WHITEFIELD  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


to  dispute  upon  it,  till,  seeing  no  probability  of  com- 
ing to  an  agreement  by  any  other  means,  they  had 
recourse  to  sortilege  ;  and  the  lot  decided  that  Wes- 
ley should  go.  This  being  determined,  they  opened 
the  Bible  "  concerning  the  issue,"  and  the  auguries 
were  no  better  than  before :  "  ffhen  wicked  men  have 
slain  a  righteous  person  in  his  own  house  upon  his  bed,  shall 
I  not  now  require  his  blood  at  your  hands,  and  take  you 
away  from  the  earth  This  was  one  ;  the  final  one 
was,  "  Jlhaz  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  they  buried  him  in 
the  city,  even  in  Jerusalem.''''  There  are  not  so  many 
points  of  similitude  between  Bristol  and  Jerusalem, 
as  between  Monmouth  and  Macedon,  and  Henry  the 
Fifth  was  more  like  Alexander  than  John  Wesley 
would  have  acknowledged  himself  to  resemble  Ahaz; 
but  it  was  clear  language  for  an  oracle.  "  We  dis- 
suaded my  brother,"  says  Charles,  "  from  going  to 
Bristol,  from  an  unaccountable  fear  that  it  would 
prove  fatal  to  him.  He  offered  himself  willingly  to 
whatever  the  Lord  should  appoint.  The  next  day 
he  set  out,  recommended  by  us  to  the  grace  of  God. 
He  left  a  blessing  behind  him.  I  desired  to  die  with 
him."  "  Let  me  not  be  accounted  superstitious," 
says  Wesley,  "  if  I  recite  the  remarkable  Scriptures 
which  offered  as  often  as  we  inquired  touching  the 
consequences  of  this  removal."  It  will  not  be  thought 
superfluous  here  to  have  repeated  them. 


CHAPTER  Vri. 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 

AxjBrist()Lthe  modern  practice  of  field-preaching 

had_be^ur),4^  and  Ihe  fouhclalions  of  Methodism  as  a 
subsLantive  and  organized  sect,  existing  independent- 
l^ii£_the  Church,  were  now  to  be  laid  at  Bristol. — 
These  are  remarkable  events  in  the  history  of  that 
city,  one  of  the  most  ancient,  most  beautiful,  and 
most  interesting  in  England. 

Wesley  had  never  been  at  Bristol  before  :  White- 
field  received  him  there,  and  introduced  him  to  per- 
sons who  were  prepared  to  listen  to  him  with  eager 
and  intense  belief:  ''Help  him.  Lord  Jesus,"  says 
Whitefield,  "  to  water  what  thy  own  right  hand  hath 
planted,  for  thy  mercy's  sake  !"  Having  thus  provid- 
ed so  powerful  a  successor,  he  departed.  Wherever 
he  took  his  leave,  at  their  places  of  meeting,  there 
was  loud  weeping  :  "  Oh,"  he  exclaims,  "  these  part- 
[  ings  !"  When  he  forced  himself  away,  crowds  were 
j  waiting  at  the  door  to  give  him  a  last  farewell,  and 
near  twenty  friends  accompanied  him  on  horseback. 
"  Blessed  be  God,"  says  he,  "  for  the  marvellous 
great  kindness  he  hath  shown  me  in  this  city  !  Many 
sinners,  I  believe,  have  been  effectually  converted; 
numbers  of  God's  children  greatly  comforted;  seve- 
ral thousands  of  little  books  have  been  dispersed 
among  the  people ;  about  two  hundred  pounds  col- 
lected for  the  orphan  house  ;  and  many  poor  families 
relieved  by  the  bounty  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Seward. — 
Shall  not  tliese  things  be  noted  in  my  book  ?  God 
forbid  they  should  not  be  written  on  the  tables  of 
my  heart.    Even  so,  Lord  Jesus!" 

His  journey  lay  through  Kingswood ;  and  there 
the  colHers,  without  iiis  knowledge,  had  prepared 
an  entertainment  for  him.  Having  been  informed 
that  they  were  willing  to  subscribe  towru-ds  building 
a  Charity  School  for  their  children,  he  had  preached 
to  them  upon  the  subject,  and  lie  says  it  was  sur- 
voi..  I.  ■  i>.'{ 


218 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


prising  to  see  with-  what  cheerfulness  they  parted 
with  their  money  on  this  occasion  ;  all  seemed  will- 
ing to  assist,  either  by  their  money  or  their  labour ; 
and  now  at  this  farewell  visit  they  earnestly  entreat- 
ed that  he  w  ould  lay  the  first  stone.  The  request 
was  somewhat  premature,  for  it  was  not  yet  certain 
whether  the  site  which  they  desired  would  be  grant- 
ed them ;  a  person,  however,  was  present  who  de- 
clared he  would  give  a  piece  of  ground  in  case  the 
lord  of  the  manor  should  refuse,  and  Whitefield  then 
laid  a  stone  ;  after  which  he  knelt,  and  prayed  God 
that  the  gates  of  hell  might  not  prevail  against  their 
design ;  the  colliers  saying  a  hearty  Amen. 

On  the  day  before  his  departure  he  set  Wesley  an 
example  of  field-preaching.  "  I  could  scarce  recon- 
cile myself,"  says  Wesley,  "  at  first  to  this  strange 
way,  having  been  all  my  life,  till  very  lately,  so 
tenacious  of  every  point  relating  to  decency  and 
order,  that  I  should  have  thought  the  saving  of  souls 
almost  a  sin,  if  it  had  not  been  done  in  a  church." 
The  next  day  he  observed  that  our  Lord's  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  was  "  one  pretty  remarkable  prece-  , 
dent  of  field-preaching;  and,"  he  adds,  "  I  suppose 
there  were  churches  at  that  time  also a  remark 
which  first  indicates  a  hostile  feeling  toward  the 
Establishment,  for  it  has  no  other  meaning.  "  On 
the  morrow,  at  four  in  the  afternoon,"  he  says,  "  I 
submitted  to  be  more  vilef  and  proclaimed  in  the « 
highways  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation,  speaking  from 
a  little  eminence  in  a  ground  adjoining  to  the  city  to 
about  three  thousand  people.  The  Scripture  on 
which  I  spoke  was  this,  (is  it  possible  any  one  should 
be  ignorant  that  it  is  fulfilled  in  every  true  minister 
of  Christ  ?)  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because 
he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  He 
hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted ;  to  preach  deliver- 
ance  to  the  captives.^  a)id  recovery  of  sight  to  the  blind ;  to  , 
set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised  ;  to  proclaim  the  accept-  | 
able  year  of  the  Lord.''''  There  is  much  of  the  language  | 
of  humility  here,  and  httle  of  the  spirit;  but  it  was 
scarcely  possible  that  any  man  should  not  have  been  ; 


1739.] 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


219 


inflated  upon  discovering  that  he  possessed  a  power 
over  the  minds  of  his  fellow  creatures  so  strong,  so 
strange,  and  at  that  time  so  little  understood. 

The  pajX)^ysm6--Qil-thejji9ease  which  Methodism 
excited,  Tiad  iiot  appeared  ar^iTstol  under  White- 
field^s  preaching,  they  became  frequent  after  Wes- 
i£X!S_^rnyanhere.    One  day,  after  Wesley  had  ex- 
pounded the  fourth  chapter  of  Acts,  the  persons 
present  "  called  upon  God  to  confirm  his  word." 
"  Immediately,"'  he  adds,  "  one  that  stood  by,  to 
our  no  small  surprise,  cried  out  aloud,  with  the  ut- 
most vehemence,  even  as  in  the  agonies  of  death: 
but  we  continued  in  prayer,  till  a  new  song  ivas  put  in 
her  mouth,  a  thanksgiving  unto  our  God.    Soon  after, 
two  other  persons  (well  known  in  this  place,  as  la- 
bouring to  live  in  all  good  conscience  towards  all 
men)  were  seized  with  strong  pain,  and  constrained 
to  roar  for  the  disquietness  of  their  heart.    But  it  was 
not  long  before  they  likewise  burst  forth  into  praise 
to  God  their  Saviour.    The  last  who  called  upon 
God  as  out  of  the  belly  of  hell,  was  a  stranger  in 
Bristol ;  and  in  a  short  space  he  also  w  as  overwhelm- 
ed with  joy  and  love,  knowing  that  God  had  healed 
his  backslidings.     So  many  living  witnesses  hath 
God  given,  that  his  hand  is  still  stretched  out  to  heal,  and 
that  signs  and  wonders  are  even  noiv  wrought  by  his  holy 
child  Jesus.'"'    At  another  place,  "  a  young  man  was 
suddenly  seized  with  a  violent  trembling  all  over, 
and  in  a  few  minutes,  the  sorrows  of  his  heart  being 
enlar'jred.,  sunk  down  to  the  ground  ;  but  we  ceased 
not  calling  upon  God,  tili  he  raised  him  up  full  of 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.''^    Preaching  at  New- 
gate, Wesley  was  led  insensibly,  he  says,  and  without 
any  previous  design,  to  declare  strongly  and  explicit- 
i^hat  God  willeth  all  nun  to  be  saved,  and  to  pray  that 
if  this  were  not  the  tru  th  of  God,  he  w  ould  not  suffer 
the  blind  to  go  out  of  the  way  ;  but  if  it  were,  that  he 
would  bear  witness  to  his  word.    "  Immediately 
one,  and  another,  and  another^  smik.l.o  the  eartji; 
tliey-iJxQjpt  ou  every  side  as  tlumderstrack."^^  "In 
the  evening  I  was  again  prest  in  spirit  to  declare 


220 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


that  Christ  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all.  And  almost 
before  we  called  upon  him  to  set  to  his  seal,  he  an- 
swered. One  was  so  wounded  by  the  sword  of  the 
spirit,  that  you  would  have  imagined  she  could  not 
live  a  moment.  But  immediately  his  abundant  kind- 
ness was  showed,  and  she  loudly  sang  of  his  right- 
eousness." 

When  these  things  becE^me  public,  they  gave  just 
offence ;  but  they  were  ascribed  to  a  wrong  cause. 
A  physician,  who  suspected  fraud,  was  led  by  curi- 
osity to  be  a  spectator  of  these  extraordinary  exhi- 
bitions, and  a  person  whom  he  had  known  many 
years,  was  thrown  into  the  fit  while  he  was  present. 
She  cried  aloud,  and  wept  violently.  He  who  could 
hardly  believe  the  evidence  of  his  senses,  "  went 
and  stood  close  to  her,  and  observed  every  symptom, 
till  great  drops  of  sweat  ran  down  her  face,  and  all 
her  bones  shook.  He  then,"  says  Wesley,  "  knew 
not  M^hat  to  think,  being  clearly  convinced  it  was 
not  fraud,  nor  yet  any  natural  disorder.  But  when 
both  her  soul  and  body  were  healed  in  a  moment,  he 
acknowledged  the  finger  of  God."  Whatever  this 
witness's  merit  may  have  been  as  a  practitioner,  he 
was  but  a  sorry  physiologist.  A_powerful  cloctrine 
preached  with  passionate  sincerity,  willi  fervid  zeal, 
and  v\'ith  vehemeiiL  eloquence,  produced  a  powerfjjj 
eilect  upon  weak  minds,  ardent  feelings,  arid  disor- 
dej-ed  Jancies.  There  are  passions  which  arc  as 
in(ectiQUS.  .  as  the  plague,  and  fear  Itself  is  not  more 
so  than  fanaticism.  When  once  these  bodily  affec- 
tions were  declared  to  be  the  work  of  grace,  the 
process  of  regeneratlprij  the  throes  of  the  new  birth, 
a  free  licenc^w4i«-|icoclalmed  for  every  kind  of  cx- 
travagance.  And  when  the  preacher,  instead  of 
exhorting  his  auditors  to  commune  with  their  own 
hearts,  and  in  their  chambers,  and  be  still,  encou- 
raged them  to  throw  off  all  restraint,  and  abandon 
themselves  before  the  congregation  to  these  mixed 
sensations  of  mind  and  body,  the  consequences  were 
what  might  be  anticipated.  Sometimesjie  scarcel^^ 
beganjo^speakj.  before  sgme  oTliTs  belie versjjoyer^ 


1739.] 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


221 


wrought  with  expectation,  fell  jrito,  the  crisis,  for  so 
it  may  Ido  called  in  Methodism,  as  properly. asm 
4,nimai  iNJagnetism.^.jSometimes  his  voice  could 
scai'ccly  be  heard  amid  the  groans  and  cries  of  these 
suffering  and  raving  enthusiasts.  It  wf^s  not  long 
llgfore  men.  women,  and  children,  Ibegan  to  act  the 
demoniac  as  well  as  the  convert.  Wesley  had  seen 
many  hysterical  fits,  and  many  fits  of  epilepsy,  but 
none  that  were  like  these,  and  he  confirmed  the  pa- 
tients in  theirjafiliefjhat  they  w'ere  torn  of  Satan. 
One  or  two  indeed  perplexed  him  a  little,  for  they 
were  "  tormented  in  such  an  unaccountable  manner, 
that  they  seemed  to  be  lunatic,"  he  says,  "  as  well 
as  sore-vexed."  But  suspicions  of  this  kind,  made 
little  impression  upon  his  intoxicated  understanding; 
the  fanaticistix.which  he  had  excited  in  others  was 
n^'^Te-acting  upon  himself.  How  should  it  have 
been  otherwise?  A  Quaker  who  was  present  at 
one  meeting,  and  inveighed  against  what  he  called 
the  dissimulation  of  these  creatures,  caught  the  con- 
tagious emotion  himself,  and  even  while  he  was 
biting  his  lips  and  knitting  his  brows,  dropt  down  as 
if  he  had  been  struck  by  lightning.  "  The  agony  he 
was  in,"  says  Wesley,  was  even  terrible  to  behold  ; 
we  besought  God  not  to  lay  folly  to  his  charge,  and 
he  soon  lifted  upjiis  head  and  cried  aloud,  '  Now  I 
know  thou  art  a  prophet  of  the  Lord.'  " 

There  was  a  certain  weaver,  by  name  John  Hay- 
don,  who  being  informed  that  people  fell  into  strange 
fits  at  these  societies,  went  to  see  and  judge  for  him- 
self Wesley  describes  him  as  a  man  of  regular  life 
and  conversation ;  who  constantly  attended  the  pub- 
lic prayers  and  sacraments,  and  was  zealous  for  the 
church,  and  against  dissenters  of  every  denomina- 
tion. What  he  saw  satisfied  him  so  little,  that  he 
went  about  to  see  his  acquaintance  one  after  ano- 
ther, till  one  in  the  morning,  labouring  to  convince 
them  that  it  was  all  a  delusion  of  the  devil.  This 
might  induce  a  reasonable  doubt  of  his  sanity  at  the 
time ;  nor  is  the  suspicion  lessened  by  the  circum- 
stance, that  when  he  had  sat  down  to  dinner  the 


222 


WESlEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


next  day,  he  chose,  before  he  began  to  eat,  to  finish 
a  sermon  which  he  had  borrowed  upon  Salvation  by- 
Faith.  In  reading  the  last  page  he  changed  colour, 
fell  off  his  chair,  beat  himself  against  the  ground, 
and  screamed  so  terribly  that  the  neighbours  were 
alarme<l,  and  ran  into  the  house.  Wesley  was  pre- 
sently informed  that  the  man  was  fallen  raving  mad. 
"  I  found  him,"  he  says,  "  on  the  floor,  the  room  being 
full  of  people,  whom  his  wife  would  have  kept  with- 
out, but  he  cried  out  aloud,  '  No,  let  them  all  come, 
let  all  the  world  see  the  just  judgment  of  God  !' 
Two  or  three  men  were  holding  him  as  well  as  they 
could.  He  immediately  fixed  his  eyes  upon  me,  and 
stretching  out  his  hand,  cried,  '  Aye,  this  is  he  who 
I  said  was  a  deceiver  of  the  people  !  But  God  has 
overtaken  me.  I  said  it  was  all  a  delusion ;  but  this 
is  no  delusion !'  He  then  roared  out,  '  O  thou  devil, 
thou  cursed  devil,  yea,  thou  legion  of  devils  !  thou 
canst  not  stay !  Christ  will  cast  thee  out !  I  know 
his  work  is  begun  !  Tear  me  to  pieces  if  thou  wilt; 
but  thou  canst  not  hurt  me  !'  He  then  beat  himself 
against  the  ground  again,  his  breast  heaving  at  the 
same  time  as  in  the  pangs  of  death,  and  great  drops 
of  sweat  trickling  down  his  face.  We  all  betook 
ourselves  to  prayer.  His  pangs  ceased,  and  both 
his  body  and  soul  were  set  at  liberty."  The  next 
day  Wesley  found  him  with  his  voice  gone,  and  his 
body  weak  as  an  infant's,  "  but  his  soul  was  in  peace, 
full  of  love,  and  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  ofGody 

In  later  y^ai's  W'eiiley  neither  expexited^i^ 
of  this  kind,  nor  eiK^ouraged  them;  nor  are  his  fol- 
lowers in  England  forward  to  excite  or  boast  of  them. 
They  maiiitjin,,.buQ  that  these_  early^ca^^ 

we'relhe  opeTation  of^l'ace,  aiid  attempt  to  prove 
it  by  the  redity  of  llie' symptoms,  and  the  perma- 
nence of  the  religious  impressions  which  were  pro- 
duced. "  Perhaps,"  says  Wesley,  "  it  might  be 
because  of  the  hardness  of  our  hearts,  unready  to 
receive  any  thing,  unless  we  see  it  with  our  eyes 
and  hear  it  with  our  ears,  that  God  in  tender  con- 
descension to  our  weakness  suffered  so  many  out- 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


223 


ward  signs  at  the  very  time  when  he  wrooght  the 
inward  change,  to  be  continually  seen  and  heard 
among  us.  But  although  they  saw  signs  and  won- 
ders, for  so  I  must  term  them,  yet  many  would  not 
believe."  These  things,  however,  occasioned  a  dis- 
cussion with  his  brother  Samuel :  and  Wesley  per- 
haps remembered  towards  the  latter  end  of  his  life, 
and  felt  the  force  of  the  arguments  which  had  no 
weight  with  him  while  he  was  in  this  state  of  exalta- 
tion. 

When  Wesley  wrote  to  his  eldest  brother  from 
Marienborn,  he  accused  him  and  his  wife  of  evil- 
speaking.  Mrs.  Wesley  had  once  interrupted  Charles 
when  he  offered  to  read  to  them  a  chapter  in  Law's 
Serious  Call :  it  was  intended  as  an  indirect  lecture, 
and  she  told  him,  with  no  unbecoming  temper,  that 
neither  she  nor  his  brother  wanted  it.  Wesley  ob- 
served in  his  letter,  that  he  was  much  concerned  at 
this.  "  Yes,  my  sister,"  he  says,  "  1  must  tell  you, 
in  the  spirit  of  love,  and  before  God  who  searcheth 
the  heart,  you  do  want  it;  you  want  it  exceedingly. 
I  know  no  one  soul  that  wants  to  read  and  consider 
deeply  so  much  the  chapter  of  universal  love  and 
that  of  intercession.  The  character  of  Susurrus 
there,  is  your  own.  I  should  be  false  to  God  and 
you,  did  I  not  tell  you  so.  Oh,  may  it  be  so  no 
longer;  but  may  you  love  your  neighbour  as  your- 
self, both  in  word  and  tongue,  and  in  deed  and  truth." 
The  abundant  sincerity  of  this  letter  might  atone 
for  its  lack  of  courtesy.  Wesley  did  justice  to  his 
brother,  in  believing  that  he  would  always  receive 
kindly  what  was  so  intended  ;  and  after  his  return 
to  England,  he  resumed  the  attack.  I  again,"  he 
says,  "  recommend  the  character  of  Susurrus  both 
to  you  and  my  sister,  as  (whether  real  or  feigned) 
striking  at  the  root  of  a  fault,  of  which  both  she  and 
you  were,  I  think,  more  guilty  than  any  other  two 
persons  I  have  known  in  my  life.  O  may  God  de- 
liver both  you  and  me  from  all  bitterness  and  evil 
speaking,  as  well  as  from  all  false  doctrine,  heresy, 
and  schism."    He  then  entered  upon  a  vindication 


224 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


of  his  own  conduct,  and  the  doctrine  which  he  had 
newly  espoused,  in  reply  to  some  remarks  which 
Mrs.  Hutton's  letter  had  drawn  from  his  brother. 

"  With  regard  to  my  own  character,"  he  says, 
"  and  my  doctrine  likewise,  I  shall  answer  you  very 
plainly.  By  a  Christian,  I  mean  one  who  so  believes 
in  Christ,  as  that  sin  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him ; 
and  in  this  obvious  sense  of  the  word,  I  was  not  a 
Christian  till  May^the  24th  last  past._  For  till  then 
,  sin  had  the  dominion  over  me,  altnough  I  fought  with 
it  continually ;  but  surely  then,  from  that  time  to  this, 
it  hath  not;  such  is  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ. 
What  sins  they  were  which  till  then  reigned  over  me, 
and  from  which  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  now  free, 
I  am  ready  to  declare  on  the  house-top,  if  it  may  be 
for  the  glory  of  God.  If  you  ask  by  what  means  I  am 
made  free  (though  not  perfect,  neither  infaUibly  sure 
of  my  perseverance),  1  answer,  by  faith  in  Christ ; 
by  such  a  sort  or  degree  of  faith  as  I  had  not  till  that 
day. — The  -xAyj^otpofM  Trjrfwf,  the  seal  of  the  spirit,  the  love 
of  God  shed  abroad  in  my  heart,  and  producing  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  joy  which  no  man  taketh  away,  joy  un- 
speakable and  full  of  glory ;  this  witness  of  the  spirit  I 
have  not,  but  I  patiently  wait  for  it.  I  know  many 
who  have  already  received  it,  more  than  one  or  two 
in  the  very  hour  we  were  praying  for  it.  And  having 
seen  and  spoken  with  a  cloud  of  witnesses  abroad,  as 
w^ell  as  in  my  own  country,  I  cannot  doubt  but  that 
believers  who  wait  and  pray  for  it,  will  find  these 
scriptures  fulfilled  in  themselves.  My  hope  is  that 
they  will  be  fulfilled  in  me.  I  build  on  Christ,  the 
rock  of  ages ;  on  his  sure  mercies  described  in  his 
word,  and  on  his  promises,  all  which  I  know  are  yea 
and  amen.  Those  who  have  not  yet  received  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  love  of  God,  and  the  plerophory 
of  faith,  (any,  or  all  of  which,  I  take  to  be  the  witness 
of  the  spirit  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  sons  of 
God,)  I  believe  to  be  Christians  in  that  imperfect 
sense  wherein  I  call  myself  such.  O  brother,  would 
to  God  you  would  leave  disputing  concerning  the 
things  which  you  know  not  (if  indeed  you  know  them 


1739.] 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


225 


not),  and  beg  of  God  to  fill  up  what  is  yet  wanting  in 
you  !  Why  should  not  you  also  seek  till  you  receive 
that  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding? 
Who  shall  hinder  you^  notwithstanding  the  manifold  temp- 
tations, from  rejoicing  with  joy  unspeakable  by  reason  of 
crlory?  Amen!  Lord  Jesus!  May  you,  and  all  who 
are  near  of  kin  to  you  (if  you  have  it  not  already), 
feel  his  love  shed  abroad  in  your  hearts,  by  his  spi- 
rit which  dwelleth  in  you,  and  be  sealed  with  the 
holy  spirit  of  promise  which  is  the  earnest  of  your  in- 
heritance." With  regard  to  some  stories  to  which 
Samuel  had  alluded  of  visions,  and  of  a  ball  of  fire 
falling  upon  a  female  convert,  and  inflaming  her  soul, 
he  observed,  that  if  all  which  had  been  said  upon 
visions,  and  dreams,  and  balls  of  fire,  were  fairly  pro- 
posed in  syllogisms,  it  would  not  prove  a  jot  more  on 
one,  than  on  the  other  side  of  the  question.  He  built 
nothing  on  such  tales. 

To  this  Samuel  replied,  "  You  build  nothing  on 
tales,  but  I  do.  I  see  what  is  manifestly  built  upon 
them.  If  you  disclaim  it,  and  warn  poor  shallow  pates 
of  their  folly  and  danger,  so  much  the  better.  They 
are  counted  signs  or  tokens,  means  or  conveyances, 
proof  or  evidences  of  the  sensible  information,  &c. 
calculated  to  turn  fools  into  madmen,  and  put  them 
without  a  jest  into  the  condition  of  Oliver's  porter. — 
When  I  hear  visions,  &c.  reproved,  discouraged,  and 
ceased  among  the  new  brotherhood,  I  shall  then  say 
no  more  of  them  ;  but  till  then  I  will  use  my  utmost 
strength  that  God  shall  give  me,  to  expose  these  bad 
branches  of  a  bad  root.  I  am  not  out  of  my  way, 
though  encountering  of  wind-mills."  In  a  subsequent 
letter  he  says,  "  I  might  as  well  let  writing  alone  at 
present,  for  any  effect  it  will  have,  further  than  show- 
ing you  I  neither  despise  you  on  the  one  hand,  nor 
am  angry  with  you  on  the  other.  Charles  has  told 
me,  he  believes  no  more  in  dreams  and  visions  than 
I  do.  Had  you  said  so,  I  believe  I  should  hardly 
have  spent  any  time  upon  them,  though  I  find  others 
credit  them,  whatever  you  may  do." 

VOL.  L  29 


226 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


"  You  make  two  degrees  or  kinds  of  assurance," 
he  continues :  "  that  neither  of  them  are  necessary 
to  a  state  of  salvation,  I  prove  thus:  1st.  Because 
multitudes  are  saved  without  either.  These  are  of 
three  sorts,  all  infants  baptized,  who  die  before  ac- 
tual sin  ;  all  persons  of  a  melancholy  and  gloomy 
constitution,  who  without  a  miracle  cannot  be  chang- 
ed ;  all  penitents  who  live  a  good  life  after  their  re- 
covery, and  yet  never  attain  to  their  first  state.  2dly. 
The  lowest  assurance  is  an  impression  from  God, 
who  is  infallible,  that  heaven  shall  be  actually  en- 
joyed by  the  person  to  whom  it  is  made.  How  is 
this  consistent  with  fears  of  miscarriage,  with  deep 
sorrow,  and  going  on  the  way  w  eeping  ?  How  can 
any  doubt  after  such  certificate.'^  If  diey  can,  then 
here  is  an  assurance  whereby  the  person  who  has  it 
is  not  sure.  .3dly.  If  this  be  essential  to  a  state  oi 
salvation,  it  is  utterly  impossible  any  should  fall  from 
that  state  finally;  since,  how  can  any  thing  be  more 
fixed  than  what  Truth  and  Power  has  said  he  will 

rerform  ?    Unless  you  will  say  of  the  matter  here  as 
observed  of  the  person,  that  there  may  be  assurance 
wherein  the  thing  itself  is  not  certain." 

Wesley  replied,  "  To  this  hour  you  have  pursued 
an  ignorntio  elemhi.    Your  assurance  and  mine  are  a' 
different  as  light  and  darkness.    I  mean  an  assuranc( 
that  I  am  jiow  in  a  state  of  salvation :  you  an  assur 
ance  that  I  sh?d\  persevere  therein. — No  kind  of  assur 
ance  (that  I  know),  or  of  faith,  or  repentance,  is  es 
eential  to  their  salvation  who  die  infants.    I  believe 
God  is  ready  to  give  all  true  penitents,  who  fly  to  \m 
free  grace  in  Christ,  a  fuller  sense  of  pardon  thai 
they  had  before  they  fell.    I  know  this  to  be  true  o 
several ;  whether  there  are  exempt  cases  I  know  not 
Persons  of  a  melancholy  and  gloomy  constitution  j 
even  to  some  degree  of  madness,  I  have  known  in  £ji 
moment  brought  (let  it  be  called  a  miracle,  I  quarrel 
not)  into  a  state  of  firm,  lasting  peace  and  joy."  I 
It  was  from  Bristol  that  Wesley  wrote  this  lettctrB 
when  he  was  in  the  full  career  of  triumphant  enthu  B 
eiasm,  producing  effects  which  he  verily  believetB 


1739.] 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


227 


to  be  miraculous.  "  My  dear  brother,"  he  says, 
*'  the  whole  question  turns  on  matter  of  fact.  You 
deny  that  God  does  now  work  these  effects ;  at  least 
that  he  works  them  in  such  a  manner.  I  affirm  both, 
because  I  have  heard  those  facts  with  my  ears,  and 
seen  them  with  my  eyes.  I  have  seen  (as  far  as  it 
can  be  seen)  many  persons  changed  in  a  moment 
from  the  spirit  of  horror,  fear,  and  despair,  to  the 
spirit  of  hope,  joy,  peace  ;  and  from  sinful  desires, 
till  then  reigning  over  them,  to  a  pure  desire  of  doing 
the  will  of  God.  These  are  matters  of  fact,  whereof 
I  have  been,  and  almost  daily  am,  eye  or  ear  witness. 
Upon  the  same  evidence  (as  to  the  suddenness  and 
reality  of  the  change,)  I  believe,  or  know  this,  touch- 
ins;  visions  and  dreams  :  I  know  several  -  persons  in 
wliom  this  great  change  from  the  power  of  Satan  un- 
to God,  was  wrought  either  in  sleep,  or  during  a 
strong  representation  to  the  eye  of  their  minds  of 
Christ,  either  on  the  cross,  or  in  glory.  This  is  the 
fact:  let  any  judge  of  it  as  they  please.  But  that 
such  a  change  was  then  wrought  appears,  not  from 
their  shedding  tears  only,  or  sighing,  or  singing  psalms, 
but  the  whole  tenour  of  their  life,  till  then  many  ways 
from  wicked,  from  that  time  holy,just,  and  good.  I  \vijl 
shovvj'miJiimJiigLt^yvas  a  lion  till  then,  and  is  n'ow  a 
lanib  ;  he  that  was  a  drunkard,  but  now  exemplarily 
sober ;  the  whoremonger  that  was,  who  now  abhors 
the  very  lusts  of  the  flesh.  These  are  my  living  ar- 
guments for  what  I  assert,  that  God  now,  as  afore- 
time, gives  remission  of  sins,  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  may  be  called  visions.  If  it  be  not 
so,  I  am  found  a  false  witness  ;  but,  however,  I  do 
and  will  testify  the  things  I  have  both  seen  and 
heard." 

Samuel  had  said  to  him,  with  a  feeling  of  natural  * 
resentment,  "I  am  persuaded  you  will  hardly  see  me 

*  In  a  subsequent  letter,  he  thus  strongly  expresses  his  disap- 
pointment in  not  seeing  his  brother  :  "  1  he:irtily  pray  to  God 
that  we  may  meet  each  other  with  joy  in  the  next  lif  e  ;  and  beg  him 
to  forgive  either  of  ue,  as  far  as  guilty,  for  our  not  meeting  ip  this. 


22» 


WEfiLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


[173  9. 


face  to  face  in  this  world,  though  somewhat  nearer 
than  Count  Zinzendorf."  In  his  reply,  Wesley  says, 
"  1  do  not  expect  to  see  your  face  in  the  flesh.  Not 
that  I  believe  God  will  discharge  you  yet,  but  I  be- 
lieve I  have  nearly  finished  my  course  ;"  and  he  add- 
ed, that  he  expected  to  stay  at  Bristol  some  time, 
perhaps  as  long  as  he  was  in  the  body.  This  evi- 
dently alludes  to  the  impression  which  his  unlucky 
Sorfes  Biblicce  had  left  upon  his  mind ;  but  it  alarmed 
his  brother,  who  entreated  him  to  explain  what  rea- 
son he  had  for  thinking  he  should  not  live  long.  And 
showing  at  the  same  time  his  love  for  John,  and  his 
admiration  of  the  great  qualities  which  he  possessed, 
he  adds,  "  I  should  be  very  angry  with  you,  if  you  car- 
ed for  it,  should  you  have  broken  your  iron  constitution 
already  ;  as  I  was  with  the  glorious  Pascal  for  losing 
his  health,  and  living  almost  twenty  years  in  pain." 

"1  argue  against  assurance,"  he  says,  "  in  your  or 
any  sense,  as  part  of  the  gospel  covenant,  because 
many  are  saved  without  it.  You  own  you  cannot  de- 
ny exempt  cases,  which  is  giving  up  the  dispute. 
Your  assurance,  being  a  clear  impression  of  God  upon 
the  soul,  I  say,  must  be  perpetual,  must  be  irreversi- 
ble, else  it  is  not  assurance  from  God,  infallible  and 
omnipotent.  Your  seeing  persons  reformed  is  no- 
thing to  this.  Dear  brother,  do  you  dream  I  deny 
the  grace  of  God  ?  but  to  suppose  the  means  where- 
by they  are  so  in  this  sense,  is,  in  my  opinion,  as 
very  a  petitio  principii  as  ever  was.  You  quarrel  not 
at  the  word  miracle,  nor  is  there  any  reason  you 
should,  since  you  are  so  well  acquainted  with  the 
thing.  You  say  the  cross  is  strongly  represented 
to  the  eye  of  the  mind.  Do  these  words  signify  in 
plain  English,  the  fancy  f  Inward  eyes,  ears,  and 
feelings,  are  nothing  to  other  people.  I  am  heartily 
sorry  such  alloy  should  be  found  among  so  much 


lacknowledge  his  justice  in  making  my  friends  stand  afar  off,  and 
hiding  my  acquaintance  out  of  my  sight."  Wesley  must  have  re- 
flected upon  this  with  some  pain,  when,  a  few  months  only  after  it 
was  writen,  he  lost  his  excellent  brother. 


1739.] 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


229 


piety.  My  mother  tells  me  she  fears  a  formal  schism 
is  already  begun  among  you,  though  you  and  Charles 
are  ignorant  of  it.  For  God's  sake  take  care  of  that, 
and  banish  extemporary  expositions  and  extempora- 
ry prayers.  I  have  got  your  abridgment  of  Halibur- 
ton  ;  if  it  please  God  to  allow  me  life  and  strength,  I 
shall  demonstrate  that  the  Scot  as  little  deserves 
preference  to  all  Christians  but  our  Saviour,  as  the 
book  to  all  writings  *  but  those  you  mention.  There 
are  two  flagrant  falsehoods  in  the  very  first  chapter. 
But  your  eyes  are  so  fixed  upon  one  point,  that  you 
overlook  every  thing  else; — you  overshoot,  but 
Whitefield  raves." 

In  his  reply  to  this  letter,  John  recurred  to  his  own 
notion  of  assurance.  "The  Gospel,"  he  says,  "pro- 
mises to  you  and  me,  and  our  children,  and  all  that 
are  afar  off,  even  as  many  of  those  whom  the  Lord 
our  God  shall  call,  as  are  not  disobedient  unto  the 
heavenly  vision,  the  witness  of  Gocfs  Spirit  with  their 
spirit^  thxit  they  are  the  children  of  God ;  that  they  are 
now,  at  this  hour,  all  accepted  in  the  beloved  :  but  it 
witnesses  not  that  they  always  shall  be.  It  is  an  as- 
surance of /jrc^en^  salvation  only ;  therefore  not  ne- 
cessarily perpetual,  neither  irreversible."  The  doc- 
trine is  unexceptionable,  the  error  lay  in  the  in- 
discreet use  of  a  term,  which  in  strict  logic,  and  in 
common  acceptation,  means  more  than  this,  and  cer- 
tainly would  be  understood  in  its  largest  import.  He 
reverted  also  to  the  same  facts  concerning  the  man- 
ner in  which  this  assurance  was  conveyed.  "  I  am 
one  of  many  witnesses  of  this  matter  of  fact,  that  God 
does  now  make  good  this  his  promise  daily,  very  fre- 
quently during  a  representation  (how  made  I  know 
not,  but  not  to  the  outward  eye)  of  Christ,  either 
hanging  on  the  cross,  or  standing  on  the  right  hand 
of  God.    And  this  I  know  to  be  of  God,  because  from 

*  Wesley  had  said,  in  his  Preface  to  the  "  Extract  of  the  Life 
and  Death  of  Mr.  Thomas  Haliburton," — "  I  cannot  but  value  it, 
next  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  above  any  other  human  composition, 
fxcepting  only  the  Christian  Pattern,  and  the  small  remains  of 
Clemens  Romanus  Polycarp.  and  Ignatius." 


230 


WESLEV  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739 


that  hour  the  person  so  affected  is  a  new  creature, 
both  as  to  his  inward  tempers  and  outward  life. 
Old  things  are  past  away,  and  all  things  become 
new."  His  brother's  argument  respecting  such  re- 
presentations is  here  left  unanswered,  because  it 
was  unanswerable.  But  the  state  of  his  own  judg- 
ment at  this  time  is  ascertained,  (if  such  proof  were 
necessary,)  by  his  continuing  in  a  belief  that  the 
Scriptures  had  communicated  to  him  a  knowledge  of 
his  early  death.  In  reply  to  his  brother's  affection- 
ate inquiry  upon  this  subject,  he  says,  "1  am  now  in 
as  good  health  (thanks  be  to  God)  as  I  ever  was 
since  I  remember,  and  I  believe  shall  be  so  as  long 
as  I  live,  for  I  do  not  expect  to  have  a  lingering 
death.  The  reasons  that  induce  me  to  think  I  shall 
not  live  long,  are  such  as  you  would  not  apprehend 
to  be  of  any  weight.  I  am  under  no  concern  on  this 
head  ;  let  my  Master  see  to  it." 

The  case  of  John  Haydon  was  triumphantly  stated 
in  this  letter.  Wesley  was  firmly  convinced  that 
such  cases  were  signs  and  wonders  ;  and  he  was  soon 
enabled  to  answer,  as  he  believed,  victoriously,those 
persons  who  maintained  that  they  were  purely  natu- 
ral effects,  and  that  people  fainted  away  only  because 
of  the  heat  and  closeness  of  the  rooms ;  or  who  affirm- 
ed that  it  was  all  imposture ;  that  the  patients  might 
avoid  such  agitations  if  they  would ;  else  why  were 
these  things  done  only  in  their  private  societies  ? 
why  were  they  not  done  in  the  face  of  the  sun? 
"  To-day,"  says  Wesley  in  his  journal,  "  our  Lord  an- 
swered for  himself  For  while  I  was  enforcing  these 
words,  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God,  he  began  to 
make  bare  his  arm ;  not  in  a  close  room,  neither  in 
private,  but  in  the  open  air,  and  before  more  than  two 
thousand  witnesses.  One,  and  another,  and  another, 
were  struck  to  the  earth,  trembling  exceedingly  at 
the  presence  of  his  power.  Others  cried  with  aloud 
and  bitter  cry,  'What  must  we  do  to  be  saved?' 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  seven  personsiT  whbllj^^ 
known  to  me lill  llJart^i^  were  reJoicing^aHtTsing- 


1739.] 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


231 


ing,  and  with  all  their  might  giving  thanks  to  the  God 
oTtheir  salvation."  In  the  evening  of  tliat  same  day, 
at  their  meeting  in  Nicholas-street,  he  was  inter- 
rupted almost  as  soon  as  he  had  begun  to  speak,  (so 
strongly  were  his  auditors  now  pre-disposed  for  the 
influence.)  by  the  cries  of  one  "who  was  pricked  to 
the  heart,"  and  groaned  vehemently  for  pardon  and 
peace.    Presently  another  dropped  down;  ar.d  it 
was  not  long  before  ;a  poor  little  boy  caught  the  af- 
fection, and  fell  also  in  one  of  those  frightful  fits. 
The  next  was  a  young  man,  by  name  Thomas  Max- 
field,  a  stranger  in  Bristol,  who  had  come  to  this 
meeting  from  a  mere  motive  of  curiosity,  and  there 
received  an  impression  which  decided  the  course  of 
his  future  life.     He  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  boy,  and 
sunk  down  himself  as  one  dead,  but  presently  began 
to  roar  and  beat  himself  against  the  ground,  so  that 
six  men  could  scarcely  hold  him.    "  Except  John 
Haydon,"  says  Wesley,  "  I  never  saw  one  so  torn  of 
the  Evil  One.    Meanwhile  many  others  began  to  cry 
out  to  the  Saviour  of  all,  that  he  would  come  and 
help  them ;  insomuch,  that  all  the  house,  and  indeed 
all  the  street,  for  some  space,  was  in  an  uproar.  But 
we  continued  in  prayer ;  and  before  ten,  the  greater 
part  found  rest  to  their  souls."    The  day's  work, 
however,  was  not  yet  concluded.     "  I  was  called 
from  supper,"  he  says,  "  to  one  who,  feeling  in  her- 
self such  a  conviction  as  she  had  never  known  be- 
fore, had  run  out  of  the  society  in  all  haste,  that  she 
might  not  expose  herself.     But  the  hand  of  God  fol- 
lowed her  still,  so  that  after  going  a  few  steps,  she 
was  forced  to  be  carried  home,  and  when  she  was 
there,  grew  worse  and  worse.    She  was  in  a  violent 
agony  when  we  came.     We  called  upon  God,  and 
her  soul  found  rest.    About  twelve,  I  was  greatly 
importuned  to  go  and  visit  one  person  more.  She 
had  only  one  struggle  after  I  came,  and  was  then  fill- 
ed with  peace  and  joy.    I  think  twenty-nine  in  all 
had  their  heaviness  turned  into  joy  this  day."  A 
room,  in  which  they  assembled  at  this  time,  was 


232 


WESLEV  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


propped  from  beneath  for  security ;  but,  with  the 
weight  of  the  people,  the  floor  gave  way,  and  the 
prop  fell  with  a  great  noise.  The  floor  sunk  no  fur- 
ther ;  but,  alarming  as  this  was,  after  a  little  sur- 
prise at  first,  they  quietly  attended  to  the  preacher 
as  if  nothing  had  happened,  so  entirely  were  thej 
possessed  by  him.  When  he  held  forth  in  the  open 
air,  rain,  and  thunder,  and  lightning  did  not  disperse 
the  multitudes  who  gathered  round  him.  He  himself 
could  not  but  be  conscious  of  his  own  power. 
Preaching  at  Clifton  Church,  and  seeing  many  of  the 
rich  there,  he  says,  "  My  heart  was  much  pained  for 
them,  and  I  was  earnestly  desirous  that  some,  even 
of  them,  might  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
But  full  as  I  was,  I  knew  not  where  to  begin  in  warn- 
ing them  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  till  my  Tes- 
tament opened  on  these  words,  /  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous^  but  sinners  to  repentance ;  in  applying  which 
my  soul  was  so  enlarged,  that  methought  I  could 
have  cried  out  in  another  sense  than  poor  vain  Ar- 
chimedes, Give  me  where  to  stand,  and  I  will  shake 
the  earth." 

On  his  first  arrival  in  Bristol,  that  part  of  the  Me- 
thodist discipline  was  introduced  which  he  had 
adopted  from  the  Moravians,  and  male  and  female 
bands  were  formed,  as  in  London,  that  the  members 
might  meet  together  weekly,  to  confess  their  faults 
one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another.  "  How 
dare  any  man,"  says  Wesley,  "  deny  this  to  be,  as  to 
the  substance  of  it,  a  means  of  grace  ordained  by 
God  }  unless  he  will  affirm  with  Luther,  in  the  fury 
of  his  solifidianism,  that  St.  James'  epistle  is  an  epis- 
tle of  straw.  A  more  important  measure  was  the 
foundation  of  the  first  Methodist  preaching  house ; 
and  this,  like  the  other  steps  which  led  inevitably  to 
a  separation  from  the  Church,  was  taken  without  any 
such  design,  or  any  perception  of  its  consequences. 
The  rooms  in  which  the  Societies  at  Bristol  had  hi- 
therto met  in  Nicholas-street,  Baldwin-street,  and 
the  Back-lane,  were  small,  incommodious,  and  not 


1739.] 


>rESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


233 


entirely  safe.  They  determined,  therefore,  to  build 
a  room  large  enough  for  all  the  members,  and  for 
as  many  of  their  acquaintances  as  might  be  expected 
to  attend  :  a  piece  of  ground  was  obtained  in  the 
Horse-Fair,  near  St.  James'  church-yard,  and  there, 
on  the  12th  of  May  1739,  "the  first  stone  was  laid 
with  the  voice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving."  Wesley 
himself  had  no  intention  of  being  personally  engaged 
either  in  the  direction  or  expense  of  the  work ;  for 
the  property  had  been  settled  upon  eleven  feofTees, 
and  upon  them  he  had  supposed  the  whole  responsi- 
bility would  rest.  But  it  soon  appeared  that  the 
work  would  be  at  a  stand  if  he  did  not  take  upon 
himself  the  payment  of  all  the  workmen ;  and  he 
found  himself  presently  incumbered  V7ith  a  debt  of 
more  than  an  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  which  he 
was  to  discharge  how  he  could,  for  the  subscription 
of  the  Bristol  societies  did  not  amount  to  a  fourth 
part  of  the  sum.  In  another,  and  more  important 
point,  his  friends  in  London,  and  Whitefield  more 
especially,  had  been  further-sighted  than  himself; 
they  represented  to  him  that  the  feoffees  would  al- 
ways have  it  in  their  power  to  turn  him  out  of  the 
room  after  he  had  built  it,  if  he  did  not  preach  to 
their  Hking;  and  they  declared  that  they  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  building,  nor  contribute  any 
thing  towards  it,  unless  he  instantly  discharged  all 
feoffees,  and  did  every  thing  in  his  own  name. 
Though  Wesley  had  not  foreseen  this  consequence, 
he  immediately  perceived  the  wisdom  of  his  friends' 
advice  :  no  man  was  more  alive  to  the  evils  of  con- 
gregational tyranny ;  he  called  together  the  feoffees, 
cancelled  the  writings  without  any  opposition  on  their 
part,  and  took  the  whole  trust,  as  well  as  the  whole 
management,  into  his  own  hands.  "  Mor)ey,"  he  says, 
"  it  is  true,  I  had  not,  nor  any  human  prospect  or  pro- 
bability of  procuring  it ;  but  1  knew  the  earth  is  the 
Lord's^  and  the  fulness  thereof ;  and  in  his  name  set 
out,  nothing  doubting." 

After  he  had  been  about  three  months  in  Bristol, 

VOL.  I.  30 


234 


WESLEY  AT  BRISTOL. 


[1739. 


there  came  pressing  letters  from  London,  urging  him 
to  return  thither  as  soon  as  possible,  because  the 
brethren  in  Fetter-lane  were  in  great  confusion,  for 
want  of  his  presence  and  advice.  For  awhile,  there- 
fore, he  took  leave  of  his  growing  congregation,  say- 
ing, that  he  had  not  found  such  love,  "  no,  not  in 
England,^''  nor  so  child-like,  artless,  teachable  a  tem- 
per, as  God  had  given  to  these  Bristolians. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


WHITEFIELD  in  LONDON.  FRENCH  PROPHETS.  EXTRA= 

VACANCIES  OP  THE  METHODISTS. 

During  his  abode  at  Bristol,  Wesley  had  had 
many  thoughts  concerning  the  unusual  manner  of  his 
ministering.  He  who  had  lately  attempted  with  in- 
tolerant austerity,  to  enforce  the  discipline  of  the 
Church,  and  revive  practices  which  had  properly 
been  suffered  to  fall  into  disuse,  had  now  broken 
through  the  forms  of  that  Church,  and  was  acting  in 
defiance  of  her  authority.  This  irregularity  he  justi- 
fied, by  a  determination  to  allow  no  other  rule  of 
faith,  or  practice,  than  the  Scriptures  ;  not,  perhaps, 
reflecting  that  in  this  position  he  joined  issue  with 
the  wildest  religious  anarchists.  "  God  in  Scrip- 
ture," he  reasoned,  "  commands  me  according  to  my 
power,  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  reform  the  wicked, 
confirm  the  virtuous ;  man  forbids  me  to  do  this  in  an- 
other's parish,  that  is,  in  effect,  to  do  it  at  all,  seeing 
I  have  now  no  parish  of  my  own,  nor  probably  ever 
shall ;  whom  then  shall  I  hear,  God  or  man  ?  If  it  be 
just  to  obey  man  rather  than  God,  judge  you  ;  a  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Gospel  is  committed  to  me,  and  ivo  is  me  if  I 
preach  not  this  Gospel  But  where  shall  I  preach  it 
upon  what  are  called  Catholic  principles } — Why 
not  in  any  of  the  Christian  parts  of  the  habitable 
earth,  for  all  these  are,  after  a  sort,  divided  into  pa- 
rishes This  reasoning  led  him  to  look  upon  all 
the  Avorld  as  his  parish.  "  In  whatever  part  of  it  I 
am,"  he  says,  "  I  judge  it  meet,  right,  and  my  bounden 
duty,  to  declare  unto  all  that  are  willing  to  hear,  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation.  This  it^  the  work  which  I 
know  God  has  called  me  to  do,  and  sure  I  am  that  His 
blessing  attends  it :  His  servant  I  am,  and  as  such  am 
employed  (glory  be  to  Him)  day  and  night  in  His  ser- 
vice; I  am  employed  according  to  the  plain  direc- 


236 


VVHITEFIELD  IN  LONDON. 


[1739. 


tion  of  His  word,  as  I  have  opportunity  of  doing  good 
unto  all  men.  And  His  Providence  clearly  concurs 
with  His  word,  which  has  disengaged  me  from  all 
thing!  else,  that  I  might  singly  attend  on  this  very 


Some  of  the  disciples  in  London  meantime,  had 
pursued  their  master's  fundamental  principle  further 
than  he  had  any  intention  of  following  it.  A  layman, 
whose  name  was  Shaw,  insisted  that  a  priesthood 
was  an  unnecessary  and  unscriptural  institution,  and 
that  he  himself  had  as  good  a  right  to  preach,  bap- 
tize, and  administer  the  sacraments,  as  any  other 
man.  Such  a  teacher  found  ready  believers ;  the 
propriety  of  lay-preaching  was  contended  for  at  the 
society  in  Fetter-Lane,  and  Charles  Wesley  strenu- 
ously opposed  what  he  called  these  pestilent  errors. 
In  spite  of  his  opposition,  a  certain  Mr.  Bowers  set 
the  first  example.  Two  or  three  more  ardent  inno- 
vators declared  that  they  would  no  longer  be  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England,  "  Now,"  says  Charles, 
in  his  journal,  "am  1  clear  of  them  ;  by  renouncing 
the  Church,  they  have  discharged  me."  Bowers, 
who  was  not  obstinate  in  his  purpose,  acknowledged 
that  he  had  erred,  and  was  reconciled  to  Charles 
Wesley :  but  owing  to  these  circumstances,  and  to 
some  confusion  which  the  French  Prophets,  as  they 
were  called,  were  exciting  among  the  Methodists,  it 
was  judged  expedient  to  summon  John  with  all  speed 
from  Bristol. 

Charles  had  been  powerfully  supported  in  these 
disputes  by  Whitefield  and  his  friend  Howel  Harris, 
a  young  and  ardent  Welshman,  who  was  the  first 
great  promoter  of  Methodism  in  his  own  country. — 
The  former  had  now  taken  the  field  here  also ;  the 
Vicar  of  Islington  had  lent  him  his  pulpit,  but  the 
Churchwarden  forbade  him  to  preach  there  unless  he 
could  produce  a  license;  and  Whitefield  gladly  in- 
terpreted this  to  be  a  manifestation  of  the  divine 
pleasure,  that  he  should  preach  in  the  church-yard, 
which,  he  says,  his  Master  by  his  providence  and 
spirit  compelled  him  to  do.    "  To-morrow  I  am  to 


thing,  and  go  about  doing  good^ 


1739.] 


WHITEFIELD  IN  LONDON. 


237 


repeat  that  mad  trick,  and  on  Sunday  to  go  out  into 
Moorfields.  The  word  of  the  Lord  runs  and  is  glo- 
rified ;  people's  hearts  seem  quite  broken ;  God 
strengthens  me  exceedingly ;  I  preach  till  I  sweat 
through  and  through."  Public  notice  was  given  of 
his  intention,  and  on  the  appointed  day  a  great  multi- 
tude assembled  in  Moorfields,  This  tract  of  land, 
which  is  already  so  altered  that  Whitefield  would  no 
longer  recognise  the  scene  of  his  triumph,  and  which 
will  soon  be  entirely  covered  with  streets  and  squares, 
was  originally,  as  its  name  implies,  a  marsh,  passable 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  only  by  a  cause- 
way, and  of  so  little  value  that  the  whole  was  let  for 
a  yearly  rent  of  four  marks.  It  was  gradually  drain- 
ed ;  the  first  bricks  which  are  known  to  have  been 
used  in  London  were  made  there  ;  and  in  process  of 
time  the  greater  part  of  the  ground  was  converted 
into  gardens.  These  were  destroyed,  that  the  City 
Archers  might  exercise  themselves  there.  The  bow 
and  arrow  fell  into  disuse ;  Bedlam  was  built  there ; 
part  of  the  area  was  laid  out  in  gravel  walks,  and 
planted  with  elms,  and  these  convenient  and  frequent- 
ed walks  obtained  the  name  of  the  City  Mall.  But 
;  from  the  situation  of  the  ground,  and  the  laxity  of  the 
1  police,  it  had  now  become  a  royalty  of  the  rabble,  a 
I  place  for  wrestlers  and  boxers,  mountebanks  and 
!  merry-andrews ;  where  fairs  were  held  during  the 
;  holydays,  and  where  at  all  times  the  idle,  the  disso- 
'  lute  and  the  reprobate  resorted ;  they  who  were  the 
pests  of  society,  and  they  who  were  training  up  to 
succeed  them  in  the  ways  of  profligacy  and  wretch- 
edness. 

Preaching  in  Moorfields  was  what  Whitefield  call- 
ed attacking  Satan  in  one  of  his  strong  holds  ;  and 
many  persons  told  him,  that  if  he  attempted  it  he 
would  never  come  away  from  the  place  alive.  They 
knew  not  the  power  of  empassioned  eloquence  upon 
a  topic  in  which  every  hearer  was  vitally  concerned  ; 
and  they  wronged  the  mob,  who  seldom  or  never  are 
guilty  of  atrocities  till  they  are  deluded  and  misled. 
No  popular  prejudice  had  yet  gone  forth  against  the 


238 


WHITRFIELD  IN  LONDON. 


[1739. 


Methodists ;  to  those  among  the  multitude  by  whom 
he  was  known,  he  was  an  object  of  devout  admira- 
tion, and  all  the  others  regarded  him  with  curiosity 
or  with  wonder,  not  with  any  hostile  or  suspicious 
feeling.  The  table  which  had  been  placed  for  him 
was  broken  in  pieces  by  the  crowd ;  he  took  his 
stand,  therefore,  upon  a  wall  which  divided  the  up- 
per and  lower  Moorfields,  and  preached  without  in- 
terruption. There  was  great  prudence  in  beginning 
the  attack  upon  Satan  on  a  Sunday :  it  was  taking 
him  at  disadvantage,  the  most  brutal  of  his  black 
guard  were  not  upon  the  ground,  or  not  engaged  in 
their  customary  sports  of  brutality  ;  and  the  preacher 
derived  some  protection  from  the  respect  which  was 
paid  to  the  Sabbath-day  :  Whitefield  did  not  ven- 
ture as  yet  to  encounter  them  when  they  were  in  full 
force.  His  favourite  ground  upon  week-days  was 
Kennington-Common,  and  there  prodigious  multitudes 
gathered  together  to  hear  him;  he  had  some- 
times fourscore  carriages,  (in  those  days  no  incon- 
siderable number  for  London  to  send  forth  on  such 
an  occasion,)  very  many  horsemen,  and  from  30  to 
40,000  persons  on  foot :  and  both  there,  and  on  his 
Sunday  preachings  in  Moorfields,  when  he  collected 
for  the  orphan-house,  so  many*  half-pence  were 
given  him  by  his  poor  auditors,  that  he  was  wearied 
in  receiving  them,  and  they  were  more  than  one  man 
could  carry  home. 

While  he  was  engaged  in  this  triumphant  career^ 
Wesley  arrived,  and  on  the  day  after  his  arrival 
accompanied  him  to  Blackheath,  expecting  to  hear 
him  preach :  but  when  they  were  upon  the  ground, 
where  about  12  or  14,000  persons  were  assembled, 
Whitefield  desired  him  to  preach  in  his  stead. 
Wesley  was  a  little  surprised  at  this,  and  somewhat 
reluctant,  for  he  says  nature  recoiled ;  he  did  not 
however  refuse,  and  being  greatly  moved  with  com- 
passion for  the  rich  that  were  present,  he  addressed 
his  discourse  particularly  to  them  :  "  Some  of  them? 

*  At  Kennington,  47/.  were  collected  one  evening,  of  which  I6t. 
were  in  half-penre.  At  Moorfields,  52L  19s.  6d.,  of  which  more 
than  twenty  pounds  were  in  half-pence. 


1739.] 


WHITEFIELD  IN  LONDON. 


239 


seemed  to  attend,  while  others  drove  away  with  their 
coaches  from  so  uncouth  a  preacher."  Whitefield 
notices  this  circumstance  in  his  journal  with  great 
satisfaction  :  I  had  the  pleasure,"  he  says,  of  in- 
troducing my  honoured  and  reverend  friend,  Mr.  John 
Wesley,  to  preach  at  Blackheath.  The  Lord  give 
him  ten  thousand  times  more  success  than  he  ha^ 
given  me  !  I  went  to  bed  rejoicing  that  another  fresh 
inroad  was  made  into  Satan's  territories,  by  Mr. 
Wesley's  following  me  in  field-preaching  in  London 
as  well  as  in  Bristol." 

It  deserves  particular  notice  that  no  fits  or  convul- 
sions hjil_jaS-y  el  beexL  produced  under  WKitelieid's 
preaching,  thgugh^ he  preached  the  same  doctrine  as 
tJhe  Wesleys,_and  addressed  himself  with  equal  or 
greater  vehemence  to  the  passions,  and  with  more 
theatrical  effect.  _But_\dien  WesJey,  on.  the  second 
da^fter  hi-^  arrival,  was  preaching  to  a  society  in 
W.apping,  the  symptoms  re-appeared  with  their  usu- 
al  violence.  and  were  more  than  usually  contagious. 
He  had  begun  the  service,  he  says,  weary  in  body 
and  weak  in  spirit ;  and  felt  himself  unable  to  open 
his  mouth  upon  the  text  which  he  had  premeditated. 
His  mind  was  full  of  some  place,  he  knew  not  where, 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  begging  God  to 
direct  him,  he  opened  the  Testament  on  these  words, 
"  Having  therefore,  brethren^  boldness  to  enter  into  the  Ho- 
liest by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living  way  which 
he  hath  consecrated  for  us,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh, — let  us 
draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith, 
having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and 
our  bodies  washed  with  pure  ivater.''''  If  such  a  prologue 
to  the  scene  which  ensues  should  excite  a  suspicion 
of  Wesley's  sincerity  he  would  be  wronged  thereby  ; 
suspicious  as  it  appears,  it  is  the  natural  representa- 
tion of  one  who  under  a  strong  delusion  of  mind,  re- 
traced his  own  feelings  after  the  event,  and  explained 
them  by  the  prepossession  which  fully  occupied  his 
mind.  "While,"  he  says,  "  I  was  earnestly  inviting 
all  men  to  enter  into  the  Holiest  by  this  new  and  living 
way,  many  of  those  that  heard  began  to  call  upon 


240 


FRENCH  PROPHETS. 


[1739, 


God  with  strong  cries  and  tears ;  some  sunk  down, 
and  there  remained  no  strength  in  them  ;  others  ex- 
ceedingly trembled  and  quaked  ;  some  were  torn 
with  a  kind  of  convulsive  motionjiifiveiy  part  of  their 
bodies,  and  that  so  violently,  that  often  four  or  iBve^ 
persons  could  not  hold  one  of  them. 1  hSve  seen 
many  hysterical  and  epileptic  fits,  but  none  of  them 
were  like  these  in  many  respects.  I  immediatelj 
prayed  that  God  would  not  suffer  those  who  were  ' 
weak  to  be  offended ;  but  one  woman  was  greatly, 
being  sure  they  might  help  it  if  they  would,  no  one 
should  persuade  her  to  the  contrary ;  and  she  was 
got  three  or  four  yards,  when  she  also  dropt  down  in 
as  violent  an  agony  as  the  rest.  Twenty-six  of  those 
who  had  been  thus  affected  (most  of  whom,  during 
the  prayers  which  were  made  for  them,  were  in  a  mo- 
ment filled  with  peace  and  joy,)  promised  to  call  up- 
on me  the  next  day  ;  but  only  eighteen  came,  by  talk- 
ing closely  with  whom  I  found  reason  to  believe  that 
some  of  them  had  gone  home  to  their  houses  justified ; 
the  rest  seemed  to  be  patiently  waiting  for  it." 

A  difference  of  opinion  concerning  these  outward 
signs,  as  they  were  called,  was  one  of  the  sub- 
jects which  had  distracted  the  London  Methodists, 
and  rendered  Wesley's  presence  among  them  neces- 
sary. The  French  prophets  also  had  obtained  con- 
siderable influence  over  some  of  the  society ;  these 
prophets  had  now  for  about  half  a  century  acted 
as  frantic  and  as  knavish  a  part  for  the  disgrace  of  i 
a  good  cause,  as  the  enemies  of  that  cause  could  i 
have  desired.  Louis  XIV.  at  the  commencement  of 
his  reign,  laid  down  for  himself  a  wise  system  of 
conduct  towards  his  Protestant  subjects :  he  per- 
ceived that  to  employ  persecution  as  a  remedy  for 
erroneous  opinions,  implies  an  ignorance  of  the 
nature  of  the  disease,  and  he  acknowledged  that 
the  reformers  had  originally  much  reason  on  theLf 
side;  but  as  a  Roman  Catholic,  he  regarded  the^ 
doctrines  of  the  Huguenots  as  damnable,  and  as  arj 
statesman  he  knew  that  any  men  who  desire  the 
destruction  of  their  national  church,  can  be  but  half- 


173§.] 


FRENCH  PROPHETS. 


241 


hearted  toward  the  government  which  upholds  that 
church,  and  rests  with  it  upon  the  same  Ibundation. 
He  determined  therefore  not  to  impose  any  restric- 
tions upon  rhem,  and  strictly  to  observe  their  exist- 
ing privileges ;  but  to  grant  them  no  new  ones ;  to 
show  them  no  favour ;  to  prevent  them  from  spread- 
ing their  doctrine,  or  exercising  their  mode  of  wor- 
ship, in  places  where  they  were  not  privileged ;  to 
hold  out  every  encouragement  for  converting  them, 
and  especially  to  fill  the  Catholic  sees  with  persons 
of  such  learning,  piety,  and  exemplary  lives,  that 
their  example  might  tend  powerfully  to  heal  the 
schism  which  the  ignorance  and  corruption  of  their 
predecessors  had*  occasioned.  But  Louis  learnt 
to  be  as  little  scrupulous  in  his  schemes  of  conver- 
sion as  of  conquest ;  success,  vanity,  evil  counsellors, 
with  the  possession  and  the  pride  of  absolute  power, 
hardened  his  heart ;  by  means  of  paltry  donations 
he  had  bought  over  to  the  Catholic  Church,  many  of 
those  persons  who  disparage  whatever  church  they 
may  belong  to,  and  it  is  said  that  because  of  the  fa- 
cility with  which  such  converts  were  made,  he  ex- 
pected to  find  in  the  whole  body  of  the  French 
Protestants  an  easy  submission  to  his  will.  By  one 
wicked  edict  he  revoked  tlieir  privileges ;  and  by 
another  of  the  same  day  prohibited  their  public 
worship,  banished  their  ministers,  and  decreed  that 
their  children  should  be  educated  by  Roman  Catho- 
lic priests  in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith ;  the  better 
to  ensure  obedience,  he  quartered  dragoons  upon 
them,  and  left  them  to  the  mercy  of  his  military 
missionaries.  The  Dragonudcs  as  they  were  called 
were  a  fit  after-piece  to  the  tragedy  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's day.  The  number  of  persons  who  emigrated 
in  consequence  of  this  execrable  persecution,  has 
been  variously  computed  from  fifty  to  five  hundred 
thousand  ;  more  meritorious  men  were  never  driven 
from  their  native  country,  and  every  country  which 
afforded  them  refuge  was  amply  rewarded  by  their 


*  ffuvres  de  Louis  XIV.  Mf'moires  Historique*,  t.  i.  p.  84 — P.9. 
VOL.  I.  ;]j 


242 


FRENCH  PROPHET! 


[1739. 


talents,  their  arts,  and  their  industi^'.  Prussia  re- 
ceived a  large  and  most  beneficial  increase  of  useful 
subjects;  they  multiplied  the  looms  of  England,  and 
gave  new  activity  to  the  trade  of  Holland.  Some  of 
these  refugees  converted  rocks  into  vineyards  on  the 
shores  of  the  Leman  Lake,  and  British  Africa  is 
indebted  to  others  for  wines,  which  will  one  day- 
rival  those  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Garonne.  Happy 
were  they  who  thus  shook  the  dust  of  their  native 
land  from  their  feet ;  and  more  would  undoubtedly 
have  followed  this  course,  if  the  most  rigorous  mea- 
sures had  not  been  used  to  prevent  emigration. 
This  was  consummating  the  impolicy,  and  the  wick- 
edness* of  the  measure.  The  number  of  forced 
converts  in  Languedoc,  was  little  short  of  t200,000. 
But  in  the  wilder  parts  of  that  province,  among  the 
mountains  of  the  Cevennes  and  the  Vivarezj,  the 
people  took  arms,  confiding  in  the  strength  of  the 
country,  and  the  justice  of  their  cause.  M.  de  Bro- 
glie  first,  then  Marshal  Villars,  and  lastly,  the  Duke 
of  Berwick,  were  sent  against  them ;  roads  were 
opened  through  the  country  in  every  direction, 
making  it  every  where  accessible  for  artillery ;  an 
adequate  force  was  perseveringly  employed,  little 
mercy  was  shown  in  the  field,  and  such  of  the  leaders 
as  were  taken  prisoners,  were  racked  and  broken  on 
the  wheel,  or  bunit  alive.    In  the  history  of  human 

This  manifestation  of  the  real  spirit  of  the  Romish  Chnrch^ 
contributed  greatly  to  alarm  the  English  people,  when  James  II*' 
attempted  to  bring  them  again  under  its  yoke.  And  it  appear^ 
from  Eveliri's  Diary  that  James  apprehended  this  consequence. 
"  One  thing  was  much  taken  notice  of,  that  the  Gazettes,  whicfr 
were  still  constantly  printed  twice  a  week,  informing  us  what  wa» 
done  all  over  Europe,  never  spake  of  this  wonderful  proceeding  io 
France,  nor  was  any  relation  of  it  published  by  any,  save  what 
private  letters,  and  the  persecuted  fugitives  brought.  Whence 
this  silence  I  list  not  to  conjecture  ;  but  it  appeared  very  extra£ 
ordinary  in  a  Protestant  country,  that  we  should  know  nothing  off 
what  Protestants  suffered,  whilst  great  collections  were  made  fofr 
them  in  foreign  places,  more  hospitable  and  Christian  to  appear- 
ance."   Vol.  i.  p.  580.  I 

t  M^moires  de  M.  de  Basville,  p.  78.  '  i 


1739.] 


FRENCH  PROPHETS. 


243 


crimes,  tho  religious  wars  of  France  must  ever  stand 
pre-eminent  for  the  ferocity  with  which  hoth  parties 
were  possessed,  and  this  termination  was  worthy  of 
the  spirit  with  which  the  persecution  was  begun  and 
carried  through. 

More  than  twenty  years  elapsed  before  such  of 
the  Protestants  as  exercised  the  right  of  resistance 
could  be  rooted  out.    During  that  time,  these  injured 
people  were  in  a  state  resembling  that  of  the  Cove- 
nanters and  Cameronians  in  Scotland,  under  the 
tyranny  of  Lauderdale.    Persecuted  like  them,  till 
thoy  were  driven  to  madness  by  persecution,  the 
more  they  were  goaded,  the  more  fiercely  tliey  turn- 
ed upon  their  oppressors,  and  the  greater  the  cruelty 
which  they  endured  from  man,  the  more  confidently 
they  looked  for  the  interference  of  Heaven.  Thus 
they  grew  at  once  fanatical  and  ferocious.  Without 
rest  either  for  body  or  mind,  living  in  continual  agita- 
tion and  constant  danger,  their  dreams  became  vivid 
as  realities,  when  all  realities  were  frightful  as  the 
wildest  dreams  ;  delirium  was  mistaken  for  inspira- 
tion ;  and  the  ravings  of  those  who  had  lost  their 
senses  through  grief  and  bodily  excitement,  were 
received  as  prophecies  by  their  fellow  sufferers. 
The  Catholic  writers  of  that  age,  availed  themselves 
of  this  to  bring  a  scandal  upon  the  Protestant  cause; 
and  to  account  for  what  so  certainly  was  the  conse- 
quence of  persecution,  they  propagated  one  of  the 
most  impudent  calumnies  that  ever  was  produced, 
even  in  religious  controversy.    They  asserted  that 
the  refugee  ministers  with  Jurieu  at  their  head,  held 
a  council  at  Geneva,  in  which  they  agreed  to  support 
their  cause  by  means  of  impious  imposture ;  that 
they  set  up  a  school  of  prophets,  and  trained  up 
young  persons  of  both  sexes,  to  repeat  the  Psalms 
and  other  parts  of  Scripture  by  heart,  and  practise 
contortions  and  convulsions  for  public  exhibition,  in 
the  name  of  the  Spirit  of  God  !    How  little  did  these 
calumniators  understand  the  character  of  Jurieu, 
fanatic  as  he  was;  and  how  utterly  incapable  were 
they  even  of  conceiving  such  disinterested  and  dc- 


244 


FRENCH  PROPHETS. 


[1739. 


voted  integrity,  as  that  of  the  ministers  whom  they 
slandered !  i 

Such  of  the  wilder  fanatics  as  escaped  both  the 
bayonet  and  the  executioner,  and  found  an  asylum  in 
Protestant  countries,  carried  with  them  the  disease 
both  of  mind  and  body  which  their  long  sufferings 
had  produced.  It  Is  well  known  that  persons  who 
have  once  been  thrown  into  fits  by  any  sudden  and 
violent  emotion,  are  liable  to  a  recurrence  upon  much 
slighter  causes.  In  the  case  of  these  fugitives,  the 
recurrence  was  more  likely  to  be  encouraged  than 
controlled.  The  display  oi"  convulsive  movements, 
and  contortions  of  the  body,  was  found  a  gainful  ex- 
hibition; it  became  voluntary.  Though  the  profes- 
sors imposed  for  awhile  upon  others,  as  well  as  upon 
themselves,  it  soon  degenerated  into  mere  histrion- 
ism ;  and  in  Holland,  in  Germany,  and  in  England, 
the  French  prophets  as  they  were  called,  were  the 
scandal  of  their  own  church,  while  they  excited  the 
Avonder  of  the  ignorant,  and  preyed  upon  the  credu- 
lity of  their  admirers.  They  sent  deputies  to  Count 
Zinzendorf,  expressing  a  desire  to  unite  themselves 
with  the  Moravian  brethren;  he  objected  to  their 
neglect  of  the  sacrament,  to  their  separating  them- 
selves from  other  congregations,  and  more  especially 
to  the  hideous  circumstances  attending  their  pretend- 
ed inspirations.  Those  who  had  taken  up  their 
abode  in  England*  formed  a  sect  here,  and  as  soon 
as  the  Methodists  began  to  attract  notice,  naturally; 
sought  to  make  converts  among  a  people  whom  thejl 
supposed  to  be  prepared  for  them.  The  first  of  these' 
extravagants  with  whom  Charles  Wesley  was  ac-i 
quainted,  was  an  English  proselyte,  residing  at  Wick-i 
ham,  to  whom  he  was  introduced  on  his  way  to  Ox- 
ford, and  with  whom  it  seems  he  was  not  only  to  take 
up  his  lodging,  but  to  sleep.    This  gentleman  insistr 

*  Dr.  Stwkeley  snys,  that  a  group  of  tumuli  in  Wiltshire,  wm 
called  by  the  country  people  the  prophets'  barrows,  "  because  thej 
French  prophets,  thirty  years  ago  (1710),  set  up  a  standard  on  tte, 
largest,  and  preached  to  the  multitude."  Sir  R.  Hoare's  Ancientj 
Wiltshire,  p.  210. 


1739.] 


FRENCH  PROPHETS. 


ed  that  the  French  prophets  were  equal,  if  not  supe- 
rior to  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.  Charles, 
however,  was  not  aware  that  his  host  and  chum  was 
himself  a  gifted  personage,  till  they  retired  to  bed, 
when  as  they  were  undressing,  he  fell  into  violent 
agitations,  and  gobbled  like  a  turkey-cock.  "  I  was 
frightened,"  he  says,  "  and  began  exorcising  him 
with  'Thou  deaf  and  dumb  devil!'  He  soon  reco- 
vered from  }»is  fit  of  inspiration.  I  prayed,  and  went 
to  bed,  not  half  liking  my  bed-fellow,  nor  did  I  sleep 
very  sound  with  Satan  so  near  me." 

When  Wesley  soon  afterwards  met  with  some  of 
these  persons,  he  was  inclined  to  pronounce  them 
"  properly  enthusiasts," — "  for  first,"  he  says,  "  they 
think  to  attain  the  end  without  the  means,  which  is 
enthusiasm  properly  so  called.    Again,  they  think 
themselves  inspired  by  God,  and  are  not.    But  false 
imaginary  inspiration  is  enthusiasm.    That  their's  is 
only  imaginary  inspiration  appears  hence,  it  contra- 
dicts the  law  and  the  testimony."    After  much  im- 
portunity, he  went  with  four  or  five  of  his  friends,  to 
a  house  where  a  prophetess  was  entertained  :  she 
was  about  four  or  five  and  twenty,  and  of  an  agreea- 
ble speech  and  behaviour.    Wlien  she  asked  why 
these  visiters  came,  Wesley  replied,  "  To  try  the 
spirits,  whether  they  be  of  God."    Presently  she 
leant  back  in  her  chair,  and  had  strong  workings  in 
her  breast,  and  uttered  deep  sighs.    Her  head,  and 
her  hands,  and  by  turns  every  part  of  her  body,  were 
!    affected  with  convulsive  motions.    This  continued 
I   about  ten  minutes ;  then  she  began  to  speak  with  a 
I   clear  strong  voice,  but  so  interrupted  with  the  work- 
ings, sighings,  and  contortions  of  her  body,  that  she 
1   seldom  brought  forth  half  a  sentence  together.  What 
i   she  said  was  chiefly  in  scriptural  words,  and  all  as  in 
'   the  person  of  God,  as  if  it  were  the  language  of  im- 
mediate inspiration.    And  she  exhorted  them  not  to 
I   be  in  haste  in  judging  her  spirit,  to  be  or  not  to  be  of 
God  ;  but  to  wait  upon  God,  and  he  would  teach 
I    them,  if  they  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood  ; 
1   and  she  observed  with  particular  earnestness,  that 


246 


FRENCH  PROPHETS. 


[1739. 


they  must  watch  and  pray,  and  take  up  their  cross, 
and  be  still  before  God.  Some  of  the  company  were 
much  impressed,  and  beheved  that  she  spake  by  the 
Spirit;  "but  this,"  says  Wesley,  "was  in  no  wise 
clear  to  me.  The  emotion  might  be  either  hysteri- 
cal or  artificial.  And  the  same  words  any  person  of 
a  good  understandirjg,  and  well  versed  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, might  have  spoken.  But  1  let  the  matter  alone ; 
knowing  this,  that  if  it  be  not  of  God,  it  will  come  to 
.  nought." 

V  These  people  raised  warm  debates  among  the 
Methodists ;  so  that  Charles,  during  his  brother's  ab- 
sence, found  it  prudent  to  break  off  a  disputation,  by 
exclaiming,  "  VVho  is  on  God's  side?  Who  for  the 
old  prophets  rather  than  the  new  ?  Let  them  follow 
me !"  and  immediately  he  led  the  way  into  the 
preaching  room.  They  had  been  chiefly  successful 
among  the  women;  when  Wesley  arrived  in  Lon- 
don, therefore,  he  warned  the  female  disciples  not  to 
believe  every  spirit,  but  to  try  the  spirits  whether  tliey  were 
of  God:  and  during  the  short  time  of  his  stay  he  said, 
it  pleased  God  to  remove  many  misunderstandings 
and  offences,  that  had  crept  in  among  them,  and  to 
restore  in  good  measure  the  spirit  of  love  and  of  a 
sound  mind." 

But  on  his  return  to  Bristol,  the  French  prophets 
had  been  there  also,  and  he  says  it  is  scarce  credible 
what  an  advantage  Satan  had  gained,  during  his  ab- 
sence of  only  eight  days.  Wo  nnto  the  prophets,  saifh 
the  Lord,  ivho  prophesy  in  my  name,  and  I  have  not  sent 
them !  Who  were  the  teachers  against  w  hom  this 
denunciation  is  levelled,  he  endeavoured  to  point 
out ;  and  exhorted  his  followers,  "  to  avoid  as  fire 
all  who  do  not  speak  according  to  the  law  and  the 
testimony."  He  told  them,  "  they  w  ere  not  to  judge 
of  tl)e  spirit  whereby  any  one  spake,  either  by  ap- 
pearances, by  common  report,  or  by  their  own  in- 
ward feelings.  No,  nor  by  any  dreams,  visions,  or 
revelations,  supposed  to  be  made  to  their  souls,  any 
more  than  by  their  tears,  or  any  involuntary  effects 
wrought  upon  their  bodies."    He  warned  them, 


1739.]      EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  THE  METHODISTS.  247 


that  all  these  were  in  themselves  of  a  doubtful  dis- 
putable nature ;  they  might  be  from  God,  and  they 
might  not :  and  therefore  they  were  not  simply  to  be 
relied  on  (any  more  than  simply  to  be  condemned), 
but  to  be  tried  by  a  further  rule,  to  be  brought  to  the 
only  certain  test,  the  law  and  the  testimony."  While 
he  was  speaking  one  of  his  hearers  dropt  down,  and 
in  the  course  of  half  an  hour,  seven  others  in  violent 
agonies,  "  the  pains  as  of  hell^^  he  says,  came  about 
them but  notwithstanding  his  own  reasoning,  nei- 
ther he  nor  his  auditors  called  in  question  the  divine 
origin  of  these  emotions,  and  they  went  away  re- 
joicing and  praising  God.  Whenever  he  now  preach- 
ed, the  same  effects  were  produced  ;  some  of  the 
people  were  alv.ays  "cut  to  the  heart;"  they  were 
"  seized  with  strong  pftngs,"  they  "  terribly  felt  the 
wrath  of  God  abiding  on  them,"  they  were  con- 
strained to  roar  aloucl,  while  the  sword  of  the  Spirit 
was  dividing  asunder  their  souls^  and  spirits,  and  joints, 
and  marrow.''^  These  effects  had  never  as  yet  been 
produced  under  Whitefield's  preaching,  though  they 
now  followed 'Wesley  wherever  he  went;  and  it  ap- 
pears that  Whitefield,  who  came  once  more  to  Bris- 
tol at  this  time,  considered  them  as  doubtful  indica- 
tions, at  least,  and  by  no  means  to  be  encouraged. — 
But  no  sooner  had  he  begun  to  preach  before  a  con- 
gregation, among  whom  these  "  outward  signs"  had 
previously  taken  place,  and  who  therefore  were  pre- 
pared for  the  affection  by  their  state  of  mind,  as  fear 
in  times  of  pestilence,  predisposes  the  body  for  re- 
ceiving the  contagion,  than  four  persons  were  seized 
almost  at  the  same  moment,  and  sunk  down  close  by 
him.  This  was  a  great  triumph  to  Wesley.  "  From 
this  time,"  he  says,  "  I  trust,  we  shall  all  suffer  God 
to  carry  on  his  own  work  in  the  way  that  pleaseth 
him."  Whitefield,  however,  seems  rather  to  have 
been  perplexed  by  the  occurrence  than  satisfied : 
lor  he  makes  no  mention  of  it  in  his  journal,  which 
assuredly  he  would  have  done,  had  he  been  convin- 
ced with  Wesley,  that  these  fits  were  the  immediate 
work  of  God, 


248        EXTRAVAGANCIES  OP  THE  METHODISTS.  [1739 


Another  of  his  coadjutors,  who  had  seen  none  of 
these  outward  signs,  thought  that  examples  of  similar 
affections  were  found  in  Scripture ;  but  the  cases  of 
those  who  struggled  as  in  the  agonies  of  death,  and 
of  a  woman  vvho  was  so  convulsed  as  that  four  or  five 
strong  men  could  hardly  restrain  her  from  hurting  her- 
self or  others,  appeared  to  him  inexplicable,  unless 
it  resembled  the  case  of  the  child  of  whom  the  EvaH- 
gelists  say,  that  the  devil  threw  him  down  and  tare 
him.  "What  influence,"  says  the  writer,  "  sudden 
and  sharp  awakeniijgs  may  have  upon  the  body,  I 
pretend  not  to  explain.  But  I  make  no  question, 
Satan,  so  far  as  he  gets  power,  may  exert  himself  on 
such  occasions,  partly  to  hinder  the  good  work  in  the 
persons  who  are  thus  touched  with  the  sharp  arrows 
of  conviction,  and  partly  to  disparage  the  work  of 
God,  as  if  it  tended  to  lead  people  to  distraction. 
However  the  merciful  issue  of  these  conflicts,  in  the 
conversion  of  the  persons  thus  affected,  is  the  main 
thing." 

This  latter  point  was  placed  in  its  true  light  by 
Samuel  Weslej'.  "You,  yourself,"  he  says  to  his 
brother  JohDrJldoubte^^  a,nd  inquired  aind^ 

examined  about  the  extacies;  the  matter  is  not 
therefore  so  plain  as  motion  to  a  man  walking.  But 
I  have  my  own  reason,  as  well  as  your  own  authority, 
against  the  exceeding  clearness  of  divine  interposi- 
tion there.  Your  followers  fall  into  agonies.  I  con- 
fess it. — They  are  freed  from  them  after  you_have_ 
prayed  over  them.  Granted. — They  say  it  isJCfwi's, 
<loing.  I  own  they  say  so. — Dear  Brother!  whereis 
your  ocular  demonstration.'*  Where  indeed  is.  the 
rational  proof?  Their  living  well  afterwards  jnaj 
be  a  probable  and  sufficient  argument  that  they  be- 
lieve  themselves  ;  but  it  goes  no  further." 

"  I  must  ask,"  he  continues,  "a  few  more  ques- 
tions. Did  these  agitations  ever  begin  during  the 
use  of  any  collects  of  the  Church.''  Or  during  the 
preaching  of  any  sermon,  that  had  before  been 
preached  within  consecrated  walls  without  that  ef- 
fect ?    Or  during  the  inculcating  any  other  doctrine, 


1739.]      EXTRAVAGANCIES   OF   THE  MKTHODISTS.  249 


besides  that  of  your  New  Biiili  ?  Arc  the  main  body 
of  these  agents  or  patients,  good  sort  of  people  be- 
fore-Iiand,  or  loose  and  immoral?"  VVhije  the  elder 
bjother  reasoned  thus  sanely  against  flie  cxrravagan- 
cies  whlcli  Wesley  encouraged,  he  cordially  rejoiced 
wTtfTHim  in  the  real  good  vvhicli  ^\  as  done.  I  wish 
you  could  build  not  only  a  school,*'  he  says,  but  a 
church  too  for  the  colliers,  if  there  is  not  any  place 
at  present  where  they  can  meet ;  and  I  shouhl  re- 
I'oice  heartily  to  have  it  endowed,  though  Mr.  White- 
field  were  to  be  tfie  minister  of  it,  provided  the  Bi- 
shop fully  joined."  But  he  saw  to  vvhat  this  course 
was  leading.  Your  distinction,"  he  says,  "  between 
the  discipline  and  doctrine  of  the  church,  is,  1  think, 
not  quite  pertinent;  for  surely  episcopacy  is  matter 
of  doctrine  too:  but  granting  it  otherwise,  you  know 
there  is  no  fear  of  being  cast  out  of  our  synagogue 
for  any  tenets  whatever.  Did  not  Clarke  die  pre- 
ferred ?  VVere  not  Collins  and  Coward  free  from 
anathema.'^  Are  not  Chubb  and  Gordon  now  ca- 
ressed }  My  knowledge  of  this  makes  me  suspect 
VVhitefield  as  if  he  designed  to  provoke  persecution 
by  his  bodings  of  it.  He  has  already  personally  dis- 
obliged tiie  Bishops  of  Gloucester  and  London,  and 
Joubtless  w  ill  do  as  much  by  all  the  rest,  if  they  fall 
Qot  down  before  his  Avhimsies,  and  should  offer  to 
stand  in  his  way.  Now,  if  he  by  his  madness  should 
lay  himself  open  to  the  small  remains  of  discipline 
amongst  us,  (as  by  marrying  without  license,  or  any 
other  way)  and  get  excommunicated  for  his  pains,  I 
am  very  apprehensive  you  would  still  stick  to  him  as 
your  dear  brother;  and  so  though  the  church  would 
not  excommunicate  you,  you  would  excommunicate 
the  church." 

But  Wesley  had  already  set  the  discipline  of  the 
church  at  defiance.  Harvey,  his  pupil  formerly, 
and  one  of  his  first  disciples  at  Oxford,  expostu- 
lated with  him  on  the  irregularity  of  his  conduct, 
and  advised  him  either  to  settle  in  College,  or  to 
accept  a  cure  of  souls.  He  replied,  that  he  had 
no  business  in  College,  having  no  office  there  and 

VOL.  I.  32 


250  EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF   THE  METHODISTS.  [1739. 


DO  pupils ;  and  that  it  would  bo  time  enough  to 
consider  ^vhether  it  were  expedient  to  accept  a 
cure,  when  one  should  be  offered  to  him.  "  In 
the  mean  time,"  he  says,  "  you  think  I  ought  to 
be  still,  because  otherwise  I  should  invade  another? 
office ;  rou  accordingly  ask  how  is  it  that  I  assem- 
ble Chrislinns  who  are  none  of  my  charge,  to  sing 
psalms  and  pray,  and  hear  the  Scriptures  ex- 
pounded :  and  you  think  it  hard  to  justify  doing  this 
in  other  men's  parishes  upon  Catholic  principles. 
Permit  me  to  speak  plainly ;  if  by  Catholic  princi- 
ples, you  mean  any  other  than  scriptural,  they  weigh 
notljing  wilh  mo;  I  allow  no  other  rule,  whether  of 
faith  or  practice,  than  the  Holy  Scriptures."  Har- 
vey had  objected  to  him,  that  by  this  conduct  he 
brought  a  reproach  upon  himself  v\'hich  diminished 
his  power  of  doing  good.  To  this  Wesley  replied 
exuhiiigiy,  ^  I  will  ])ut  you  in  mind,  (though  you 
once  knew  this,  3'ea  and  much  established  me  in  that 
great  truth,)  the  more  evil  men  say  of  me  for  my 
Lord's  s  ikc,  the  more  good  He  will  do  by  me.  That 
it  is  for  His  sake  I  know,  and  He  knovveth,  and  the 
event  agroeth  thereto;  for  He  mightily  confirms  the 
words  1  speak  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  unto  those 
that  hear  them.  O  my  friend,  my  heart  is  moved 
toward  you!  I  fear  you  liaAC  herein  made  shipwreck 
of  the  faith  !  I  fear  Satan,  transformed  into  an  angel 
of  light,  hath  assaulted  you.  and  prevailed  also  !  I  fear 
that  ofTspri;ig  of  hell,  worldly  oi-  mystic  prudence, 
has  drawn  you  away  from  the  sim.plicity  of  the  Gos- 
pel !  How  else  could  you  ever  conceive,  that  the 
being  reviled  and  hated  of  all  men  should  make  us  less 
fit  for  our  Master's  service.''  How  else  could  you 
ever  think  of  saving  yovrscif  and  them  that  hear  you. 
without  being  the  fil/h  and  off'scouring  of  the  icorldf. 
To  this  hour  is  this  Scripture  true;  and  I  therein 
rejoice,  yea,  and  will  rejoice.  Blessed  be  God,  I 
enjoy  the  reproach  of  Christ !  Oh,  may  you  also  be 
vile,  exceeding  vile  lor  His  sake  !  God  forbid  that 
you  should  ever  be  other  than  generally  scandalous, 
I  had  almost  said  universally.    If  any  man  tell  you 


1739.]      KXTRAVAGANCIF.S   OF   THE  METHODISTS. 


201 


there  is  a  new  way  of  Ibllowing  Christ,  he  is  a  liar, 
wul  ihe  truth  is  not  in  him.'''' 

It  was  a  natural  consequence  oi'  this  temper  of 
mind  that  he  shoukl  disregard  any  ecclesiastical 
authority  which  attempted  to   interfere  with  his 

course  of  conduct.     TltpRjc^hnp  nf  piM^tnl^  nilpr  n 

CQijxcu-jatioM  in  which  \Yepley  lAad  confim^fid-to  hiai 
tliC-Jucl  that  people  were  thrown  into  fits  at  his 
meetinj;s,  and  that  he  prayed  over  them,  and  his 
praye^i'  was  often  heard,  desired  him  to  quit  his 
diocese,  where  he  was  not  commissioned  to  preach, 
and  consequently  had  no  business.    Wesley  replied, 

My  business  on  earth  is  to  do  what  good  I  can : 
uherever,  therefore,  I  think  I  can  do  most  good, 
there  must  I  stay  so  long  as  I  think  so ;  at  present 
I  think  I  can  do  most  good  here,  therefore  here  I  stay  : 
being  ordained  as  Fellow  of  a  College,  I  was  not 
limited  to  any  particular  cure,  but  have  an  indeter- 
minate commission  to  preach  the  word  of  God  in  any 
part  of  the  Church  of  England.  I  do  not,  therefore, 
conceive  that  in  preaching  here  by  this  commission, 
I  break  any  human  law.  When  I  am  convinced  I  do, 
then  it  Avill  be  time  to  ask  '  shall  I  obey  God  or 
raan.-^'  But  if  I  should  be  convinced  in  the  mean 
while,  that  I  could  advance  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  souls  in  any  other  place  more  than  in 
Bristol,  in  that  hour,  by  God's  help,  I  will  go  hence; 
which  till  then  I  may  not  do." 

Yet  while  he  thus  set  at  nought  the  authority  of 
the  Bishop,  he  would  have  revived  a  practice  which 
had  fallen  into  disuse  throughout  all  the  reformed 
^Churches,  as  being  little  congenial  to  the  spirit  of 
the  Reformation.  The  society  at  Bristol  passed  a 
resolution  that  all  the  members  should  obey  the 
Church  to  which  they  belonged,  by  observing  all 
Fridays  in  the  year,  as  days  of  fasting  or  abstinence; 
.ind  they  agreed  that  as  many  as  had  opportunity 
lihould  meet  on  that  day  and  spend  an  hour  together 
i;n  prayer.  This  probably  gave  currency,  if  it  did 
;iot  occasion,  a  report  which  now  prevailed  that  he 
jiyas  a  Papist,  if  not  a  Jesuit.    This  report,  he  affirms, 

i 

I 


•i5'f         EXTRAVAGANCIES   OF  THE  METHODISTS,     [1 739. 


was  begun  by  persons  who  were  either  bigottecJ 
Dissenters,  or  Clergymen  ;  and  they  spoke  either  in 
gross  ignorance,  not  underslanding  what  the  princi- 
ples of  Popery  were,  or  in  wilful  falsehood,  thinking 
to  serve  their  own  cause.  "  Now  take  this  to  your- 
selves," he  says,  '•  whosoever  ye  are,  high  or  low, 
Dissenters  or  Churchmen,  clergy  or  laity,  who  have 
advanced  this  shameless  charge,  and  digest  it  how 
you  can  !"  O  ye  Ibols,"  he  exclaims,  "  when  will 
ye  understand  that  (he  preaching  justification  by 
faith  alone,  the  allowing  no  meritorious  cause  of 
justification,  but  the  death  and  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  and  no  conditional  or  instrumental  cause  but 
iaith,  is  overturning  Popery  from  the  foundation  ? 
When  will  ye  understand  that  the  most  destructive 
of  all  those  errors  which  Rome,  the  mother  of  abo- 
minations, hath  brought  forth  (compared  to  which 
transubstantiation  and  a  hundred  more,  are  trifles 
light  as  air,)  is,  that  we  are  justified  by  u-orks,  or  (to 
express  the  same  thing  a  httle  more  decently)  by 
faith  and  works.  Now,  do  1  preach  this  I  did  for 
ten  years:  1  was  fundamentally  a  Papist  and  knew 
it  not.  But  I  do  now  testify  to  all  (and  it  is  the  very 
point  for  asserting  which  1  have  to  this  day  been 
called  in  question,)  that  ?io  good  works  can  be  done 
before  justification^  nor..:  tuiudt,  have  not  in  them  the  nature 
of  sin.'"  This  doctrine,  however,  was  not  preached 
in  all  the  naked  absurdity  of  its  consequences. 

Charles  Wesley,  who  was  now  pursuing  the  course 
of  itinerant  preaching  which  Whitefield  had  begun, 
jointed  his  brother  at  Bristol  about  this  time ;  and 
it  so  happens  that  the  manner  of  his  preaching  and 
the  method  which  was  observed  in  their  meetings 
are  described  by  one  whom  curiosity  and  a  religious 
temper  led  to  hear  him  in  a  field  near  the  city.  I 
found  him,"  says  this  person,  "  standing  on  a  table 
board  in  an  erect  posture,  with  his  hands  and  eyes 
lifted  up  to  heaven  in  prayer:  he  prayed  with  un- 
common fervour,  fluency,  and  variety  of  proper  ex- 
pressions. He  then  preached  about  an  hour  in  such 
a  manner  as  I  scarce  ever  heard  any  man  preach : 


1739.]     EXTRAVAGANCIES   OF  THE  METHODISTS.  2/)3 

though  1  have  heard  many  a  finer  sermon,  accord- 
ing to  the  common  taste  or  acceptation  of  seimons, 
I  never  heard  any  man  discover  such  evident 
signs  of  a  vehement  desire,  or  hibour  so  earnestly 
to  convince  his  hearers  that  they  were  all  by  nature 
in  a  sinful,  Inst,  undone  state.  He  showed  how 
great  a  change  a  faith  in  Christ  would  produce  in 
the  whole  man,  and  that  every  man  who  is  in 
Christ,  that  is,  who  believes  in  him  unto  salvation, 
is  a  new  creature.  Nor  did  he  fail  to  press  how 
ineffectual  their  faith  would  be  to  justify  them  unless 
it  wrought  by  love,  purified  their  hearts,  and  was 
productive  of  good  works.  With  uncommon  fer- 
vour he  acquitted  himself  as  an  ambassador  of 
Christ,  beseeching  them  in  his  name,  and  praying 
them  in  his  stead  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  And  al- 
though he  used  no  notes,  nor  had  any  thing  in  his  hand 
but  a  Bible,  yet  he  delivered  his  thoughts  in  a  rich, 
copious  variety  of  expression,  and  with  so  much  pro- 
priety, that  I  could  not  observe  any  thing  incoherent 
or  inanimate  through  the  whole  performance." 

This  person,  whose  name  was  Joseph  *  Williams, 
was  a  dissenter  of  Kidderminster  ;  and  having  been 
accustomed  to  a  dry  and  formal  manner  of  preaching, 
he  was  tiie  more  impressed  by  the  eloquence  of  one 
whose  mind  was  enriched  by  cultivation  as  well  as 
heated  with  devotion.  His  account  of  the  meeting 
in  the  evening  is  more  curious.  The  room  was 
thronged ;  but  in  the  middle  there  was  a  convenient 
place  provided  for  the  minister  to  stand  or  sit  on. 
They  sung  a  hymn  before  he  came,  but  broke  it  off 
On  his  appearing;  and  he  expounded  part  of  a  chap- 
ter of  St.  John  v\  what  Mr.  Williams  calls  a  most 
sweet,  savoury,  spiritual  manner.  This  was  followed 
by  another  hymn,  that  by  more  expounding,  and  that 
again  by  more  singing:  Wesley  then  prayed  over  a 
great  number  of  bills  which  were  put  up  by  the  soci- 
ety, about  twenty  of  which  respected  spiritual  cases, 

*  Charles  Wesley  says  of  this  Mr.  Williams  in  his  journal,  "1 
knov,  not  of  what  denomination  he  is,  nor  is  it  material ;  for  he 
has  the  mind  wliich  was  in  Christ." 


254         EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  TKE  METHOi>lSTS.  [l739. 


and  he  concluded  with  a  blessing.  The  whole  ser- 
vice took  up  nearly  two  hours.  "But  never  sure," 
says  Williams,  "  did  1  hear  such  praying;  never  did 
1  see  or  hear  such  evident  marks  of  fervency  in  the 
service  ofGod.  At  the  close  of  every  petition  a  se- 
rious Amen,  like  a  gentle  rushing  sound  of  waters,  ran 
through  the  whole  audience,  with  such  a  solemn  air 
as  quite  distinguished  it  from  whatever  of  that  nature 
I  have  heard  attending  the  responses  in  the  Church 
service.  If  there  be  such  a  thing  as  heavenly  music 
upon  earth  I  heard  it  there.  If  there  be  sucii  an  en- 
joyment, such  an  attainment  as  Heaven  upon  earth, 
numbers  in  that  society  seemed  to  possess  it.  As  for 
my  own  part,  1  do  not  remember  my  heart  to  have 
been  so  elevated  in  divine  love  and  praise  as  it  was 
there  and  then  for  many  years  past,  if  ever :  and  an 
atfecting  sense  and  savour  thereof  abode  in  my  mind 
many  weeks  after." 

This  good  man  would  not  have  thus  spoken  with 
unqualified  approbation,  had  he  been  present  at  any 
more  violent  exhibition.  But  the  "outward  signs" 
about  this  time  were  for  a  while  suspended ;  the 
more  susceptible  subjects  had  gone  through  the  dis- 
ease, and  the  symptoms  which  it  assumed  in  others 
were  such  as  would  awaken  horror  in  the  beholders, 
rather  than  excite  in  them  any  desire  of  going  through 
the  same  initiation.  "  Many,"  says  Wesley,  "  were 
deeply  convinced,  but  none  were  delivered  from  that 
painful  conviction.  The  children  came  to  the  birth,  but 
there  was  not  strength  to  bring  forth.  I  fear  we  have 
grieved  the  Spirit  of  the  jealous  God  by  questioning 
his  work,  and  that,  therefore,  he  is  withdrawn  from 
us  for  a  season."  He  now  returned  to  London,  and 
preached  triumphantly  at  Whitefield's  favourite  sta- 
tions— Moorfields  and  Kenri.igton  Common.  But 
his  c:i'>*atest_triujmph  was  in  fiiiding^lhat^his  mother 
jiFIfili^li' acquiesced  in  the  ^vhoje  of  his^grgc^^^T 
She  told  KTm  That  till  lately  she  had  scarceT^^^^T 
a  presPi.t  forgiveness  of  sins,  or  of  God's  Spirit  bear-. 
ing^wTtness  with  our  spirit ;  miich  less  had  she  ima- 
gine'dHiaf  it  was  the  common  privilege  of  all  true  be- 


1739.]      F.XTRAVAGAAXIES  OF  THE  METH0D1ST3.  255 


lievcrs,  and  tlierelbre  she  had  never  dared  ask  it  for 
herself.  But  recently  when  her  son-in-law,  Hall,  iii 
delivering  the  cup  to  her,  pronounced  these  words, 
the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  which  was  given  for 
thee,  the  words  struck  through  her  heart,  "and  she 
then  knew  that  for  Christ's  sake  God  had  forgiven 
her  all  her  sins.  Wesley  asked  wheliicr  his  father 
had  not  the  same  faith,  and  whether  he  had  not 
preached  it  to  others.  She  replied,  he  had  it  him- 
self, and  declared,  a  little  before  his  death,  he  had 
no  darkness,  no  fear,  no  doubt  of  his  salvation;  but 
that  she  did  not  remember  to  have  heard  him  preach 
upon  it  explicitly ;  and  therefore  supposed  that  he 
regarded  it  as  the  peculiar  blessing  of  a  few,  not  as 
promised  to  all  the  people  of  God.  Mrs.  Wesley 
was  then  seventy  years  of  age  ;  and  this  account  may 
induce  a  reasonable  suspicion  that  her  powers  of 
mind  must  have  been  impaired:  she  would  not  else 
have  supposed  that  any  other  faith  or  degree  of  faith 
^yas  necessary,  than  that  in  which  her  husband  had 
lived  and  died.  It  is  wisely,  as  well  as  eloquently 
said  by  Fuller  the  Worthy,  in  one  of  his  sermons, 
"  Of  such  as  deny  that  formerly  we  had  in  our  church- 
es all  truth  necessary  to  salvation,  I  ask  Joseph's 
question  to  his  brethren,  Is  your  father  ivcU?  the  old 
man — is  he  yet  alive  ?  So,  how  fare  the  souls  of  their 
sires,  and  the  ghosts  of  their  grandfathers  }  are  they 
yet  alive  .^^  do  they  still  survive  in  bliss,  in  happi- 
ness ?  Oh  no  !  they  are  dead ;  dead  in  soul,  dead  in 
body,  dead  tenaporally,  dead  eternally,  dead  and 
damned,  if  so  be  we  had  not  all  truth  necessaj-y  to 
salvation  before  their  time." 

This  was  a  great  affliction  to  her  son  Samuel. 
He  wrote  to  her,  "It  was  with  exceeding  concern 
and  grief  I  heard  you  had  countenanced  a  spread- 
ing delusion,  so  far  as  to  be  one  of  J  ack's  congre- 
j  gatlon.  Is  it  not  enough  that  I  am  bereft  of  both 
I  ray  brothers,  but  must  my  mother  follow  too  ^  I 
earnestly  beseech  the  Almighly  to  preserve  you 
from  joining  a  schism  at  the  close  of  your  life,  as 
you  wero  unfortunately  engaged  in  one  at  the 


256         EXTRAVAGANCIES   OF  THE  METHODISTS.  [1739. 


beginning  of  it.  They  boast  of  you  already  as  a 
disciple.  Charles  has  told  John  Bentham  that  1 
do  not  differ  much,  if  we  understand  one  another. 
I  am  afraid  I  must  be  forced  to  advertise,  such  is 
their  apprehension,  or  their  charity.  But  they  de- 
sign separation.  Things  will  take  their  natural 
course,  without  an  especial  interposition  of  Pro- 
vidence. They  are  already  forbid  all  the  pulpits 
in  London,  and  to  preach  in  that  diocese  is  actual 
schism.  In  all  likelihood  it  will  come  to  the  same 
all  over  England,  if  the  Bishops  have  courage  enough. 
They  leave  off  the  liturgy  in  the  fields :  though  Mr. 
Whitefield  expresses  his  value  for  it,  he  never  once 
read  it  to  his  tatterdemalions  on  a  common.  Their 
societies  are  sufficient  to  dissolve  all  other  societies 
but  thric  own  ;  will  any  man  of  common  sense  or  spi- 
rit suffer  any  domestic  to  be  in  a  bond  engaged  to  re- 
late every  thing  without  reserve  to  five  or  ten  people, 
that  concerns  the  person's  conscience,  how  much 
s«ever  it  may  concern  the  family  Ought  any  marri- 
ed persons  to  be  there,  unless  husband  and  wife  be 
there  together?  This  is  literally  putting  asunder 
whom  God  hath  joined  together.  As  I  told  Jack,  I 
am  not  afraid  the  church  should  excommunicate  him, 
discipline  is  at  too  low  an  ebb  ;  but  that  he  should 
excommunicate  the  church.  It  is  pretty  near  it. 
Holiness  and  good  works  are  not  so  much  as  condi- 
tions of  our  acceptance  with  God.  Love-feasts  are 
introduced,  and  extemporary  prayers  and  expositions 
of  Scripture,  which  last  are  enough  to  bring  in  all 
confusion  ;  nor  is  it  likely  they  will  want  any  mira- 
cles to  support  them.  He  only  can  stop  them  from 
being  a  formed  sect,  in  a  very  little  time,  who  ridefh 
the  madness  of  the  people.  Ecclesiastical  censures 
have  lost  their  terrors,  thank  fanaticism  on  the  one 
hand  and  atheism  on  the  other.  To  talk  of  persecu- 
tion, tiierefore,  from  thence  is  mere  insult.  Poor 
Brown,  who  gave  name  and  rise  to  the  first  separa- 
tists, though  he  repented  every  vein  of  his  heart, 
could  never  undo  the  mischief  he  had  done." 


1739.]      EXTRAVAGANCIES   OF   THE  METHODISTS.  257 


^arauel  Wesley  *  died  within  three  weeks  after 
the  date  oTtHis  letter ;  and  John  says  in  his  journal, 
♦*  We  could  not  but  rejoice  at  hearing  from  one  who 
had  attended  my  brother  in  all  his  weakness,  that 
several  days  before  he  went  hence,  God  had  given 
him  a  calm  and  full  assurance  of  his  interest  in  Christ. 
Oh !  may  every  one  who  opposes  it  be  tlius  f  con- 
vinced that  this  doctrine  is  of  God  !"  Wesley  can- 
not be  suspected  of  intentional  deceit ;  yet  w  ho  is 
there  who  upon  reading  this  passage  would  suppose 
that  Samuel  had  died  after  an  illness  of  four  hours  ? — 
well  might  he  protest  against  the  apprehension  or  the 
charity  of  those  who  were  so  eager  to  hold  him  up  to 
the  world  as  their  convert.  The  state  of  mind  which 
this  good  man  enjoyed  had  nothing  in  common  with 
the  extravagant  doctrine  of  assurance  which  his  bro- 
thers were  preaching  with  such  vehemence  during 
the  ebullition  of  their  enthusiasm;  it  was  the  sure 
and  certain  hope  of  a  sincere  and  humble  Christian, 
who  trusted  in  the  merits  of  his  Saviour  and  the  mer- 
cy of  his  God.  He  died  as  he  had  Jived,  in  that  es- 
sentialjaUji  which  has  been  common  to  alTChristians 
iii  all  ages  ; — that  faith  wherein  he  had  been  trained 
up",  whtch  had  been  rooted  in  him  by  a  sound  edu- 
cation, and  confirmed  by  diligent  study,  and  by  his 
ojvn  ripe  judgment.  And  to  that  faith  Wesley  him- 
self imperceptibly  refarned  as  time  and  experience 

1  *  In  the  History  of  Dissenters  by  David  Bogue  andJames  Ben- 
nett, (vol.  iii.  p.  9.)  Samuel  Wesley  is  called  "  a  worldly  priest, 
who  hated  all  pretence  to  more  religion  than  our  neighbours,  as 
m infallible  mark  of  a  dissenter! !"  The  imiable  spirit  which  is 
iisplayed  in  this  sentence,  its  liberality,  its  charity,  and  its  regard 
.0  truth,  require  no  comment. 

t  This  passage  may  probably  have  been  the  cause  of  the  breach 
ictween  John  VVcsley  and  his  brother's  family,  and  to  that  breach 
he  preservation  of  Samuel's  letters  is  owing.  Wesley  was  very 
lesirous  of  getting  the  whole  correspondence  into  his  possession, 
'  but  the  daughter  and  grand-daughter  of  Samuel  being  offended 
it  his  conduct,  would  never  deliver  them  to  him.  It  was  taken 
or  granted  that  he  would  have  suppressed  them.  They  gave 
lu  iii  lo  Mr,  Badcock  with  a  view  to  their  publication  after  \Ves- 
'  }  -  death,  and  Badcock  dying  before  then,  gave  them  to  Dr 
'nt'-tloy  with  the  same  intent." 
VOL.  I.  :vi 


25H       EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  THE  METHODISTS.  [1739. 


taught  him  to  cm-recUi is  aberrations.  In  his  old  age 
he  said  to  Mr.  Melville  Home  these  memorable 
words :  "  When  fifty  years  ago  my  brother  Charles 
and  I,  in  simplicity  of  our  hearts,  told  the  good  peo- 
ple of  England,  that  unless  they  kneiv  their  sins  were 
forgiven,  they  were  under  the  wrath  and  curse  ofGod, 
I  marvel,  Melville,  they  did  not  stone  us!  The  Me- 
thodists, I  hope,  know  better  now ;  we  preach  assu- 
rance as  we  always  did,  as  a  common  privilege  of 
the  children  of  God ;  but  we  do  not  enforce  it,  under 
the  pain  of  damnation,  denounced  on  all  who  enjoy 
it  not." 

At  this  time  Wesley  believed  that  he  differed  in 
no  point  from  the  Church  of  England,  but  preached 
her  fundamental  doctrines,  as  they  were  clearly  laid 
down,  both  in  her  prayers,  articles,  and  homilies. 
But  from  those  clergy  who  in  reality  dissented  from 
the  church,  though  they  owned  it  not,  he  differed,  he 
said,  in  these  points  ;  they  spoke  ofjustification  either 
as  the  same  thing  with  sanctification,  or  as  something 
consequent  upon  it ;  he  believed  justification  to  be 
wholly  distinct  from  sanctification,  and  necessarily 
antecedent  to  it.  The  difference  would  have  been 
of  little  consequence  had  it  consisted  only  in  this  lo- 
gomachy :  how  many  thousand  and  ten  thousand 
Christians  have  taken,  and  will  take,  the  right i 
course  to  heaven,  without  understanding,  thinking, 
or  perhaps  hearing  of  these  terms,  but  satisfied  with 
the  hope,  and  safe  in  the  promise  of  their  salva- 
tion !  They  spake  of  our  own  holiness  and  good 
works,  he  said,  as  the  cause  of  our  justification} 
he  believed  that  the  death  and  righteousness  of 
Christ  were  the  whole  and  sole  cause.  They 
spake  of  good  works  as  a  condition  of  justification, 
necessarily  previous  to  it :  he  believed  no  good  wo  ' 
could  be  previous  to  it,  and  consequently  could  n 
be  a  condition  of  it ;  "  but  that  we  are  justified  (b 
ing  till  that  hour  ungodly,  and  therefore  incapable 
doing  any  good  work)  by  faith  alone — faith  witho 
works — faith  including  no  good  work,  though  it  pr 
duces  all."    They  spake  of  sanctification  as  if 


1739.]     EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  THE  METHODISTS.  259 


were  an  outward  thing,  which  consisted  in  doing  no 
harm,  and  in  doing  what  is  called  good  :  he  believed 
that  it  Avas  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man  ;  a  partici- 
pation of  the  divine  nature  ;  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ  ; 
the  renewal  of  our  heart  after  the  image  of  him  that  cre- 
ated us.  They  spake  of  the  new  birth  as  an  outward 
thing ;  as  if  it  were  no  more  than  baptism,  or  at  most 
a  change  from  a  vicious  to  what  is  called  a  virtuous 
life:  he  believed  that  it  was  an  entire  change  of  our 
inmost  nature,  from  the  image  of  the  devil,  wherein 
we  are  born,  to  the  image  of  God.  There  is,  there- 
fore," he  sajs,  a  wide,  essential,  fundamental,'  irre- 
concileable  difference  between  us;  so  that  if  they 
speak  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  1  am  found  a  false 
witness  before  God  ;  but  if  I  teach  the  way  of  God  in 
truth,  they  are  blind  leaders  of  the  blind."  But 
where  learnt  he  this  exaggerated  and  monstrous  no- 
tion of  the  innate  depravity  of  man  }  and  who  taught 
him  that  man,  who  was  created  in  the  image  of  his 
Maker,  was  depraved  into  an  image  of  the  devil  af 
birth.'*  assuredly  not  He  who  said,  Suffer  little  chil- 
dren to  come  unto  me.,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

True  old  Christianity,  he  tells  us,  was  now  every 
where  spoken  against,  under  the  new  name  of  Metho- 
dism, hi  reality,  the  good  which  Methodism  might 
produce  was  doubtful,  for  there  had  been  no  time  as 
yet  to  prove  the  stability  of  its  converts;  and  it  was, 
moreover,  from  its  very  nature,  private,  while  the  ex- 
cesses and  extravagancies  of  the  sect  were  public  and 
notorious.  Samuel  Wesley,  when  he  said  that  mira- 
cles would  not  be  wanting  to  support  them,  foresaw 
as  clearly  what  would  be  the  natural  progress  of  these 
things,  as  he  did  their  certain  tendency  and  inevita- 
ble end.  \Vealey_was  fully  satisfied  that  the^arpx- 
ysms  whicji  he  causecTui  his  he'arersTjy  Tirs'preach- 
in^g^we  re~reTic  ve  "by  "Tusp  ray  e  r  s ;  If  was  easy  after 
tKisTo]£eTsuji^^^^  he,  and  such  of  his  dis- 

cigTesjis^hatl^fait^^^  could  heal  diseases  and 

ouOevilsj  Accordingly  he  relates  the  case  of 
a  mad  woman,  as  a  fresh  proo^  thoit  ivhaf soever  ye  shall 


260         EXTRAVAGANCIf:S  OP  THE  METHOBISTS.  [1739. 


ashi  believing^  ye  shall  receive.  This  person  had  been 
so  decidedly  frantic,  that  it  was  necessary  to  fasten 
her  down  in  her  bed ;  "  but  upon  prayer  made  for 
her,  she  was  instantly  relieved  and  restored  to  a 
sound  mind."  The  manner  in  whicli  some  persons 
were  tormented  perplexed  Wesley  for  a  while,  and 
gave  him  some  concern : — he  suspected  craziness, 
where  imposture  might  have  better  explained  the 
symptoms;  but  having  recourse  to  bibliomancy  to 
know  what  would  be  the  issue  of  these  things,  he  was 
satisfied  by  hghting  upon  a  text,  Avhich  certainly  was 
never  more  unworthily  applied — Glory  be  to  God  in 
the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  ioivards  men. — 
Thus  deluding  himself,  when  he  was  sent  for  to  one 
of  these  women,  (for  the  persons  who  acted  the  part 
of  demoniacs,  or  Avho  mistook  hysterical  feelings  for 
possession,  were  generally  females,)  he  prayed  God 
to  bruise  Satati  under  his  feet,  and  the  patient  imme- 
diately cried  out  vehemently.  He  is  gone — he  is  gone  ! 
More  violent  instances  occurred  in.  Bristol  and  Kings- 
wood  ;  and  disgusting  though  they  are,  they  are  of 
too  much  importance  in  the  history  of  Wesley  and  of 
Methodism,  to  be  passed  over  in  silence,  or  slightly 
to  be  noticed.  Returning  from  Kingswood  one  even- 
ing, he  was  exceedingly  pressed  to  go  back  to  a  young 
woman.  "  The  fact,"  he  says.  "  I  nakedly  relate,  and 
leave  every  man  to  his  own  judgment  of  it.  I  went. 
She  was  nineteen  or  tw  enty  years  old,  but  could  not 
■wrife'oT  read.  I  found  her  on  the  bed,  two  or  three 
persons  holding  her.  It  was  a  terrible  sight.  An- 
guish, horror,  and  despair  above  all  description,  ap- 
peared in  her  pale  face.  The  thousand  distortions 
of  her  whole  body  showed  how  the  dogs  of  hell  were 
gnawing  at  her  heart.  The  shrieks  intermixed  were 
scarce  to  be  endured;  but  her  stony  eyes  could  not 
weep.  She  screamed  out,  as  words  could  find  their 
"way,  '  I  am  damned,  damned;  lost  for  ever!  Six 
days  ago  you  "might  have  helped  me — but  ifTs'past — 
I  am  the  Devil's  now — I  have  given  myself  to  him — 
his  I  am — him  I  must  serve— with  him  I  niust_go_to 
hell— rl-AviU  be  his— I  will  serve  him— I  will  go^jaiUj 


1739.]     EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  THE  METHODISTS.  261 


him  to  hell — I  cannot  be  saved— I  will  not  be  saved 
— ^Tfnust,  I  will,  I  will  be  damned  !'  She  then  began 
praying  to  the  devil :  w  e  began,  '  Arm  of  the  Lord, 
awake,  awake  I'  She  immediately  sunk  down  as 
asleep ;  but  as  soon  as  we  left  off,  broke  out  again 
with  inexpressible  vehemence.  '  Stony  hearts,  break  ! 
I  am  a  w  arning  to  you.  Break,  break,  poor  stony 
hearts!  Will  you  not  break  What  can  be  done 
more  for  stony  hearts  1  am  damned  that  you  may 
be  saved  !  Now  break,  now  break,  poor  stony  hearts  ! 
You  need  not  be  damned,  though  I  must.'  She  then 
fixed  her  eyes  on  the  corner  of  the  ceihng,  and  said, 
*  There  he  is  !  aye,  there  he  is  !  Come,  good  devil, 
come  !  Take  me  away  !  You  said  you  would  dash 
my  brains  out :  come,  do  it  quickly  !  I  am  yours — I 
will  be  yours  I  take  me  away  !'  We  interrupted  her 
by  calling  again  upon  God  :  on  which  she  sunk  down 
as  before,  and  another  young  woman  began  to  roar 
as  loud  as  she  had  done.  My  brother  now  came  in. 
it  being  about  nine  o'clock.  We  continued  in  prayer 
till  past  eleven,  when  God,  in  a  moment,  spoke  peace 
into  the  soul ;  first,  of  the  first-tormented,  and  then 
of  the  other  ;  and  they  both  joined  in  singing  praise 
to  JMm  who  had  stilled  the  enemy  and  the  avenger.'' 
In  these^  words  Wesley  d<?scribes  this  hideous 
sccne^of  frenzy  ajid^fanaficTsm,  eager  To  proclaim  it 
as  a  mamlrstatiQU  of  his  power,  instead  of  seekiiig  to 
grevgijn^Ije  repetition  of  such  ravings.  The  fits  and 
convulsions  which  had  lately  been  so  frequent,  were 
now  suspended,  and  this  new  description  of  outward 
signs  took  its  course, — a  more  suspicious  description, 
as  well  as  more  scandalous  r.nd  more  shocking.  On 
the  second  day  after  the  case  in  Kingswood,  Wesley 
was  called  to  a  woman  whom  he  found  lying  on  the 
ground,  sometimes  gnashing  her  teeth,  sometimes 
roaring  and  struggling  with  such  force,  especially 
when  the  name  of  Jesus  was  named,  that  three  or 
four  persons  could  scarcely  hold  her.  She  had  been 
in  this  CG!idition  during  the  whole  night.  After  they 
had  prayed  over  her,  the  violence  of  her  symptoms 
was  abated :  he  left  her,  but  was  again  summoned 


262         EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  THE  METHODISTS.  [1739. 


in  the  course  of  the  evening.  "  I  was  unwilling,"  he 
says,  "  indeed  afraid  to  go,  thinking  it  would  not 
avail,  unless  some  who  were  strong  in  faith  were  to 
wrestle  with  God  for  her.  I  opened  ijiy  Testament 
oti  those  words,  /  ivus  afraid,  and  went  and  hid  thy  ta- 
lent in  the  earth.  I  stood  reproved,  and  went  imme- 
diately. She  began  screaming  before  I  came  into 
the  room ;  then  broke  out  into  a  horrid  laughter, 
mixed  with  blasphemy,  grievous  to  hear.  One  who, 
from  many  circumstances,  apprehended  a  preterna- 
tural agent  to  be  concerned  in  this,  asking,  'How 
didst  thou  dare  to  enter  into  a  Christian  was  an- 
swered, '  She  is  not  a  Christian;  she  is  mine.'  '  Dost 
thou  not  tremble  at  the  name  of  Jesus  ?'  he  asked. 
No  words  followed  ;  but  she  shrunk  back,  and  trem- 
bled exceedingly.  '  Art  thou  not  increa^-ing  thy  own 
damnation?'  !t  was  faintly  answered,  '  Aye,  aye  !' 
which  was  followed  by  fresh  cursing  and  blasphem- 
ing. My  brother  coming  in,  she  cried  out,  '  Preacher! 
Field-preacher  !  I  do  not  love  tield-preaching.'  This 
was  repealed  two  hours  together,  with  spitting,  and 
all  the  expressions  of  strong  aversion.  We  left  her 
at  twelve,  but  called  again  about  noon  the  next  day: 
and  now  it  was  that  God  showed  he  heareth  prayer. 
AH  her  pangs  ceased  in  a  moment.  She  was  filled 
with  peace,  and  knew  that  the  son  of  wickedness 
was  departed  from  her." 

If  Wesley  himself  were  the  questioner  in  this  dia- 
logue with  the  supposed  devil,  the  woman  acted  her 
part  readily  :  if  she  were  interrogated  by  any  other 
person,  the  scene  bears  strong  marks  of  having 
been  prepared  ;  for  that  some  of  his  followers  were 
now  beginning  to  get  up  exhibitions  of  this  kind,  is 
made  probable  by  the  next  cases  which  he  has  re- 
corded. Beifii^  called  in  to  another  female  demoniac 
at  Kingswood,  iie  set  oufonliorseback.  Ttrained 
heavily,  and  the  woman,  when  he  was  three  miles 
off,  cried  out,  "  Yonder  comes  Wesley,  galloping  as 
fast  as  he  can !"  a  circumstance  which  it  certainly 
required  no  aid  from  the  devil  to  foresee.  The 
ordinary  symptoms  appeared  ;  and  one  who  was 


1739.      EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  THE  MKTHODISTS. 


263 


clearlj:- convinced  that  this  was  no .imtural  disorder, 
said,  I  think  Satan  is  let  loose ;  I  fear  he  will  not 
stop  here  r'  and  added,  "I  command  thee,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  tell  if  thou  hast  commis- 
sion to  torment  any  other  soul  ?"  It  was  immediately 
answered,  "  I  have  ;"  and  two  women  were  named, 
who  were  at  some  distance,  and  in  perfect  health. 
If  this  was  repeated  to  the  women,  which  probably 
it  would  be,  it  might  easily  frighten  them  into  a  fit, 
prepared  as  they  already  were  by  Methodism.  Wes- 
ley called  the  next  evening  at  a  house  where  he 
found  them  both,  and  presently  both  were  in  agonies. 
The  violent  convulsions  all  over  their  bodies  are 
said  by  Wesley  to  be  such  as  "  words  cannot  de- 
scribe, and  their  cries  and  groans  too  horrid  to  be 
borne,  till  one  of  them,  in  a  tone  not  to  be  expressed^ 
said,  'Where  is  your  faith  now.?  Come,  go  to 
prayers !  I  will  pray  with  you.  Our  Father  which 
art  in  heaven  !'  We  took  the  advice,  from  whomso- 
ever it  camcy  and  poured  out  our  souls  before  God, 

till  L  y  C  r's  agonies  so  increased,  that  it 

seemed  she  was  in  the  pangs  of  death.  But  in  a 
moment  God  spoke ;  she  knew  his  voice,  and  botl;i 
her  body  and  soul  were  healed.    We  continued  in 

prayer  till  near  one,  when  S  y  J  s's  voice 

was  also  changed,  and  she  began  strongly  to  call 
upon  God.  This  she  did  for  the  greatest  part  of  the 
night.  In  the  morning  we  renewed  our  prayers, 
whilst  she  was  crying  continually,  "  I  burn  !  I  burn  ! 
Oh,  what  shall  I  do !  I  have  a  fire  within  me — I 

j  cannot  bear  it.    Lord  Jesus,  help  !" 

I  Charles  was  not  so  credulous  in  such  cases  as  jjis 
brother,  .^hat  the  body  would  sometnnes  partake 
ofthe  violent  emotions  of  the  soul,  and  sink  under 
^^^ia^^i^U-i^thidb^jhc  preacher  had  raised  he  could 
not  doubt,  because  it  often  occurred  under  his  own 
eyes  to  persons  whose  sincerity  could  not  be  im- 
peached ;  but  he  saw  that  this  was  not  always  in- 
voluntary, he  frequently  attempted  to  check  it  with 
success,  and  he  sometimes  detected  imposition. 
\  woman  at  Kingswood  was  distorting  herself,  and 


261         EXTRAVAGANCIES  OF  THE  METHODISTS.  [1739. 


crying  out  loudly  while  he  preached ;  she  became 
quite  calm  when  he  assured  her  that  he  did  not 
think  the  better  of  her  for  it.  A  girl  at  Bristol  being 
questioned  judiciously  concerning  her  frequent  fits 
and  trances,  confessed  that  what  she  did  was  for  the 
purpose  of  making  Mr.  Wesley  take  notice  of  her. 

"  To-day,"  he  says  in  his  journal,  "  one  came 
who  was  pleased  to  fall  into  a  fit  for  my  entertain- 
ment. He  beat  himself  heartily :  I  thought  it  a  pity 
to  hinder  him;  so  instead  of  singing  over  him  as  had 
often  been  done,  we  left  him  to  recover  at  his  leisure. 
A  girl  as  she  began  her  crj-,  I  ordered  to  be  carried 
out:  her  convulsions  were  so  vj^olent  as  Jo  take 
away  the  use  of  her  limbs  tln  tlieyTaHrTier  vvrthout 
af  the  door,  and  left  her-;_iEEaIsbe  immediatcjy 
lo uad Ji€u:  legSj;,_ an^^^^  Some  very  unstill 

sisters,  who  always  took  care  to  stand  near  me,  and 
tried  who  could  cry  loudest,  since  I  have  had  them 
removed  out  of  my  sight,  have  been  as  quiet  as 
lambs.  The  first  night  I  preached  here,  half  my 
words  were  lost  through  the  noise  of  their  outcries; 
last  night  before  I  began,  I  gave  public  notice  that 
whosoever  cried  so  as  to  drown  my  voice,  should 
without  any  man's  hurting  or  judging  them,  be  gently 
carried  to  the  furthest  corner  of  the  room :  but  my 
porters  had  no  employment  the  whole  night." 


CHAPTER  IX. 


WESLEV'S   VIEWS.  STATE  OP   KELIGIOX   IN  ENGLAND. 

Wesley  had  now  proposed  to  himself  a  clear  and 
determinate  object.  What  had  from  time  to  time 
been  effected  in  the  monastic  families  of  the  Romish 
establishment,  when  the  laws  of  those  institutions 
were  relaxed  and  the  spirit  had  evaporated,  he 
wished  to  do  upon  a  wider  theatre  and  with  a  nobler 
purpose.  He Jbpped  to  give  a  ne^  impulse  to  the 
Church  of  ^nglsmd,  to  awaken  its  dormant  zeal, 
inTuselife^Tiifo"  a  body  where  "noThing  but  life  was 
wanting,  and  lead  the  way  to  the  performance  of 
duties  which  the  State  had  blindly  overlooked,  and 
the  Church  had  scandalously  neglected :  thus  would 
he  become  the  author  of  a  second  Reformation, 
whereby  all  that  had  been  left  undone  in  the  former 
would  be  completed.  And  here  it  will  be  convenient 
to  look  back  upon  the  causes  and  circumstances 
which  prepared  the  way  for  him,  and  made  it  desira- 
ble, even  according  to  human  perceptions,  that  such 
an  agent  in  the  moral  world  should  be  raised  up. 
This  will  be  rendered  more  ititelligible  by  a  brief 
retrospect  of  the  religious  history  of  England. 

Christianity  at  its  beginning  was  preached  to  the 
poor,  and  durliig  The  first  centurfes  grad'u'ally  made 
i^s  way  up ;  yet  even  tlien  it  was  the  religion  of 
towns  and  cities,  so  that  after  its  triumph  was  esta- 
blished, the  same  word  came  at  length  to  signily  a 
villager  and  a  heathen.  When  the  Romaj.1  empixe 
was  broken  up,  the  work  prcon version,  especially 
in  these  northern  countries,  was  io  begin  again; 
the  missionaries'tTien"Tooked  for  proselytes  in  courts, 
they  converted  queens  and  kiiigs.  who  had  good  po- 
litical reasons  for  accepting  their  instructions,  and 
Christianity  made  its  way  down.  Intellect  was 
M(  \  rr  more  benefieialiy  emploved,  and  never  obtain- 

\ui,.  I.  ;u 


266 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


ed  a  more  signal  tiiumph.  Bloody  idolatries  were 
overthrown  ;  all  that  remained  of  literature  and  of 
bcicnee  was  rescued  from  destruction  ;  and  the  com- 
forts, arts  and  elegancies  of  social  and  refined  life 
were  introduced  among  the  humanized  barbarians. 
Miracles  have  been  largely  invented  to  exaggerate 
the  wonder  of  a  change  which  not  improbably  was 
sometimes  promoted  by  fraud ;  still  it  is  a  beautiful 
part  of  the  annals  of  mankind.  The  great  actors 
have  been  magnified  into  demi-gods  by  their  own 
church,  but  they  have  been,  not  less  unduly,  con- 
signed to  neglect  and  forgetfulness  in  ours ;  for  if 
ever  men  were  entitled  to  the  lasting  gratitude  and 
admiration  of  those  for  whom  they  lived  and  laboured, 
these  are  thoy. 

-Xi}6  conversioi^^  had  not  been  completed^ 

w'henj[ti£lslaii^  cease^TtonBe  a  part  of  tljie  Roiijair 
empijre.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Roman 
icTolatry  was  still  subsisting:  the  Picts  were  appa- 
rently an  unconverted  tribe  of  indigenous  savages, 
still  tattooed  and  woaded ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the 
Druidical  superstitions  were  cherished  in  a  later 
age.  After  the  Saxons  had  become  a  Christian 
people,  a  fresh  flood  of  heathenism  came  in  with 
the  Danes;  and  from  the  time  of  AUred  there  exist- 
ed a  heathen  party  in  the  country,  which  continued 
sometimes  in  strength  and  always  in  hope,  till  the 
Conquest:  after  tliat  time  it  received  no  recruits 
from  Scandinavia,  and  therefore  it  disappeared  ;  hut 
it  may  rather  be  said  to  have  died  away  for  want  of 
support,  than  to  have  been  eradicated  by  the  care  of, 
the  government,  or  the  exertions  of  the  clergy.  , 
During  the  first  centuries  of  the  Saxon  church 
there  were  no  parochial  divisions.  The  clergy  re- 
sided in  episcopal  monasteries  under  the  superinten- ; 
dence  of  the  bishop,  as  they  had  been  brought  up: 
they  were  sent  from  thence  to  instruct  the  countr/ 
people,  and  administer  the  offices  of  religion  in  the 
few  churches  which  existed,  or  where  there  was  no 
church,  at  a  cross  in  the  open  air;  when  they  had  ex- 
ecuted their  commission  they  returned,  and  other? 


STATE  OF   RELIGION   I\   EVGLAND.  267 


went  out  to  perform  the  same  course  of  duty.  The 
means  of  instruction  were  few  and  precarious  under 
such  a  system,  and  those  lords  who  were  desirous  of 
having  spiritual  aid  always  at  hand  for  themselves, 
or  who  saw  the  advantage  of  having  their  vassals 
trained  in  a  faith  which  inculcated  obedience,  indus- 
try, patience  and  contentment,  built  churches  and 
endowed  them  for  the  maintenance  of  a  resident 
priest.  The  bishops  promoted  such  establishments : 
parishes  were  thus  formed  which  were  usually'  co-ex- 
tensive with  the  domain  of  the  patron,  and  as  these 
became  general,  the  system  of  itinerancy  fell  into  dis- 
use. The  alteration  was  well  intended,  and  has 
produced  great  good  ;  yet  it  may  have  contributed 
in  no  slight  degree  to  that  decay  of  knowledge  and 
dissoluteness  of  life  which  are  known  after  this  time 
to  have  ensued  among  the  Saxon  clergy.  They 
were  removed  from  the  eye  of  authority,  from  the 
opportunities  of  learning,  and  from  the  society  of 
their  equals. 

The  Noxman^conq^uest  produced  more  good  than 
evilb£^inging  our  Church  into  a  closer  connexion 
wTtTTRpme,  for  the  light  of  the  world  was  there,— 
dimjo-daad  and  offnscated,  untrlmmed  and  wavering 
in  the  socket,  but  Hving  and  burning  still.  A  fairer 
ideal  of  Utopian  policy  can  scarcely  be  contemplated 
than  the  papal  scheme,  if  it  could  be  regarded  apart 
from  the  abuses,  thejrauds,  and  the  crinaes  to  which 
it  has  given  birth.  An  _empirc  was  to  be  erected, 
not  offeree  but  of  iiitcllectj  which  shouTd~bTnJ  toge- 
ther alljiatioiis  in  the  unity  of  faith, "and  in  the  bond 
of^eace.  Its  members  were  to  direct  the  councils 
of  princes  an^.  Uie  consciences  of  all  men ;  for  this 
purpose  they  were  chosen  from  the  rest  of  mankind 
in^rly  youth,  and  trained  accordiugly,  ox.ihey  ^'o- 
luQtfiered  in  maturer  life,  when  vveaned^from  the 
world  and  weary  of  its  vanities.  They  were  reliev- 
ed by  a  liberal  provision  from  any  care  for  their  own 
support;  the  obligation  of  celibacy  precluded  those 
prudential  anxieties  which  might  otherwise  have  em- 
ployed too  large  a  portion  of  their  time  and  of  their 


^68 


STA  FE   OF  KKLIGION    IN  ENGLAND. 


thoughts,  or  have  interfered  in  any  way  with  that 
service  to  which  tliey  were  devoted  ;  and  they  were 
exempted  from  the  secular  povver,  that  they  might 
discharge  their  rehgious  duty  freely  and  without 
fear.  By  the  wise  and  admirable  institution  of  tythes, 
a  tenth  pajljQf  all  property  was  rescijetl  from  theor- 
dlnary  course  of  d e s c c n rin  w STclTir w o u j d. elseJiaie 
been  absorbed,  and  formed  into  an  ample  establish- 
ment for  the  members  of  this  intellectual  anstocra- 
cy,  in  their  different  degrees.  He  who  entered  the 
churcli,  possessing  the  requisite  knowledge,  abihty, 
and  discretion,  however  humble  his  birth,  migiit-iig;- 
pire  to  wealth,  rank,  and  honours  which  would  mjake 
the  haughtiest  barons  acknowledge  him  for  their 
peer,  and  to  authority  before  which  kiiigs  trembled, 
and  against  which  emperors  struggled  in  vain. 

Let  us  confess  tlmt  human  ambition  never  propos- 
ed to  itself  a  grander  aim,  and  that  all  other  schemes 
of  empire  for  wliich  mankind  have  bled,  appear  mean 
and  contemptible,  when  compared  to  this  magnificent 
conception.  And  much  was  accomplished  for  which 
all  succeeding  ages  ha^  e  reason  to  be  grateful.  For 
by_their  union  with  Rome  (and  that  union  could  only 
be  preserved  by  "their  dependerice)  ,tbe  distant 
churches  were  saved  from  sinking  into  a  state  of  ut- 
tiBrlgnorance  atid  degradation,  like  that  of  the  Abys- 
sinians  or  Armer.laris;  Christendom,  because  of  this 
union,  was  more  tf;an  a  name ;  and  therefore,  not- ^ 
withstanding  its  iniernai  divisions  and  dissentions,  on 
the  great  occasion  when  its  vital  interests  were  at 
stake,  felt  that  it  had  one  heart,  one  life,  and  acted 
with  one  impulse.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  crusadesii 
Mahommedanism  would  have  barbarized  the  world. 
And  had  ^t jjqX  ,bee5ijj;)rjlie  elev^a^^  of  t lie  cleric^ 
?T]aracter,  Christendom  itself  would  have  continued 
ma  state  of  barbarism,  and  even  retrograded  further; 
for  birth  would  have  bee»,  the  only  distinctlona._anJ'( 
'StEiiiHf'  only  honourable  pursuit.  ^ 

The  C'hurch  could  not  have  effected  all  this  good,! 
if  it  had  not  employed  means  which  have  been  too, 
indiscriminately  condemned.    A  reli^i^n  of  rites  and 


riTATE  OF  RELIGION  l.V  ENGLAND. 


269 


ceremonies  was  as  necessarxJor  the  rude  and  fero- 
cjoi^  afitions  IvvRicir  overthrew  the  Koman  empire, 
asjor  the  Israehtes  when  they  were  brought  out  of 
GgJJt  Poinp,  and  wealth,  and  authority  were  es- 
seutiiil  for  its  success.  Through  these  it  triumphed, 
^ut  by  these  it  was  corrupted  ;  for  they  brought 
it  into  too  close ^n~union  with  the  world.  These 
temptations  drew  into  its  ranks  men  who  disgraced 
by^  their  vices  the  high  offices  which  they  ohtaiiied- by 
theii-  birth.  Tlie  celibacy  of  the  clergy  was  another 
cause  of  corruption.  When  the  persecution  under 
the  heathen  emperors  was  to  be  braved,  or  the 
preaciiers  of  the  gospel  were  to  expose  themselves 
to  the  caprice  and  cruelty  of  barbarous  idolaters,  it 
was  desirable  that  they  should  hold  their  lives  loose, 
and,  as  far  as  possible,  keep  themselves  disengaged 
from  earth.  But  theim£osition_o("ce]iba  upon  all 
the  ministers  of  theniiurcTii^  wasunauthorTzea  by  the 
letter  of^^f j£tu';e,  and  contrary  to  its  spirit,  and  in 
its  general  consequences  beyond  aUjloubldetrimen- 
tal  to  public  morals.  By  a  system  of  confessionTTa- 
voijrabfelndeed  to  its  ambitious  views,  but  still  more 
injurious  to*  morality,  the  Church  intruded  upon  the 
sacredness  of  private  life.  It  disguised  the  sublime 
and  salutary  truths  of  revelatiomjeneath  a  mass  of 
faliles  more  gross  and  monstrous  "than  tlie  very  Hea- 
t^gs^  had  feigned  ;  and  arrogating  to  itself  the  pow- 
er of  forgi\ing  sins,^t~subslitTited,  in  the  place  of 
tan  duires7~a  routine  of  practices  borrowed 
Irom  the  Maiiichaeans,  Pagans  of  every  kind,  and 
even  the  Mahommedans ;   and  established  it  as  af 

*  La  nature  axoit  pose  deux  barricres,  pour  maintenir  la  chastetf 
I   chcz  les  femmes,  la  pudeur,  et  les  rcmords ;   le  pretre  les  aneantil  lc.\ 
toutes  les  deux,  par  la  confession  et  Vabsolution.    (Maranda,  Ta- 
bleau du  Pio.moiit.)    St.  Evrcmond  observes,  that  the  Protestan. 
;   religion  is  as  favourable  to  husbands,  as  tiic  Catholic  is  to  what  he 
calls  lovers. 

I      t  "  Learn,"'  says  Bishop  Burnet,  "  to  view  Popery  in  a  true 
light,  as  a  conspiracy  to  exalt  the  power  of  the  clergy,  even  b^ 
subjecting  the  most  sacred  truths  of  religion  to  contrivances  for 
1  raising  their  authority,  and  by  offering  to  the  world  another  me- 
i  thod  of  being  saved,  besides  that  presented  in  the  Gospel.  Po 


270 


STATE  UF   KELIGION    IN  ENGLAND. 


principle,  that_by  these  wortiiless  works  a manniiglit 
not  only  secure  sarvation  for  himself^  bijLtJiccjJjnjJLla.te 
a  stock  of  surplus  merits,  wliich  were  disposable  by 
gift  or  sale.  Men  were  eaiily^perstfade(T,'1ffiat  as  {Ke 
merit  of  good  works  might  be  bought,  so  might  the 
account  for  evil  ones  be  settled  by  pecuniary  pay- 
ment, and  the  rich  be  their  own  redeemers.  Every 
thing  on  earth  had  long  been  venal,  and  the  sche^me 
of  corruption  was  completed,  by  putting  tlielilngiloni 
of  heaven  at  a  price.  Yet"lva"sr this  whole  system 
well  adapted  to  the  ignorance  upon  which  it  rested, 
and  wliich  it  tended  to  perpetuate.  Its  symbols 
were  every  where  before  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and 
its  practices  dexterously  interwoven  with  the  daily 
business  of  life.  While  it  lulled  the  conscience,  it 
possessed  the  imagination  and  the  heart.  The 
Church  was  like  a  garden,  in  which  things  rank  and 
gross  in  nature  were  running  to  seed  ;  but  they  did 
not  possess  it  wholly;  it  still  produced  beautiful 
flowers,  and  wholesome  herbs  and  fruit. 

When  the  abuses  were  mostflagrant^and  a  spirit  of 
inquiry  had  arisen  with  the  restoration  of  letters, 
wise  men  would  have  weeded  the  garden,  but  rash 
ones  were  for  going  to  work  with  the  plough  and  the 
harrow.  What  was  to  be  expected  from  the  spirit 
which  had  gone  abroad  had  been  shown  by  the  con- 
duct of  the  Lollards  in  England,  and  more  manifestly 
in  Bohemia,  by  tTie  bloody  drama  of  the  Hussite  war. 
The  most  sagacious  and  even-mjnded  men  oTIhe  a^^i 
such  as  Erasmus  and  Sir  Thomas  More,  in  their  fear 
of  religious  revolution,  a:nd  the  inevitable  evils  which 
it  would  draw  on,  opposed  the  reform,  whicii,  but 
for  that  foresight,  they  would  have  desired  and  pro- 
moted.In  tlus  cpuntry  the  best  people  anjl__the 
worst  co^m^^iw^uijn  ,bri^n        about  ..the  Reformation^ 


pery  is  amass  of  impostures,  supported  by  men  who  manage  theni 
with  great  advantages,  and  impose  them  with  inexpressible  severi- 
ties on  those  who  dare  ca!l  any  thing  in  question  that  they  dictate 
to  them." 


STATE  OF  RELIGION   IN  ENGLAND. 


271 


and  in  ks  progress  it  bore  evident  marks  of  both. 
The  b]isiiae«»*JQild£inqIitioii  was  successfully  carried 
orTBy  zealots,  who  lent  tlielr  ignorant  hands  to  ag- 
gfamllz^and  enrich  ttie  rapacious  and  the  *  unprinci- 
|>led ;  but  the  fathers  of  the  English  Church  were  not 
permitted  to  complete  the  edifice  which  they  would 
have  raised  from  the  ruins. 

The  lay  impropriations,  which  are  perhaps  the 
best  bulwarks  of  the  Church  in  our  distempered  age, 
were,  for  a  long  time  after  the  Reformation,  a  sore 
and  scandalous  evil.  Where  the  monasteries  had 
appropriated  a  benefice,  they  could  always  provide 
a  fit  preacher  ;  and  thougli  they  have  been  charged 
with  giving  scanty  stipends  to  ignorant  incumbents,  and 
thus  contributing  greatly  to  thedecay  of  learning,  the 
justice  of  the  accusation  may  be  questioned.  For 
though  their  object  in  obtainiiig  these  impropriations 
was  that  they  might  indulge  in  larger  expenses,  all 
those  expenses  were  not  unworthy  ones,  and  it  would 
be  easy  to  sliow  that  literature  must  have  gained 
more  than  it  could  possibly  have  lost  by  the  trans- 
fer. But  when,  at  tli"  di-^ohilion  of  the  monasteries, 
their  poverty  was  di-triljuioJ  among  those  who  pos- 
sessed favour  or  interest  at  court,  and,  as  was  pro- 
verT>ially  said,  Popish  lands  made  Protestant  land- 
1  o r ds^  t h e  co i is e ( j u e n ce s  of  th a t  jabomi  nab! e  rob bery 
w^fe^aoon  percci V cd .  Men  who  had  enriched^^them- 
i  selves  by  sacrilege  supported  the  new  establishment^ 

*  "  The  untimely  end  of  that  good  prince,  King  Edward."  says 
Burnet  in  the  supplementary  volume  to  his  history,  (p.  216.)  was 
looked  upon  by  all  people  as  a  just  judgment  of  God  upon  those 
who  pretended  to  love  and  promote  a  reformation,  but  whose  im- 
pious and  tlagitious  lives  were  a  reproach  to  it.    The  open  lewd- 
ness in  which  many  lived,  without  shame  or  remorse,  gave  great 
occasion  to  their  adversaries  to  say  they  were  in  the  right  to  assert 
I  justification  by  fiith  v/ithoat  works,  since  they  were,  as  to  every 
I  good  work,  reprobate.    Their  gross  and  insatiable  scrambling  af- 
!  ter  the  goods  and  wealth  that  had  boon  dedicated  with  good  designs, 
I  though  to  superstitious  uses,  without  applying  any  part  of  it  to 
the  promoting  the  gospel,  the  instructing  the  youth,  and  reliev- 
I  ing  the  poor,  made  all  people  conclude,  that  it  was  for  robbery, 
and  not  for  reformation,  that  their  zeal  made  them  so  active."" 


272 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  ENGLAND. 


because  it  warranted  their  ill-gotten  estates :  their 
conduct  evinced  that  they  were  not  influenced  by 
any  better  motives.  In  many  places  the  churches 
were  suffered  to  fall  to  decay  ;  and  cures  so  impover- 
ished, as  no  longer  to  afford  the  minister  a  decent 
subsistence,  were  given  to  any  persons  who  could 
be  found  miserable  enough  to  accept  them.  That 
o  pi  I  lion,  which  had  accustomed  thepeople  to  jogjt^ 
tfpP'V  relj^ious^^.]^^  remo^^ 
at  the  very  time  whenthe  great  body  of  the  paro- 
chial clergy  were  thus  reduced  to  abject  poverty ; 
and  at  the  same  time  the  clergy  were  permitted  to 
marry,  which  rendered  their  poverty  more  conspicu- 
ous and  less  endurable. 

The  Reformation,  hke  other  great  political  rcvo- 
lutlonsV  was  [)roduced  by  the  zeal  aiid  1jordiTess"of 
an  active  niinorityr'^Tlie  great  inass  people 
throughout  EngTand  were  attached  to  the.  Catholic 
superstition,  and  most  strongly  so  to  those  parts  of  it 
which  were  most  superstitious.    They  were  brought 

*  Archbishop  Leighton  (a  man  who  ought  never  to  be  named 
without  some  expression  of  respect  for  his  wisdom  and  his  hohness) 
used  to  say,  "  The  corruptions  and  cruelties  of  Popery  were  such 
gross  and  odious  things,  that  nothing  could  have  maintained  that 
Church  under  those  just  and  visible  prejudices,  but  the  several  or- 
ders among  them,  which  had  an  appearance  of  mortification  and  con- 
tempt of  the  world,  and, with  all  the  trash  that  was  among  them,  main- 
tained a  face  of  piety  and  devotion.  He  also  thought  the  great  and 
fatal  error  of  the  Reformation  was,  that  more  of  those  houses,  and  of 
that  course  of  life,  free  from  the  entanglements  of  vows  and  other 
mixtures,  was  not  preserved  ;  so  that  the  Protestant  churches  had 
neither  places  of  education,  nor  retreat  for  men  of  mortifie<^ 
tempers."  ^ 
Burnet's  Hist,  of  his  Own  Time,  vol.  i.  p.  175.  (edition  1815.)» 

Burnet  himself,  also  saw  the  good  which  the  Romish  Church, 
derived  from  these  orders,  notwithstanding  the  villainous  impo*? 
tures  and  loathsome  trash  with  which  they  were  polluted.    "  Th 
whole  body  of  Protestants,"  he  says,  "  if  united,  might  be  an  equ 
match  to  ihe  Church  of  Ronxe  :  it  is  much  superior  to  them 
wealth  and  in  force,  if  it  were  animated  with  the  zeal  which  t 
monastic  orders,  hut  chietly  the  Jesuits,  spread  through  the 
whole  communion  :   whereas  the  reformed  are  cold  and  unco 
cerned,  as  well  as  disjointed  in  matters  that  relate  to  religion." 

See  also,  upon  this  subject,  what  is  said  in  the  Quarterly  R&») 
view,  vol.  xix.  p.  89. 


I 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


273 


over  from  it  jilst  as  Julian  intended  to  bring  over  the 
Christians  from  Christianity,  by  prohibiting  their  an- 
cient practices,  and  depriving  them  of  their  former 
course  of  instruction,  rather  than  by  the  zeal  and 
♦ability  of  new  teachers.  Under  the  papal  system, 
more  had  latterly  been  done  by  the  regular  than  by 
the  secular  clergy ;  but  by  the  suppression  of  the  re- 
gulars, the  number  of  religious  instructors  was  re- 
duced to  less  than  half  the  former  establishment,  and 
they  who  remained  were  left  to  labour  with  diminish- 
ed ardour  in  a  wider  field.  For  a  twofold  evil  was 
produced  by  the  violence  of  the  struggle  and  its  long 
continuance.  Those  members  of  the  priesthood 
who  had  entered  with  most  feeling  upon  their  holy 
office,  who  were  most  conscious  of  its  duties,  or  who 
had  applied  themselves  with  most  vigour  to  theolo- 
gical studies,  took  their  part  either  for  or  against  the 
Reformation ;  and  on  the  one  side  or  the  other  a 
large  proportion  of  them  suffered  martyrdom  or  exile, 
both  parties  being  too  sincere  not  to  understand  and 
avow,  that,  upon  their  view  of  the  question,  it  was  as 
much  a  religious  duty  to  intlict,  as  to  suffer  persecu- 
tion. But  the  ignorant,  the  lukewarm,  the  time-serv- 
ers, and  many  whom  a  pardonable  weakness,  or  a 
humble  distrust  of  their  own  frail  judgment,  withheld 
from  taking  a  decided  part,  kept  their  station,!  and 

Serformed  the  old  service  or  the  new  with  equal  obe- 
ience;  many  indeed  with  equal  indifference:  but 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  m^ny  vyere  attached 
in_secret  to  thcjold^ys^tem,  not  merely  because  while 
it_existe(r  tTiey  had  beeTi liiore  respected  and  better 
paid,  ^t  because  th  up  in  it,  and  an 

Jiishop  Jewel  said,  in  one  of  his  letters,  that  "  if  they  had 
more  hands  matters  would  go  well  :  but  it  was  hard  to  make  a  cart 
go  without  horses." 

t  The  number  of  the  secular  clergy  was  about  9400,  and  of 
these  scarcely  200  were  deprived  by  the  establishment  of  the 
Church  under  Elizabeth  ;  the  rest  conformed  as  they  had  done 
under  Queen  Mary,  and  as  many  of  them  would  again  have  done 
if  the  country  had  been  cursed  (according  to  their  hopes)  with  a 
second  of  the  name.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  of  the  inferior 
I  clergy  were  deprived. 

VOL.  I.  35 


274 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND, 


acquiescence  in  its  exploded  tenets  had  become  the 
rooted  habits  of  their  minds.  They  lived  in  hope  ot 
another  change,  which  was  always  expected  while 
the  presumptive  heiress  of  the  crown  was  a  Roman- 
ist; they  dared  not  openly  inculcate  the  old  faith, 
but  assuredly  they  used  no  efforts  for  establishing  ihe 
people  in  scriptural  truths  contrary  to  the  errors 
with  which  they  themselves  were  possessed ;  and  if 
the  relbrmed  service  appeared  dry  and  meagre  in 
their  churches,  and  their  ministry  was  as  ineffectual 
as  it  was  insincere  and  lieartless,  tliis  was  what  they 
desired. 

This  further  evil  ensued;  the  worldly  motives 
which  had  induced  parents  to  educate  their  children 
for  the  clerical  profession,  were  withdrawn.  The 
means  for  assisting  poor  scholars  were  lamentably 
diminished.  The  clmrch  no  longer  offered  power  to 
the  aspiring,  dignity  to  the  proud,  ease  and  comfort 
to  easy  men,  and  opportunities  of  learning  and  lei- 
sure to  those  of  a  higher  nature  ;  but  it  held  Ibrlh  a 
prospect  of  the  most  imminent  and  appalling  danger 
—fear,  insecurity,  the  prison,  and  the  stake.  For- 
merly the  monasteries  as  well  as  the  churches  had 
been  filled ;  but  for  this  reason  few  persons  were  to 
bp  found  who  were  qualified  for  orders,  at  a  time* 

*  The  vacancies  happened  also  to  be  far  more  numerous  than 
usual.  In  the  tirst  year  of  Elizabeth's  reignj  '*  the  realm  had 
been  extremely  visited  with  a  dangerous  and  contagious  sickness, 
which  took  away  almost  half  the  bishops,  and  occasioned  sucl^ 
mortality  amongst  the  rest  of  the  clergy,  that  a  great  part  of  th^ 
parochial  clergy  were  without  incumbents."  (Heylyn's  Hist,  of 
the  Presbyterians,  p.  246.)  The  chroniclers  make  no  mention  of 
any  pestilence  in  1538,  and  perhaps  that  of  1562-3  may  be  meanti 

In  the  parliament  of  1563,  the  Speaker  complained  that  owing 
to  the  prevalent  fashion  of  expenditure,  and  the  rapacity  which 
was  its  consequence,  "  many  of  the  schools  and  benefices  werd 
seized,  the  education  of  youth  disappointed,  and  the  succours  fof 
knowledge  cut  off.  For  I  dare  aver,"  said  he,  "  the  schools  ia 
England  are  fewer  than  formerly  by  an  hundred,  and  those  whicli 
remain  are  many  of  them  but  slenderly  stocked  ;  and  this  is  one 
reason  the  number  of  learned  men  is  so  remarkably  diminished!  ; 
The  universities  are  decayed,  and  great  market  towns  without 
either  school  or  preacher  ;  for  the  poor  vicar  is  turned  oflf  witl(  ' 
twenty  pounds,  and  the  bulk  of  the  Church's  patrimony  is  improt 


STATE  OP  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


275 


when  they  were  most  wanted,  and  the  few  who  had 
been  regularly  bred,  would  not  accept  of  benefices 
upon  Avhich  they  could  not  subsist  with  respectabil- 
ity. Tlic  greatest  part  of  the  country  clergy  were  so 
ignorant  tliat  they  could  do  little  more  than  read; 
many  of  them  were  carpenters  and  tailors,  having 
taken  to  these  employments  because  they  could  not 
subsist  upon  their  benefices,  and  some  even  kept 
ale-houses.  During  the  first  years  of  Elizabeth's 
reign,  the  service  in  many  of  the  London  parishes 
was  performed  by  the  sextons  :  and  in  very  many  vi- 
carages, some  of  them  in  good  provincial  towns,  the 
people  were  forced  to  provide  themselves  as  they 
co;ild.  In  many  places  they  found  needy  men,  who, 
though  they  were  worthy  of  no  higher  station,  envied 
and  haled  those  who  were  more  prosperous  than  them- 
selves, and  these  persons  poisoned  their  parishioners 
with  puritanical  doctrines  and  puritanical  politics, 
which  from  the  beginning  were  Jiaturally  allied.  And 
because  of  the  want  of  unexceptionable  subjects, 
men  of  learning  but  of  tainted  opinions  found  admit- 
tance into  the  church,  and  their  zeal  was  more  per- 
nicious than  the  torpor  of  the  papistical  clergy. 

Owing  therefore  to  the  indiflference  or  incapacity 
of  one  part  of  the  clergy,  and  to  the  temper  of  an- 
otlier,  thet-e^vas  at  the  same  time  an  increase  of  fana- 
tic ism  and  ^Tde cay  of  general  piety  :"ttT'so7ne'^ace 
no  care  was  taken  to  Instruct  tlie  people,  in  others 
opinions  the  most  hostile  to  established  institutions 
were  sedulously. and  perscveringly  niculcated.  And 
though  from  a  sense  of  duty  in  the  sovereign,  as  well 
as  from  motives  of  eoimd  policy,  the  best  and  wisest 
men  were  selected  for  the  highest  offices  of  the 
church,  even  the  transcendant  talents  called  fortli  in 
its  defence  could  not  counteract  the  destructive  prin- 
ciples which  were  at  work.    Political  circumstances 


priated  and  diverted  to  foreign  use.  Thus  the  parish  has  no 
preacher,  and  thus,  for  want  of  a  fund  for  instruction,  the  people 
are  bred  to  ignorance  aad  obstinacy."  Collier's  Eci  lesiastica! 
History,  p.  480. 


276 


STATK  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


brought  those  principles  into  full  play.  Their  ten- 
dency  from  the  first  had  not  been  mistaken  ;  indeed 
it  had  scarcely  been  disguised.  They  produced  in 
their  progress  rebellion  and  regicide;  and  if/tKc- 
schismatics  who  cordially  co-operated  for  the  over- 
throw of  tlie  altar  and  the  throne,  had  not  turned 
their  malignant  passions  against  each  other  as  soon 
as  the  business  of  destruction  was  done,  they  would 
have  established  among  us  an  ecclesiastical  tyranny 
of  the  lowest  and  most  loathsome  kind,  the  only  thing 
wanting  to  complete  the  punishment  and  the  degra- 
dation of  this  guilty  and  miserable  nation. 

When  these  disturbances  began,  time  had  so  far 
remedied  the  ill  consequences  attendant  upon  the 
Reformation,  that  though  the  evil  resulting  from  the 
poverty  of  the  inferior  clergy  and  from  their  dimi- 
nished numbers  had  not  been  remedied,  a  gejigra- 
tion  of  clergymen  had  grown  up,  not  inferior  Jia-a. 
body  to  those  of  any  age  or  country,  in  Jearningj_in 
ability,  or  in  wortli.  Their  sincerity  was  put  to  the 
proof,  and  it  appears  that  full  two-thirds  of  them 
were  ejected  for  fidelity  to  their  king  and  their  holy 
office.  Revolutions  call  forth  heroic  virtue  at  thg^ 
beginning,  but  tbeir  progress  tends  to  destroy  aJU 
virtue,  for  they  dislocate  the  foundations  of  mqraiity. 
Reformed  religion  had  not  yet  taken  root  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  ;  the  lower  classes  were  for  the 
most  part  as  ignorant  of  the  essentials  of  religion  as  i 
they  had  been  in  the  days  of  popery,  and  they  had 
none  of  that  attachment  to  its  forms,  in  which  the  ' 
strength  of  popery  consists.  Opinjqns  were  nog 
perilously  shaken  and  unsettled.  During  the  anar^ 
chy  that  etisued',  nisW  sects  spraiig  up  like  weedsja 
a  neglected  garden.  Many  were  driven  mad  bjj 
fanaticism,  a  disease  which  always  rages  in  disor- 
dered times.  Others  were  sTjock'od  1^  belioldl^ 
l>ow  religion  was  made  a  cloak  for  ambitiori  and  | 
villanj  of  every  kind,.„a!3tl  being  deprivecT  oT  tHeir 
olSLtcachers  and  properly~^(31sgusted  vi  itTT  the  neWj^ 
thejXeU.into  a  state  of  doubt,  and  from  doubt  into  j 
unbelief.    A  generation  grew  up  under  a,  .systei»i 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


277 


its  beauty ;  ^tha.yokc  was  too  hfiav^loa-^ljing,  too 
ignojgiinious  to.  be  borne :  and  when JJie^Restoratlp 
put  an  end  to  the  dpininion*  of  knaves  and  fanatics, 

*  The  conduct  of  the  puritanical  clergy  during  their  reign,  is 
thus  admirably  described  in  a  fragment  said  to  have  been  written 
by  Milton,  and  bearing  strong  marks  of  his  style  :  "  If  the  state 
were  in  this  plight,  religion  was  not  in  much  better  ;  to  reform 
which,  a  certain  number  of  divines  were  called,  neither  chosen 
by  any  rule  or  custom  ecclesiastical,  nor  eminent  for  either  piety 
or  knowledge  above  others  left  out ;  only  as  each  member  of  par- 
liament in  his  private  fancy  thought  fit,  so  elected  one  by  one. 
The  most  part  of  them  were  such  as  had  preached  and  cried 
down,  w  ith  great  show  of  zeal,  the  avarice  of  bishops,  and  plu- 
ralities ;  that  one  cure  of  souls  was  a  full  employment  for  one 
spiritual  pastor,  how  able  soever,  if  not  a  charge  rather  above 
human  strength.  Yet  these  conscientious  men  (before  any  part 
of  the  work  was  done  for  which  they  came  together,  and  that  on 
the  pubhc  salary)  wanted  not  boldness,  to  the  ignominy  and  scan- 
dal of  their  pastor-like  profession,  and  especially  of  their  boasted 
reformation,  to  seize  into  their  hands,  or  not  unwilhngly  to  accept 
(besides  one,  sometimes  two  or  more  of  the  best  iivings)  collegi- 
ate masterships  in  the  universities,  rich  lectures  in  the  city,  set- 
ting sail  to  all  winds  that  might  blow  gain  into  their  covetous 
bosoms  :  by  which  means  these  great  rebukers  of  non-residence, 
amongst  so  many  distant  cures,  were  not  ashamed  to  be  seen  so 
quickly  pluralist*  and  non-residents  themselves,  to  a  fearful  con- 
demnation, doubtless  by  their  own  mouths.  And  yet  the  main 
doctrine  for  which  they  took  sucli  pay,  and  insisted  upon  with 
more  vehemence  than  gospel,  was  but  to  tell  us  in  eflcct,  that 
their  doctrine  was  worth  nothing,  and  the  spiritual  power  of  their 
ministry  less  available  than  bodily  compulsion  ;  persuading  the 

I  magistrate  to  use  it,  as  a  stronger  means  to  subdue  and  bring  in 
conscience,  than  evangelical  persuasion  :  distrusting  the  virttte  of 
their  own  spiritual  weapons,  which  were  given  them,  ii"  they  be 
rightly  called,  with  full  warrant  of  suthciency  to  pull  down  all 

j  thoughts  and  imaginations  that  exalt  themselves  against  God. 

I  But,  while  they  taught  compulsion  without  convincemcnt,  which 

)  not  long  before  they  complained  of,  as  executed  unchristianly, 
against  themselves,  their  intents  are  clear  to  have  been  no  bettci- 
than  anti-christian  ;  setting  up  a  spiritual  tyranny  by  a  secular 
power,  to  the  advancing  of  their  own  authority  above  the  magis- 
trate whom  they  would  have  made  their  executioner  to  punish 
church  delinquencies,  whereof  civil  laws  have  no  cognizance. 
•  .\nd  well  did  their  disciples  manifest  themselves  to  be  no 
r  principled  than  their  teachers,  trusted  with  committeeships 
'  ither  gainful  oflices,  upon  their  comrnendations  for  zealous 
i  IS  they  sticked  not  to  term  them)  godly  men.  but  executing 


278 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


U-W-?i?  ^opn  .perceived  UiaUhe^^^^  oC  such  sjsteins 
is  to  rentier  religion  odious  by  making  piety  suqicct: 
ed,  and  to  prepare  a  people  for  licentiousness  and 

The  circumstances  which  attended  the  restoration 
of  the  Church  were  in  some  respects  similar  to  those 
Avhich  had  existed  at  the  time  of  its  establishment 
under  Elizabeth,  and  in  some  respects  more  unfa- 
vourable. A  generation  had  elapsed 'during  wliich 
no  men  had  been  educated  for  the  priesthood  ex- 
cept upon  sect  irian  principles.  The  greater  num- 
ber of  the  sequestered  clergy  had  been  cut  off^  many 
of  them  by  the  natural  course  of  years  ;  many  by 
ill-usage  and  confinement  in  prisons  or  in  the  hulks. 
These  ministers  had  been  content  to  suffer  for  con- 
science-sake ;  but  when  those  who  had  supplanted 
them  were  called  upon  to  conform  to  the  liturgy 
which  they  had  proscribed,  or  to  give  up  their 
benefices,  a  *large  majority  preferred  the  easier 


their  places  like  children  of  the  devil  unfaithfully,  unjustly,  un- 
mercifull}^  and,  where  not  corruptly,  stupidly  ;  so  that,  between 
them  the  teachers,  and  these  the  disciples,  there  hath  not  been  a 
more  ignominious  and  mortal  wound  to  faith,  to  piety,  to  the  work 
of  reformation  ;  nor  more  cause  of  blaspheming  given  to  the  ene- 
mies of  God  and  truth,  since  the  first  preaching  of  reformation. 
The  people,  therefore,  looking  one  while  on  the  statists,  whom 
they  beheld  uitliout  constancy  or  firmness,  labouring  doubtfully 
beneath  tiic  weight  of  their  own  too  high  undertakings,  busiest 
in  petty  thiii;:?,  trifling  in  the  main,  deluded  and  quite  alienated, 
expros-f'd  divers  ways  their  disaffection,  some  despising  whom 
before  they  honoured,  some  deserting,  some  inveighing,  some 
conspiring  against  them.  Then  looking  on  the  churchmen,  whom 
they  saw  under  subtile  hypocrisy,  to  have  preached  their  own 
follies  most  of  them,  not  the  gospel ;  time-servers,  covetous, 
illiterate,  persecutors,  not  lovers  of  the  truth  ;  like  in  most  things 
whereof  they  accused  their  predecessors  :  looking  on  all  this,  the 
people,  which  had  been  kept  warm  a-while  with  the  counterfeit 
zeal  of  their  pulpits,  after  a  lalse  heat,  became  more  cold  and  ob- 
durate than  before,  some  turning  to  lewdness,  some  to  flat  atheism, 
put  beside  their  old  religion,  and  foully  scandalized  in  what  the^ 
expected  should  be  new."  Harleian  Miscellany,  8vo.  editiot^ 
vol.  v.  p.  39. 

*  The  number  of  non-conformists  who  were  expelled  in  con- 
.sequence  of  the  act  of  uniformity  is  stated  at  two  thousand  :  that 


5.TATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


279 


alternative.    Tn  so  doing,  many  beyond  all  doubt 
did  well  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man,  and  chose 
ronscientiously  the  better  part ;  but  there  must  cer- 
tainly have  been  many  who  sacrificed  their  scruples 
to  their  convenience,  and  more  who  had  no  scruples 
to  sacrifice,  because  they  had  brought  with  them  to 
their  holy  office  little  intellect  and  less  feeling.  Some 
of  the  ejected  ministers  were  men  of  unquestionable 
piety  and  signal  talents :  all  had  given  proof  of  their 
sincerity.    Wherever  therefore  the  priest  was  eject- 
ed, part  at  least  of  his  flock  regretted  him,  and  a  dis- 
position by  no  means  favourable  to  his  successor 
must  have  existed;  and  where  men  of  little  ability 
and  little  principle  retained  their  benefices,  they 
must  have  been  despised.    Thus  the  influence  of  the 
clergy,  which  had  been  wofully  shaken  during  the 
long  struggle,  received  another  shock.     The  clergy 
themselves  did  not  manifest  in  their  prosperity  the 
same  equal  mind  with  which  they  had  endured  their 
adverse  fortune.    They  were  more  desirous  of  reta- 
I  Hating  upon  their  old  persecutors,  than  of  conciliating 
j  them.    Forgiveness  of  injuries,  indeed  is  the  last  les- 
i  son  whjchjnenTearn  in  the  school  of  suffering  :  but 
!  hejmJS.Lknow.little  of  the  history  and  the  spirit  of 
j  tRose  times  who  should  imagine  tliat  any  conciliato- 
'  i^"me^isures_pn  tljQ_^gart^of  the  Church  could  h;.ve 
1  produced  unitbnnity  in  a  land  where  old  opinions 
had  been  torn  up  by  the  roots»  and  the  seeds  of  sehisju 
had  been  scattered  every  where. 
It  is  easier  to  justify  the  heads  of  the  restored  cler- 
I  gy  upon  this  point,  than  to  excuse  them  for  appropri- 
!  ating  to  themselves  the  wealth  which  in  consequence 
of  the  long  protracted  calamities  of  the  nation  was 


I  of  the  sequestered  clergy  was  between  six  and  seven  thousand,  as 
I  stated  by  Dr.  Gauden  in  his  Petitionary  Remonstrance  to  the  Pro- 
i  ti'ctor  :  so  incorrect  are  the  assertions  of  Messrs.  Bogue  and  Ben- 
net  in  their  History  of  the  Dissenters,  that  "  the  episcopal  clergy 
very  generally  conformed  to  the  new  establishment (vol.  i. 
p.  o7.)  and  that  "  ecclesiastical  history  furnishes  no  such  instance 
of  a  noble  army  of  confessors  at  one  time,"  (ditto,  p.  99.)  as  that 
of  the  two  thousand  non-conforming  ministers. 


280 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


placed  at  their  disposal.  The  leases  of  the  church 
lands  had  almost  ail  fallen  in  ;  there  had  been  no  re- 
newal for  twenty  years,  and  the  fines  which  were  now 
raised  amounted  to  about  a  million  and  a  half. 
Some  of  this  money  was  expended  in  repairing  as  far 
as  was  reparable  that  havoc  in  churches  and  cathe- 
drals which  the  fanatics  had  made  during  their  abo- 
minable reign  ;  some  also  was  disposed  of  in  ransom- 
ing English  slaves  from  the  Barbary  pirates  :  but  the 
greater  part  went  to  enrich  individuals  and  build  up 
lamilies,  instead  of  being  employed  as  it  ought  to 
have  been  in  improving  the  condition  of  the  inferior 
clergy.  Queen  Anne  applied  the  tenths  and*  first 
fruits  to  this  most  desirable  object ;  but  the  effect  of 
her  augmentation  was  slow  and  imperceptible;  they 
continued  in  a  state  of  degrading  poverty,  and  that 
poverty  was  another  cause  of  the  declining  influence 
of  the  Church,  and  the  incr^sing  irreligion  ^  the 
_people. 

A  further  cause  is  to  be  found  in  the  relaxation, 
or  rather  the  total  decay  of  ecclesiastical  discipline. 
In  the  Romish  days  it  had  been  grossly  abused ;  and 
latterly  also  it  had  been  brought  into  general  abhor- 
rence and  contempt,  by  the  tyrannical  measures  olt 
Laud  on  one  side,  and  the  absurd  rigour  of  Puritan- 
ism on  the  other.  The  clergy  had  lost  that  authority 
which  may  always  command  at  least  the  appearance 
of  respect;  and  they  had  lost  that  respect  also  by 
wiiich  the  place  of  authority  may  sometimes  so  much 

*  Charles  II.  disposed  of  these  funds  chiefly  among  his  mistress- 
es  and  his  natural  children.  Queen  Mary  intended  tt>  apply  them 
(as  was  afterwards  done  by  her  sister)  to  the  augmentation  of 
small  livings  :  Burnet  after  her  death  represented  this  to  William, 
and  the  measure  was  strongly  approved  by  Somers  and  Halifax, 
but  Sunderland  obtained  an  assignment  of  20001.  a-year  upon  two 
dioceses  for  two  lives,  "so  nothing  was  to  be  hoped  for  after 
thatl" 

t  Something  is  said  in  the  Quarterly  Review  (vol.  xvi.  pp.  518, 
519.)  of  the  temper  with  which  it  behooves  us  to  regard  this  part 
of  our  history.  But  there  are  writers  at  this  day  who  seem  to 
think,  in  the  words  of  the  prose  Hudibras,  that  "  Pillories  are; 
more  cruel  than  scaffolds,  or  perhaps  Prynne's  ears  were  larger 
than  my  Lord  of  Canterbury's  head." 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


281 


more  worthily  be  supplied.  For  the  loss  of  power 
they  were  not  censurable  ;  but  if  they  possessed  lit- 
tle of  that  inHueuce  which  the  minister  who  diligent- 
ly and  conscientiously  discharges  his  duty  will  cer- 
tainly acquire,  it  is  manifest,  that,  as  a  body,  they 
must  have  been  culpably  remiss.  From  the  Resto- 
ration to  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Hanover,  the 
English  church  could  boast  of  some  of  its  brighest  or- 
naments and  ablest  defenders;  men  who  have  nei- 
ther been  surpassed  in  piety,  nor  in  erudition, 
nor  in  industry,  nor  in  eloquence,  nor  in  strength 
and  subtlety  of  mind  :  and  when  the  design  for 
re-establishing  popery  in  these  kingdoms  was  sys- 
tematically pursued,  to  them  we  are  indebted  for 
that  calm  and  steady  resistance,  by  which  our  liber- 
ties, civil  as  well  as  religious,  were  preserved.  But 
in  the  great  majority  of  the  clergy  zeal  was  wanting. 
The  excellent  Leighton  spoke  of  the  Church  as  a  fair 
carcass  without  a  spirit:  in  doctrine,  in  worship, and 
in  the  main  part  of  its  government,  he  thought  it  the 
best  constituted  in  the  world,  but  one  of  the  most 
Icorrupt  in  its  administration.  And  Burnet  observes, 
(that  in  his  time  our  clergy  had  less  authority,  and 
were  under  more  contempt,  than  those  of  any  other 
church  in  Europe ;  for  they  were  much  tlie  most  re- 
niss  in  their  labours,  and  the  least  severe  in  their 
ives.  It  was  not  that  their  lives  were  scandalous; 
16  entirely  acquitted  them  of  any  such  imputation ; 
3Ut  they  were  not  exemplary  as  it  became  them  to 
)e;  and  in  the  sincerity  and  grief  of  a  pious  and  re- 
lecting  mind,  he  pronounced  that  they  would  never 
again  the  influence  which  they  had  lost,  till  they  liv- 
jd  better  and  laboured  more. 

I  Unfavourable  as  this  faithful  representation  is,  the 
|:onstitution  of  our  church  tended  natin-ally  to  pro- 
luce  such  ministers.  TJjider  tlie^JReformgd^jis  well 
|  S_under  the  Romish  establishment,  the  clerlcarpro- 
1  gssion  offered  anjeasy  am(Fh o n o u r a b I e  p voyis [q n  fo r 
i He^oungeF^soj^^  Church  of 

jtome  hadprovided  stations  for  them,  where,  if  they 
['•ere  not  qualified  for  active  service,  their  film  of 
I   VOL.  1.  'AQ 

\ 
I 


282 


STATE  OF  RELIGION    IN  ENGLAND. 


omission  would  be  of  a  very  venial  kind.  Thejntr- 
rjasleries  had  always  a  large  proportion  of  such  per- 
sons: they  went  through  the  ceremoniesjgf_theirj-e- 
spective  rules,  which,  in  spite  of  repeated  rcforma- 
tions,  (as  they  were  calied^y^TwaysjnTno  long  tjmg 
relaxed  into  a  comfortable  sort  of  collegiate  system: 
thieir  lack  of  ability  or  learning  brought  no  disgrace 
to  themselves,  for  they  were  not  in  a  situation  where 
either  was  required ;  and  their  inefficiency  was  not 
injurious  to  the  great  establishment,  of  which,  though  \ 
an  inert,  they  were  in  no  wise  an  inconvenient  part. 
But  when  such  persons,  instead  of  entering  the  con- 
vents which  their  ancestors  had  endowed,  were  set- 
tled upon  family  livings  as  parochial  clergy,  then  in- 
deed serious  evil  was  done  to  the  character  of  the 
Church,  and  to  the  religious  feelings  of  the  nation: 
their  w  ant  of  aptitude  or  inclination  for  the  important 
office  into  which  they  had  been  thrust  then  became 
a  fearful  thing  lor  themselves,  and  a  miserable  cala- 
mity for  the  people  committed  to  their  charge. 

Even  when  the  motives  Jbr  eriteriiig  Jlie  Church 
were  not  thus  palpably  gross,  the  choice  was  far  morei 
frequently  made  from  motives  of  convenience  an3 
worldly  circumstances,  than  from  a  deliberate  ajo^, 
conscientious  determination  of  the  will  and  the  judg^i 
merit.    Where  there  was  influence  in  an  endowed; 
school,  or  a  fair  prospect  of  promotion  at  coUegeJ 
boys  were  destined  for  holy  orders  with  little  refe^i 
ence  to  their  talents  or  their  disposition  ;  sometimes,! 
indeed,  notoriously  because  they  were  thought  un&fl 
for  any  thing  else.    And  .when  no  unfitness  existejJ 
the  destination  was  usually  regarded  w'ith-omiiiiQMl 
indifference,  as  if  it  might  be  entered  upon  w  jth3B 
little  forethought  and  feeling  as  a  secular  professiJH 
or  a  branch  of  trade  ;  as  if  all  the  heart,  and  all  tm^ 
soul,  and  all  the  strength  of  man  were  not  requirei 
for  the  due  performance  of  its  duties,  and  a  minister 
of  the  gospel  were  responsible  for  nothing  more  thai 
what  the  Rubric  enjoins. 

The  inevitable  lack  of  zeal  in  a  chuich  thus  con 
stituted  was  not  supplied,  as  in  Catholic  countries,  by 

I 


STATE  OF  KELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


283 


the  frequent  introduction  of  men  *  in  mature  or  de- 
clining life,  in  whom,  disappointment,  wrongs,  suffer- 
ings and  bereavements,  the  visitation  of  God  and  the 
grace  ofGod,  have  produced  the  most  beneficial  of 
all  changes.  By  such  men  the  influence  of  Rome 
has  been  upheld  in  Europe,  and  its  doctrines  extend- 
ed among  savage  tribes  and  in  idolatrous  kingdoms, 
from  Paraguay  to  Japan  ;  but  the  English  establish- 
ment had  provided  no  room  for  them,  and  it  admit- 
ted of  no  supernumeraries.  While  there  was  so  lit- 
tle zeal  in  the  great  body  of  the  clergy,  many  causes 
combined  to  render  the  want  of  zeal  more  and  more 
injurious.  The  fjopulation  had  dj)nbled^ since  _the 
settlement  _of^thfiTl5l3>rrcjLun  Elizabeth  ^  jet  no 
provision  had  been  made  for  increasing  proportlon- 
aiely^flTe  means  of  moral  and  religious  instruction, 
which  at  the  beginning  had  been  insufficient^  _Tlie 
grswllL..n£Liiml£  drew' men  together  into  towns  and 
cities ;  a  change_in_SQci.etyjyhichj  however  necessary 
i n  the  progress -Q f Jth e  h u m an  ra ce,  b.Q w e v e r  e s §e n t i a  1 
tll.^he  advancement  of,  mamifaclures  and  know- 
'  ledge,  national  wealth  and  national  power,  the  arts, 
;  and  the  comforts,  and  the  refinements  of  life,  is  assur- 
I  ediy,  in  its  immediate  effects,  iniLu-ious  to  general 
[  Qiorals.  As  soon  as  the  frenzy  feveFoT  faction  had 
I  spent  itself,  the  nation  had  revolted  against  the 
tyrannical  spirit  of  Puritanism,  and  the  f  unmer- 

*  Upon  this  subject,  see  the  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  xv-.  pp. 
228,  229. 

t  "  I  remember,"  says  Burnet,  "  in  one  fast  day  there  were  six 
sermons  preached  without  intermission.  1  was  there  myself,  and 
not  a  little  weary  of  so  tedious  a  service."  This,  indeed,  was  in 
Scotland,  but  the  service  was  not  less  tremendous  in  England. 
Philip  Henry  used,  on  such  occasions,  to  begin  at  nine  o'clock, 
.111(1  never  stir  out  of  the  pulpit  till  about  four  in  the  afternoon, 
'■  -spending  all  that  lime  in  praying  and  cxpoundins,  and  singing, 
and  preaching,  to  the  admiration  of  all  that  heard  him,  who  were 
generally  more  on  such  days  than  usual."  John  Howe's  method 
of  conducting  these  pul)lic  lasts,  which  were  frequent  in  those  mis- 
erable days,  was  as  follows  :  He  began  at  nine  o'clock  with  a  pray- 
er of  a  quarter  of  an  h(}>ir,  read  and  expounded  Scripture  for  about 
hree  quarters  of  an  hour,  prayed  an  hour,  preached  another  hour, 
hon  prayed  half  an  hour  :  the  people  then  sung  for  about  a  quar- 


284 


STATE  OF   RELIGION   IN  ENGLAND. 


ciful  forms.  Unhappily,  while  it  nas  in  this  temper, 
a  fashion  of  speculative  impiety  was  Hpj).QrieiLJnui^ 
Fxancfc,  where  it  had  originated  in  a  corrupt  church, 
and  in  a  literature  more  infamously  licentious  than 
that  of  any  other  country.  En^lauid_\vas  iri  but 
apt  a  state  to  receive  the  poison.  Some  of  the  lead- 
ing Commonwealths-men  had  been  inlidels,  and  hated 
the  clergy  of  every  denomination  with  a  bitterness 
which,  if  the  age  had  been  ripe  for  it,  would  have 
produced  an  Anti-christian  persecution  ;  for  infideli- 
ty has  shown  itself  in  a  triumph  to  be  not  less  intol- 
erant than  superstition.  It  was  in  this  school,  that 
some  of  the  leading  statesmen,  in  Charles  the  Se- 
cond's reign,  had  been  trained  ;  and  the  progress  of 
the  evil  was  accelerated,  unintentionally  indeed,  but 
not  less  effectually,  by  a  *  philosophy  of  home-growth, 
the  sliallowest  that  ever  imposed  upon  the  human  un- 
derstan<ling.  The  schools  of  dissent  also  soon  be- 
came schools  of  unbelief:  this  disposition  is  the  na- 
tural consequence  of  those  systems  w  hich  call  upon 
every  man  to  form  his  own  judgment  upon  points  of 
faith,  without  respect  to  the  authority  of  other  age.8 
or  of  wiser  minds,  without  reference  to  his  own  igno- 
rance or  his  own  incapacity;  which,  leave  humility 
out  of  the  essentials  ol"  the  Christian  character,  and 
when  they  pretend  to  erect  their  superstructure  of 
rational  belief,  build  upon  the  shifting  sands  of  vanitj 
and  self-conceit. 

A  great  proportion  of  the  Protestants  in  France, 
following  too  faithfully  the  disgraceful  example  <rf 
Henry  the  Fourth,  had  passed  through  unbelief  to 
Popery,  the  easy  course  which  infidels  will  always 
take  when  it  may  suit  their  interest.    Our  Church 


ter  of  an  hour,  during  which  he  retired  and  took  a  httle  refresh- 
ment ;  he  then  went  into  the  pulpit  again,  prayed  an  hour  more, 
preached  another  hour,  and  then,  with  a  prayer  of  half  an  hour, 
concluded  the  service. 

*  Seethe  Lay  Sermons  of  Mr.  Coleridge,  and  particularly  th« 
last  note  to  the  Statesman's  Manuel,  where  this  subject  is  treated 
with  consummate  knowledge  and  consummate  abihty. 


STATE  OF  RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


285 


was  shaken  to  the  foundation  by  the  same  cause :  it 
was  built  upon  a  rock  ;  but  had  the  fabric  fallen,  the 
constitution  would  not  long  have  remained  standing. 
A  sense  of  the  danger  from  which  we  had  escaped, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  guarding  against  its  recur- 
rence, animated  our  clergy  against  the  Romanists, 
and  they  exerted  themselves  to  expose  the  errors 
and  the  evils  of  the  Romish  superstition.  This  they 
victoriously  effected ;  but  another,  and  not  less  es- 
sential duty,  was  as  much  neglected  as  ever,  the  du- 
ty of  imbuing  the  people,  from  their  youth  up,  with 
the  principles  of  that  pure  faith  which  had  been  ob- 
tained for  them  at  such  cost,  and  preserved  for  them, 
through  such  afflictions,  with  such  difficulty,  and 
from  such  peril.  In  reality,  though  the  temporal  ad- 
vantages ofChristianity  extended  to  all  classes,  the 
great  majority  of  the  populace  knew  nothing  more  of 
religion  than  its  forms.  They  had  been  Papists  for- 
merly, and  now  they  were  Protestants,  but  they  had 
never  been  Christians.  The  Reformation  had  taken 
away  the  ceremonies  to  which  they  were  attached, 
and  substituted  nothing  in  their  stead.  There  was 
the  Bible,  indeed,  but  to  the  great  body  of  the  la- 
bouring people  the  Bible  was,  even  in  the  letter,  a 
sealed  book.  For  that  system  of  general  education 
which  the  fathers  of  the  English  church  desired,  and 
which  saintly  King  Edward  designed,  had  never 
been  provided. 

Nevertheless,  the  Reformation,  though  thus  inju- 
rious in  some  respects,  and  imperfect  in  others,  had 
proved,  in  its  general  consequences,  the  greatest  of 
all  national  blessings.  It  had  set  the  intellect  of  the 
nation  free.  It  had  delivered  us  from  spiritual  bond- 
age. It  rid  the  land  of  the  gross  idolatry  and  abo- 
minable impostures  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  of 
those  practices  by  which  natural  piety  is  debased, 
and  national  morals  are  degraded.  It  saved  us  from 
that  infamous  casuistry  of  the  confessional,  the  end 
of  which  was  to  corrupt  the  conscience,  and  destroy 
the  broad  distinction  between  right  and  wrong.  All 
that  was  false,  all  that  was  burdensome,  all  that  was 


28b 


STATE   OF   RELIGION   IN  ENGLAND. 


absurd,  had  been  swept  away,  like  chaff  before  the 
wind.  Whatever  was  retained  would  bear  the  light, 
for  it  was  that  pure  faith  which  elevates  the  under- 
standing and  purifies  the  heart;  which  strengthens 
the  weakness  of  our  nature ;  which,  instead  of  pre- 
scribing a  system  of  self-tormenting,  like  that  of  the 
Indian  Yoguees,  heightens  all  our  enjoyments,  and  is 
itself  the  source  of  the  highest  enjoyment  to  which  we 
can  attain  in  this  imperfect  state,  while  it  prepares 
us  for  our  progress  in  eternity. 

The  full  effects  of  this  blessed  Reformation  were 
felt  in  those  ranks  where  its  full  advantages  were  en- 
joyed. The  Church  of  England,  since  its  separation 
from  Rome,  had  never  been  Avithout  servants  who 
were  burning  and  shining  lights  ;  not  for  their  own 
generations  only,  but  for  ages  which  are  yet  to  come  : 
the  wisest  and  the  most  learned  may  derive  instruc- 
tion from  their  admirable  works,  and  find  in  them  a 
satisfaction  and  a  delight  by  which  they  may  esti- 
mate their  own  progress  in  wisdom.  Among  the  laity 
also,  the  innate  sense  of  piety,  wherever  it  had  been 
fostered  by  those  happy  circumstances  which  are  fa- 
vourable to  its  developement  and  growth,  received 
a  right  direction.  No  idols  and  phantoms  were  in- 
terposed between  man  and  his  Redeemer ;  no  prac- 
tices were  enjoined  as  substitutes  for  good  works  or 
compensations  for  evil ;  no  assent  was  demanded  to 
propositions  which  contradict  the  senses  and  insult 
the  understanding.  Herein  we  differ  from  the  Ro- 
manists. Nor  are  the  advantages  inconsiderable 
which  we  enjoy  over  our  Protestant  brethren  who 
walk  in  the  by-paths  of  sectarianism.  It  JiaaJieen 
in  the  error  of  attributing  an  undue  importance  Jo 
some  piirticular  point,  that  sects  have  generally  or|- 
ginated  :  they  contemplated  a  part  instead"  of  the 
whole  :  they  split  the  rays  of  truth,  and  see  only  one 
of  the  prismatic  colours,  while  the  members  oflEe 
national  church  live  in  the  light. 

The  evil  was,  that,  among  the  educated  classes, 
too  little  care  was  taken  to  imbue  them  early  with 
this  better  faith;  and  too  little  exertion  used  for 


STATE  OF  RELIGION   IN  ENGLAND. 


287 


awakening  them  from  the  pursuits  and  vanities  of  this 
world,  to  a  salutary  and  hopeful  contemplation  of  that 
which  is  to  come.  And  there  was  the  heavier  evil, 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  nation  were  totally  un- 
educate(l ; — Christians  no  further  than  the  mere  ce- 
remony of  baptism  could  make  them,  being  for  the 
most  part  in  a  state  of  heathen,  or  worse  than  hea- 
then, ignorance.  In  truth,  they  had  never  been  con- 
verted ;  for  at  first  one  idolatry  had  been  substituted 
for  another:  in  this  they  had  followed  the  fashion  of 
their  lords;  and  when  the  Romish  idolatry  was  ex- 
pelled, the  change  on  their  part  was  still  a  matter  of 
necessary  submission  ; — they  were  left  as  ignorant  of 
real  Christianity  as  they  were  found.  The  tvorld  has 
never  yet  seejut  nation,  of  CJiristians. 

The  ancient  legislators  understood  the  power  of 
legislation.  But  no  modern  government  seems  to 
have  perceived,  that  men  are  as  clay  in  the  potters 
hands.  There  are,  and  always  will  be,  innate  and 
unalterable  differences  of  individual  character  ;  but 
n  ationaJ_c  h  ar3£j£iL  ia  _  f  ^^^^^ 

and  circumstances,  and  is  whatever  those  circum- 
stances may  make  it — Japanese  or  Tupinamban,  Al- 
gerine  or  English.  Till  governments  avail  themselves 
of  this  principle  in  its  full  extent,  and  give  it  its  best 
direction,  the  science  of  policy  w  ill  be  incomplete. 

Tiireejneasuj^^  required  for  completing 

the_jtelbxmaUQl^.in  Eiigiatid ;  that  the  conditian  of 
Ih^  inferior  clergy  should  be  improved  ;  that  the 
nuiuber^oi"  religious  instruelers  shxiukl  lie.  g.i-Q':\t]y.  jn- 
creascd  ;  and  that  a  system  of  parochial  education 
shoiild  be  established  and  \igilantly  upheld.  The.^e 
measures  could  on]x  '^^^jeffi^cj^ed  by  the  legislature. 
A  fourth  t li i 1 1 o^^as  needjbl^Umt^^^^^^^^ 
b£_aAvakened  to..,an  a^tjre  discjiarg^e^^^.^^  ; 
and  tliT?  wasliot  witTiin  the  power  of  legislation. — 
The  former  objects  never  for  a  moment  occupied 
Wesley^'s  consideration.  He  began  life  with  ascetic 
habits_an(Lmiin^^  Xestl^ss,  spirit^,  anila 

fieiT  heart.^^jjfi^^aEid-CjJJijfo  conge- 


288 


STATE  OF  RELIGION   h\  ENGLAND. 


not  necessary  for  his  calling,  and  it  was  beneath  his 
thoughts:  he  could  command  not  merely  respecta- 
bility without  it,  but  importance.  Nor  was  he  long 
before  he  discovered  what  St.  Francis  and  his  follow- 
ers and  imitators  had  demonstrated  long  before,  that 
they  who  profess  poverty  for  conscience-sake,  and 
trust  for  daily  bread  to  the  religious  sympathy  which 
they  excite,  will  find  it  as  surely  as  Elijah  in  the  wil- 
derness, and  without  a  miracle.  As  little  did  the 
subject  of  national  education  engage  his  mind  :  his 
aim  was  direct,  immediate,  palpable  utility.  Nor 
could  he  have  effected  any  thing  upon  either  of  these 
great  legislative  points  :  the  most  urgent  representa- 
tions, the  most  convincing  arguments,  would  have 
been  disregarded  in  that  age,  for  the  time  was  not 
come.  The  great  struggle  between  the  destructive 
and  conservative  principles, — between  good  and 
evil, — had  not  yet  commenced ;  and  it  was  not  then 
foreseen  that  the  very  foundations  of  civil  society 
would  be  shaken,  because  governments  had  neglect- 
ed their  most  awful  and  most  important  duty.  But 
the  present  consequences  of  this  neglect  were  ob- 
vious and  glaring ;  the  rudeness  of  the  peasantry,  the 
brutality  of  the  town  populace,  the  prevalence  of 
drunkenness,  the  growth  of  impiety,  the  general 
deadness  to  religion.  These  might  be  combated  by 
individual  exertions,  and  Wesley  felt  in  himself  the 
power  and  the  will  both  in  such  plenitude,  that  they 
appeared  to  him  a  manifestation,  not  to  be  doubted, 
of  the  will  of  Heaven.  Every  trial  tended  to  confirm 
him  in  this  persuasion ;  and  the  effects  which  he  pro- 
duced, both  upon  body  and  mind,  appeared  equally 
to  himself  and  to  his  followers  miraculous.  Diseases 
were  arrested  or  subdued  by  the  faith  which  he  in- 
spired, madness  was  appeased,  and,  in  the  sound  and 
sane,  paroxysms  were  excited  which  were  new  to 
pathology,  and  which  he  believed  to  be  supernatural 
interpositions,  vouchsafed  in  furtherance  of  his  efforts 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  worked  in  opposition  to  them 
by  the  exasperated  Principle  of  Evil.  Drunkards 
AYere  reclaimed  ;  sinners  were  converted  >_lh'l..££nj- 


STATE  OF  RELIGION   IN  ENGLAND. 


289 


tent  who  carne^  in  despair  was  sent  away  with  the 
lulTa^ui^n^  o^  o?  rndifference 

was  broken ;  and  oftentimes  his  eloquence  reached 
the  hard  brute  heart,  and  opening  it,  like  the  rock 
of  Horeb,  made  way  lor  the  living  spring  of  piety 
which  had  been  pent  within.  These  effects  he  saw, — 
they  were  public  and  undeniable;  and  looking  for- 
ward in  exultant  faith,  he  hoped  that  the  leaven 
would  not  cease  to  work  till  it  had  leavened  the 
whole  mass;  that  the  impulse  which  he  had  given 
would  surely,  though  slowly,  operate  a  national  re- 
formation, and  bring  about,  in  fulness  of  time,  the 
fulfilment  of  those  prophecies  which  promise  us  that 
the  kingdom  of  our  Father  shall  come,  and  his  will 
be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 

With  all  this  there  was  intermingled  a  large  por- 
tion of"  enthusiasm,  and  no  small  one  of  superstition  ; 
much  that  was  erroneous,  much  that  was  mischiev- 
ous, much  that  was  dangerous.  ]gut  h_ad  he..b,ee.n 
less  enthusiastic,  of  a  hutivbier^pirit,  or  a^qiiieter 
leart.  oij  a  lu  i t  arc j a  Jgineiit,  Jie  wQiild  neY.er.  have 
commenced  his  uiitlertaking^.  _Serisible  onily  oOhe 
TQod  whicli  ho  \\  as  producnn«^  and_vyhich  he  saw 
prodncod,  lie  \vent_pn_ courageously  and  indeiatiga- 
jd^jn  liis  career.  Whither  it  waslo  lead  he  knew 
lot,  nor  what  form  and  consistence  the  societies 
vhich  he  was  collecting  would  assume;  nor  where 
le  was  to  find  labourers  as  he  enlarged  the  field  of 
lis  operations;  nor  how  the  scheme  was  to  derive 
ts  temporal  support.  But  these  considerations  nei- 
her  troubled  him,  nor  made  him  for  a  moment  fore- 
lack  his  course.  God hjg_  bjg lieyed^^had  aRppin ted 
tj^andjGodLwoiil^^ 
i)ushiiigTiisown  ends. 


VOL.  I. 


CHAPTER  X. 


WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS 

But  the  house  which  Wesley  had  raised  was  di- 
vided in  itself.  He  and  the  Moravians  had  not 
clearly  understood  each  other  when  they  coalesced. 
Count  Zinzendorf  moreover  looked  upon  the  society 
which  had  been  formed  in  London,  as  a  colony  be- 
longing to  his  spiritual  empire ;  and  if  he  was  incapa- 
ble of  bearing  with  an  equal,  Wesley  could  as  little 
brook  a  superior.  A  student  of  Jena,  by  name 
Philip  Henry  Molther,  having  been  detained  by  va- 
rious causes  in  London  on  his  way  to  Pennsylvania, 
took  upon  himself  the  care  of  the  brethren.  The 
Moravians  had  their  extravagancies,  and  of  a  worse 
kind  than  any  into  which  Methodism  had  fallen; 
but  these  extravagancies  had  not  been  transplanted 
into  England  :  their  system  tended  to  produce  a  se- 
date, subdued  habit  of  mind,  and  nothing  could  b( 
more  contrary  to  this  than  the  paroxysms  whicl, 
were  exhibited  under  Wesley's  preaching,  and  the 
ravings  to  which  he  appealed  exultingly  as  proofs  ol 
the  work  of  grace.  Molther  maintained  that  then 
was  delusion  in  these  things;  that  the  joy  and  lovt 
which  were  testified  in  such  glowing  language  were 
the  effect  of  animal  spirits  and  imagination,  not  joy  ii^ 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  real  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  their  hearts.  They  who,  whether  owing 
to  their  strength  of  mind  or  of  body,  had  not  experi- 
enced such  emotions,  were  disposed  to  listen  to  hil 
opinion,  and  congratulate  themselves  that  they  had 
escaped  a  dangerous  delusion ;  and  it  was  yet  more 
willingly  embraced  by  those  who  had  become  languid 
and  spiritless  in  consequence  of  over-excitement, 
felt  in  themselves  an  abatement  of  zeal,  had  relaxed 
in  any  degree  from  the  rule  of  life  which  they  had 
begun,  or  returned  to  any  of  those  practices  whicK 


WESLEY   SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS.  291 


were  really  sinful  or  which  they  had  been  taught  to 
think  so.  I  observed,"  says  Wesley,  every  day 
more  and  more  the  advantages  Satan  had  gained  over 
us.  Many  of  those  who  once  knew  in  whom  they 
had  believed  were  thrown  into  idle  reasonings,  and 
thereby  filled  with  doubts  and  fears  from  which  they 
now  found  no  way  to  escape.  Many  were  induced 
to  deny  the  gift  of  God,  and  affirm  they  never  had 
any  faith  at  all,  especially  those  who  had  fallen 
again  into  sin,  and,  of  consequence,  into  darkness." 

That  which  has  so  often  happened  in  theological 
disputes,  and  sometimes  with  such  lamentable  effects, 
occurred  in  this.  In  opposing  Wesley's  error,  the 
Moravian  advanced  opinions  equally  erroneous  ;  he 
maintained  that  there  arc  no  degrees  of  faith  ;  that 
no  man  has  any  degree  of  it  before  he  has  the  full 
assurance;  that  there  is  no  justifying  faith  short  of 
ihis;  that  the  way  to  attain  it  is  to  wait  for  Christ 
ind  be  still,  but  not  to  use  the  means  of  grace,  by 
frequenting  church,  or  communicating,  or  fasting,  or 
engaging  much  in  private  prayer,  or  reading  the 
Scriptures,  or  doing  temporal  good,  or  attempting  to 
do  spiritual  good,  because,  he  argued,  no  fruit  of  the 
Spirit  can  be  given  by  those  who  have  it  not,  and 
they  who  have  not  faith  themselves,  are  utterly  un- 
able to  guide  others.  These  positions  were  strenu- 
ously opposed  by  Wesley  ;  and  when  Molther  main- 
tained that  since  his  arrival  in  England  he  had  done 
much  good  by  unsettling  many  from  a  false  founda- 
tion and  bringing  them  into  '•  true  stillness,"  Wesley 
insisted,  on  the  contrary,  that  much  harm  had  been 
done  by  unsettling  those  who  were  beginning  to  build 
good  works  upon  the  right  foundation  of  faith,  and 
bewildering  them  in  vain  reasonings  and  doubtful 
disputations. 

Molther  however  produced  a  great  effect,  while 
he  had  the  field  to  himself;  and  Wesley  was  inform- 
ed that  the  brethren  in  London  had  neither  wisdom 
enough  to  guide,  nor  prudence  enough  to  let  it  alone  ; 
that  the  Moravians  seemed  to  consult  about  things 
as  if  they  were  the  whole  body,  that  they  made  a 


292    Wesley  separates  from  the  Moravians. 


mere  jest  of  going  to  church  or  to  the  sacrament,  and 
that  many  of  the  sisters  were  shaken,  and  grievously 
torn  by  reasonings,  and  that  there  seemed  to  be  a 
design  of  dividing  the  society.  Accordingly  he  re- 
paired to  London  \vith  a  heavy  heart.  "  Here," 
says  he,  "  I  found  every  day  the  dreadful  eflccts  of 
our  brethren's  reasoning  and  disputing  with  each 
other.  Scarce  one  in  ten  retained  his  first  love,  and 
most  of  the  rest  were  in  the  utmost  confusion,  biting 
and  devouring  one  another.  I  pray  God  ye  be  not 
consumed  one  of  another ! — One  came  to  me  by 
whom  I  used  to  profit  much,  but  her  conversation 
Was  now  too  high  for  me.  It  was  far  above,  out  of 
my  sight.  My  soul  is  sick  of  tliis  sublime  divinity! 
Let  nie  think  and  speak  as  a  little  child  !  Let  my 
religion  be  plain,  artless,  simple  !  Meekness,  tem- 
perance, patience,  faith  and  love,  be  these  my  high- 
eat  gifts  ;  and  let  the  highest  words  wherein  1  teach 
them  be  those  I  learn  from  the  Book  of  God.''  He 
had  a  long  and  patient  conference  with  Molther,  by 
which  the  only  advantage  gained  was  that  they  dis- ' 
tinctly  understood  each  other;  and  he  earnestly' 
besought  the  brethren  to  "  stand  in  the  old  paths, 
and  no  longer  to  subvert  one  another's  souls  by  idle 
controversies  and  strife  of  words."  They  seemed  to 
be  all  convinced,  but  it  was  rather  by  the  effect  of 
his  presence  than  of  his  reasoning ;  and  he  fancied 
that  in  answer  to  their  prayers  a  spirit  of  peace  was 
sent  among  them  to  which  they  had  for  many  montha 
been  strangers. 

This  was  of  short  continuance.  Complaints  were 
made  to  Wesley  that  those  brethren  who  adhere€[ 
to  the  Moravian  opinions  and  had  left  off'  the  ordi- 
nances, were  continually  troubling  the  others  and 
forcing  them  to  dispute.  This  occasioned  an  cxpos<^ 
tulation  on  his  part:  he  entreated  them  not  to  per-i 
plex  their  brethren  any  more,  but  at  least  to  excus», 
those  who  still  waited  for  God  in  the  w  ays  of  his  ap- 
pointment. Toleration  of  this  kind  is  little  compati-j 
ble  with  hearty  zeal,  and  if  Wesley  on  this  occasion  , 
supplicated  for  a  truce,  it  was  because  his  people 


WESLEY  SEPARATES  FKOiM  THE  MORAVIANS.  293 


were  the  weaker  party.  He  left  London,  however, 
for  Bristol,  whither  this  disunion  had  not  extended. 
Charles  arrived  from  a  circuit  during  his  absence, 
and  supported  the  same  cause  with  equal  ardour. 
But  the  difference  became  more  marked,  and  the 
reciprocal  feeling  more  acrimonious,  and  he  per- 
ceived that  a  separation  must  be  the  natural  result. 
"  Their  practice,"  said  he,  "  is  agreeable  to  their 
principles ;  lazy  and  proud  themselves,  bitter  and 
censorious  toward  others,  they  trample  upon  the 
ordinances  and  despise  the  commands  of  Christ.  I 
sec  no  middle  point  wherein  we  can  meet."  Some 
of  his  opponents  imagined  that  John  was  less  hostile 
to  their  opinions,  or  more  tolerant  of  them  than  his 
brother ;  and  tor  this  reason  they  summoned  him 
from  Bristol  that  he  might  interfere  once  more,  and 
put  an  end  to  their  jarrings.  He  arrived  in  no  cheer- 
ful mood,  and  in  no  charitable  one ;  for  Molther  hap- 
pened to  be  taken  ill,  and  he  affirmed  that  it  was  the 
hand  of  God  that  was  upon  *him  !  "  Our  society 
met,"  he  says,  "  but  cold,  weary,  heartless,  dead. 
I  found  nothing  of  brotherly  love  among  them  now, 
but  a  harsh,  dry,  heavy,  stupid  spirit.  For  two  hours 
they  looked  one  at  another,  when  they  looked  up  at 

I  all,  as  if  one  half  of  them  was  afraid  of  the  other." 
The  Moravian  opinion  upon  the  matter  in  dispute 

I  had  the  great  advantage  of  being  convenient ;  it 
exempted  all  persons  from  the  ordinances, — those 

i  who  were  without  faith  because  they  ought  not  to 
use  them,  those  who  had  faith  because  they  were 
not  required  to  do  it.  It  prevailed  with  many,  and  it 
staggered  more.    Wherever  Wesley  went  he  was 

*  In  Wesley's  Answer  to  Mr.  Church's  Remarks,  this  circum- 
stance is  thus  noticed  :  "  You  describe  heaven  (quotinii;  from  Mr. 
Church)  as  executinc;  judgments,  immediate  punisliments,  on  those 
who  oppose  you.    You  say  '  Mr.  Molther  was  taken  ill  this  day 
I  1  beheve  it  was  the  hand  of  God  that  was  upon  him.'    1  do.  Bui 
I  do  not  say  as  n  judgment  from  God  for  opposina;  me.    That  yon 
j  say  for  mc."    This  is  very  discreditable  to  Wesley.    If  he  did 
,  not  expressly  say  this,  it  is  plain  that  he  imjilicd  it,  that  his  fol- 
I  lowers  would  understand  it  so,  and  that  he  intended  it  so  to  he  vin- 
j  dcrstood. 


294     WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS. 


besieged  by  those  who,  having  once  been  "  full  ot 
peace  and  love,  were  now  again  plunged  into  doubts 
and  fears,  and  driven  even  to  their  wit's  ends."  He 
was  utterly  at  a  loss  what  course  to  take  ;  these  vain 
janglings,  as  he  calls  them,  pursued  him  everywhere. 
He  endeavoured,  by  explaining  in  public  those  texts 
which  had  been  perverted,  and  by  private  conver- 
sation, to  reclaim  those  who  had  been  led  astray, 
and  confirm  those  who  were  wavering ;  and  after  a 
few  days  of  this  unsatisfactory  and  ungrateful  work, 
he  again  left  London,  having,  he  says,  delivered  his 
own  soul. 

That  expression  implies  a  full  persuasion  on  his 
part  that  a  separatiorj  must  ensue.  Indeed,  he  had 
ah-eady  contemplated  such  an  event.  In  one  of  their 
conferences,  Molther  had  maintained  the  Jesuitical 
opinion  that  pious  frauds  might  lawfully  be  used. 
This  he  had  resolutely  opposed  ;  but  when  others  of 
the  Moravian  persuasion  to  whom  he  was  more  ami- 
cably inclined,  pleaded  for  a  certain  "  reservedness 
and  closeness  of  conversation,"  thougii  it  neither  ac- 
corded with  his  judgment  nor  his  temper,  nor  with 
his  interpretation  of  St.  Paul's  direction,  he  felt  some 
hesitation  upon  the  subject,  considering  that  they 
had  the  practice  of  the  Moravian  church  on  their 
side  :  and  recurring,  according  to  his  custom,  to  the 
Testament  for  a  chance  text,  he  opened  upon  these 
words.  J'f^at  is  that  to  thee  ?  Folloio  thou  me.  Four 
months  before  this  bibUomancy  came  in  aid  of  his 
meditated  purpose,  he  had  taken  a  large  building  in 
Moorfields  which  had  been  the  foundry  for  cannon 
during  the  civil  wars,  and  for  some  time  after  the  Res- 
toration ;  he  felt  himself  in  a  minority  in  Fetter-lane 
which  had  hitherto  been  their  chief  place  of  meeting; 
and  foreseeing  that  it  would  ere  long  be  necessary 
for  him  to  secede,  unless  he  waited  to  be  expelled, 
he  thus  provided  for  the  alternative  in  time. 

After  a  short  stay  at  Bristol,  therefore,  he  return- 
ed to  London,  fully  prepared  for  the  decisive  step. 
The  first  measure  was  to  muster  his  own  adherents^ 
by  new  modelling  the  bands,  and  thus  relieving  them 


WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS.  295 


from  that  perpetual  disputation  by  which  they  were 
wavered  if  not  weakened.  In  this  the  Wesleys  were 
assisted  by  Ingham.  "  We  gathered  up  our  wreck," 
say  Charles,  "  rati  nantes  in  gufgite  vasto,  floating  here 
and  there  on  the  vast  abyss;  for  nine  out  of  ten  were 
swallowed  up  in  the  dead  sea  of  stillness.  Oh  why 
was  not  this  done  six  months  ago  !  How  fatal  was 
our  delay  and  false  moderation !"  Molther  was  too 
ill  for  any  more  conferences,  if  any  amicable  result 
could  have  been  expected  from  such  measures,  al- 
ways more  likely  to  widen  ditferences  than  to  adjust 
them.  But  though  Molther  was  thus  disabled  from 
bearing  a  part,  Wesley  could  make  no  impression 
upon  the  "  poor,  confused,  shattered  society,"  when 
he  plainly  told  them  wherein  they  had  erred  from 
the  faith.  "It  was  as  I  feared,"  says  he.  "They 
could  not  receive  my  saying.  However  I  am  clear 
from  the  blood  of  these  men:"  and  "finding  there 
was  no  time  to  delay  without  utterly  destroying  the 
cause  of  God,  I  began  to  execute  what  I  had  long 
designed,  to  strike  at  the  root  of  the  grand  delu- 
sion." Accordingly,  every  day  for  a  week  in  succes- 
sion he  preached  in  the  strongest  langunge  against 
the  tenets  by  which  the  majority  of  his  former  fol- 
lowers were  now  weaned  from  him.  But  easy  as  he 
had  found  it  to  subdue  the  hearts  and  imaginations 
of  men,  he  found  them  invincible  when  they  were 
attacked  in  the  strong-hold  of  their  self-conceit. 
They  told  him  that  he  was  preaching  up  the  works 
of  the  law,  w  hich  as  believers  they  were  no  more 
bound  to  obey  than  the  subjects  of  the  King  of 
England  were  bound  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  King 
,  of  France. 

One  of  the  spurious  treatises  ascribed  to  Dionysi- 
!  us  the  Areopagite  was  a  favourite  book  among  the 
t  Moravianized  members.  Some  extracts  were  an- 
)  nexed  to  It  in  a  style  of  what  Wesley  calls  the  same 
I  super-essential  darkness.  Wesley  took  the  volume 
I  to  Fetter-lane,  and  read  these  words  before  the  jar- 
'  ri:tg  society,  "The  Scriptures  are  good  ;  prayer  is 
M  good;  communicating  is  good  ;  relieving  our  neigh- 


i 


296     WESLEV    SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS, 

bours  is  good  :  but  to  one  who  is  not  born  of  God 
none  of  these  are  good,  but  all  very  evil.  For  hini 
to  read  the  Scriptures,  or  to  pray,  or  to  communicate, 
or  to  do  any  outward  work,  is  deadly  poison.  First 
let  him  be  born  of  God.  Till  then  let  him  not  do 
any  of  these  things.  For  if  he  does,  he  destroys 
himself"  Having  twice  read  these  words,  distinct- 
ly, that  all  might  hear  and  understand,  he  asked, 
"  My  brethren,  is  this  right,  or  is  it  wrong  ?"  One  of 
them  replied,  "  It  is  right :  it  is  all  right.  It  is  the 
truth;  it  is  the  very  truth;  it  is  the  inward  truth. 
And  to  this  we  must  all  come,  or  we  never  can  come 
to  Christ."  Another  said,  "I  used  the  ordinances 
twenty  years,  yet  I  found  not  Christ.  But  I  left  them 
off  only  for  a  few  weeks  and  I  found  Him  then  :  and 
I  am  now  as  close  united  to  Him  as  my  arm  is  to  my 
body."  Many  voices  were  now  raised  against  Wes- 
ley ;  it  was  asked  whether  they  would  any  longer 
suffer  him  to  preach  at  Fetter-lane  ;  and  after  a  short 
debate  it  was  answered,  "  No,  this  place  is  taken  for 
the  Germans."  But  Wesley  knew  how  important  it 
was  that  the  separation  should  appear  to  be  an  act 
of  his  own  authority  and  will ;  and  going  to  their 
love-feast  on  the  Sunday  following,  at  the  close  of 
the  meeting  he  stood  up,  and  read  from  a  written 
paper  a  brief  statement  of  the  doctrines  which  he 
condemned.  It  concluded  with  these  words:  '-You 
have  often  affirmed  that  to  search  the  Scriptures,  to 
pray,  or  to  communicate  before  we  have  Faith,  is  to 
seek  salvation  by  works,  and  that  till  these  works 
are  laid  aside  no  man  can  have  Faith.  I  believe 
these  assertions  to  be  tlatly  contrary  to  the  Word  of 
God.  I  have  warned  you  hereof  again  and  again, 
and  besought  you  to  turn  back  to  the  Law  and  the 
Testimony.  I  have  borne  with  you  long,  hoping  you 
would  turn.  But  as  I  find  you  more  and  more  con- 
firmed in  the  error  of  your  ways,  nothing  now  re- 
mains but  that  1  should  give  you  up  to  God.  You 
that  are  of  the  same  judgment,  follow  me  !" 

A  few  persons,  and  but  a  few,  withdrew  with  him. 
When  they  met  at  the  Foundry  for  the  first  time  a  f- 


WESLEY   SEPARATES  FROM   THE   MORAVIANS.  297 


ter  the  separation,  the  secedors  were  found  to  be 
about  twenty-five  men  ;  but  of  the  fifty  women  that 
were  in  band:?,  almost  all  adhered  to  Wesley.  Just 
at  (liis  time  a  curious  letter  was  received  from  one 
of  the  German  brethren;    he  advised  the  W  esleys 
no  longer  to  take  upon  themselves  to  teach  and  in- 
struct poor  souls,  but  to  deliver  them  up  to  the  care 
of  the  Moravians  who  alone  were  able  to  instruct 
them.    "  You."  said  he,  "  only  instruct  them  in  such 
errors  that  they  will  be  damned  at  last.    St.  Paul 
justly  describes  you  who  have  eyes  full  of  adultery  and 
caiDiol  cease  from  sin.  and  take  upon  you  to  guide  un- 
stab'e  souls  and  lead  them  in  the  way  of  damnation.'* 
This  letter  seems  to  have  produced  another  epistle 
from     John  Wesley,  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  of 
jrod  in  Englai)d,  to  the  Church  of  God  at  Herrnhut 
n  Upper  Lusatia."     Wesley  never  returned  railing 
or  railing;  he  had  his  temper  entirely  under  com- 
nand.  and  therefore  he  was  always  calm  and  deco- 
'ous  in  controversy.    His  owu  feehngs  had  not  been 
jf  tiie  most  charitable  kind  :  he  had  ascribed  the  ill- 
less  of  his  chief  antagonist  to  the  arm  of  the  Lord: 
n  arguing  with  the  Moravians  against  their  errors  he 
lad  expressed  himself  as  delivering  his  own  soul,  as 
)eiug  clear  from  the  blood  of  those  men;    and  when 
le  withdrew  from  them  he  gave  them  up  to  God  ; 
•hrases  these  which  are  of  no  equivocal  indicatiorj. 
'  3ut  the  coarseness  of  his  German  monitor  taught  him 
iiow  to  a\  oi<l  an  error,  which  when  applied  to  himself 
le  saw  in  all  its  absurdity  and  all  its  grossness,  and 
lie  began  his* Epistle  in  a  bettter  and  a  wiser  spirit. 
•  It  m^y  seem  strange  that  such  a  one  as  I  am  should 
I  ake  upon  me  to  write  to  you.     You.  I  believe  to  be 
/:•  cii'tldrcn  of  God,  through  faith  lohich  is  in  Jesus. 
ou  believe,  as  some  of  you  have  declared,  to  be 
/  of  the  devil,  a  servant  of  corruption.    Yet  what- 
oiMor  I  am.  or  whatsoever  you  arc.  I  beseech  you  to 
\     h  the  Ibllowing  words  :    if  hnply  God,  who  send- 
;  whom  He  ivill  send,  may  give  ynji  light  thereby, 
ugh  the  mist  of  darkrtcss,  as  one  of  you  aifirm, 
ijuiiid  be  reserved  tor  me  for  ever.*' 
^()!..  I. 


298     WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS. 


He  proceeded  to  state  temperately  what  were  the 
things  which  he  disapproved  in  their  tenets  and  in 
their  conduct,  and  gave  some  instances  of  the  indis- 
cretion of  the  English  brethren,  to  whom  he  more 
particularly  alluded.  One  of  them  had  said,  when 
puhlicly  expounding  Scripture,  that  as  many  went  to 
hell  by  praying  as  by  thieving.  Another  had  said, 
"You  have  lost  your  first  joy:  therefore  you  pray:  i 
that  is  the  devil.  You  read  the  Bible:  that  is  the 
devil.  You  communicate :  that  is  the  devil."  For 
these  extravagancies  he  justly  blamed  the  commu- 
nity in  which  they  were  uttered,  and  by  wliich  they 
were  suffered,  if  not  sanctioned.  "  Let  not  any  of 
you,  my  brethren;  say.  We  are  not  chargeable  with 
what  they  speak.  Indeed  you  are.  For  you  can  hin- 
der it  if  you  ivill.  Therefore,  if  you  do  not,  it  must 
be  charged  upon  you.  If  you  do  not  use  the  power 
which  is  in  your  hands,  and  thereby  prevent  their 
apeaking  thus,  you  do  in  effect  speak  thus  yourselves. 
You  make  ihcir  words  your  oivn^  and  are  accordingly 
chargeable  with  every  ill  consequence  which  may 
flow  therefrom." 

Though  Wesley  had  been  compelled  to  separate 
from  the  Moravians,  there  were  many  circumstances 
which,  after  the  separation  had  taken  place,  tended 
greatly  to  modify  the  feelings  that  had  produced  it. 
Among  the  German  brethren  there  were  some  whom 
he  could  not  but  regard  with  affection  and  respect: 
and  in  England  many  persons  adhered  to  them  witi 
whom  he  had  been  long  and  intimately  connected 
and  whose  integrity  he  knew.  Ingham  and  Delamottt 
were  of  this  number,  and  Hutton,  whom  Wesley  found 
as  little  obedient  to  his  spiritual  Father  as  he  ha< 
taught  him  to  be  to  his  natural  parents;  and  Gam 
bold,  a  humble  and  heavenly-minded  man,  who  hac 
been  one  of  the  first  Methodi.sts  at  Oxford.  The} 
made  Wesley  perceive  that  all  errors  of  opinion  wen 
not  necessarily  injurious  to  the  iiidividual  by  whon 
they  were  entertained ;  but  that  men  who  went 
different  ways  might  meet  in  heaven.  They  showec 
him  also  that  opinions  which  appeared  gross  anc 


WESLEY  SEPARATES  FKOM  THE  MORAVIANS.  299 

monstrous  wlien  advanced  by  rash  or  ignorant  advo- 
cates, might  have  their  specious  side.  A  few  months 
after  the  breach,  he  says  in  his  journal,  "  Our  old 
friends,  Mr.  Gambold  and  Mr.  Hall,  came  to  see  my 
brother  and  me.  The  conversation  turned  wholly  on 
siltnt  prayer^  and  quiet  waiting  for  God,  which  they  said 
was  the  only  possible  way  to  attain  living,  saving 
faith. 

Sirenum  canUis  et  Ct  rccs  pocula  7iosti  ? 

Was  there  ever  so  pleasing  a  scheme  }  But  where  is 
it  written.''  Not  in  any  of  those  books  which  I  ac- 
count the  Oracles  of  God.  I  allow  if  there  is  a  bet- 
ter way  to  God  than  the  Scriptural  way,  this  is  it: 
but  the  prejudice  of  education  so  hangs  upon  me, 
that  I  cannot  think  there  is.  I  must,  therefore,  still 
wait  in  the  Bible  way,  from  which  this  differs  as  light 
from  darkness." 

Perhaps  the  separation  of  the  Methodists  from  the 
Moravians  would  not  have  occurred  so  soon  if  Peter 
Bochler  had  at  that  time  been  in  England.  JJ_Q^other 
individual,  during  any  part  of  his  life,  possessed  so 
g?eaf  an  ascendancy  over  the  mind  of  Wesley  as  this 
remarkable  man.  And  now  when  he  returned  to  this 
country  after  the  breach,  Wesley's  feelings  upon  the 
first  interview  were  strongly  excited  ;  "  I  marvel,"  he 
gays.  "  how  I  refrain  from  joining  these  men.  I  scarce 
ever  see  any  of  them  but  my  heart  burns  within  me. 
I  long  to  be  with  them.  And  yet  I  am  kept  from 
them."  He  went  to  a  love-feast  at  which  Boehler 
presided,  and  left  it  with  the  impression  that  the  time 
would  surely  return  when  there  should  be  again 
among  them  "  union  of  mind  as  in  them  all  one  soul." 
But  there  were  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  this  re- 
union ;  those  on  the  opposite  part  he  thus  strongly 
stated  in  a  letter  to  his  brother:  "  As  yet  I  dare  in 
10  wise  join  with  the  Moravians  ;  because  their  ge- 
leral  scheme  is  mystical^  not  scriptural,  refined  in  every 
pomt  giBoVe  what  is  written,  immeasurably  beyond 
;he  plain  Gospel;  because  there  is  darkness  and 


300     WKSLEY  SEPA KATES  FROM   THE  MORAVIANS^ 


closeness  in  all  their  behaviour,  and  guile  in  ahnosi 
all  their  words ;  because  tliej^not  ojily  do  not  prac-' 
tis^,  but_utterlj  despise  arid  decry  seif-deujiraiicl 
tfie  (lailj  cross ;  because  they  coni'orm  to  the  world, 
in  wearing  gold  and  gny  or  costly  aj)parel;  because 
they  extend  Cliristian  liberty  in  iiiany  otlier  respects 
also:  Ihey  are  by  no  means  zealous  of  good  works, 
or  at  least  only  to  their  own  people.  For  these  rea- 
sons chiefly,  I  will  rather,  God  being  my  Helper, 
stand  quite  alone  than  join  with  them;  I  mean,  till! 
have  full  assurance  that  they  are  better  acquainted 
with  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.'''' 

Yet  these  obstacles  would  not  have  been  insuper- 
able, if  there  had  not  existed  others,  which  Wesley 
perhaps  did  not  acknowledge  even  to  himself  and  in 
his  inmost  heart.  Jolin  Wesley  could  never  have 
been  more  than  a  member  of  the  Moravian  church  : 
the  first  place  was  occupied,  an7rne~was  noFborn  to 
bold  a  secondary  one,  His_j]i?_ctnne_of^ 
also  waa-jat_ieLasi,4i^<5bi^i<*naJ3le  lo  lhe_^iiiraAdaDS,, 
ia£tHeir  mysticism  to  jiirn,  and  assuredly  it  was  more 
darigeroUs.  IJjjon  this  point  he  held  a  conference 
with  Boelder,  and  his  first  friend  Spangenberg,  who 
thus  stated  their  belief  upon  this  point:  "The  mo- 
iiient  we  are  justified,  a  new  creature  is  put  into  us. 
But,  notwithstanding,  the  old  creature,  or  the  old 
luan,  remains  in  Us,  till  the  day  of  our  death ;  and  in 
this  old  man  there  remains  aii  old  heart,  corrupt  and 
iibominabie  :  for  inwrird  corruption  remains  in  the 
soul,  as  long  as  the  soul  remains  in  the  body.  But 
the  heart  wliich  is  in  the  tiew  man  is  clean.  And  the 
new  man  is  strongei  than  the  old ;  so  that  though 
c6rruption  continually  strives,  yet,  while  we  look  to 
Christ,  it  cannot  prevail."  Wesley  asked  him  if  there 
wrts  an  old  man  in  him:  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "and 
will  be  as  long  as  I  live  "  ^'  Is  there  then  corruption 
in  your  heart  said  Wesley*  Spangenberg  made 
answer^,  In  the  heart  of  my  old  man  there  is,  but 
not  in  the  heart  of  my  new  man  ;"  and  this,  he  said- 
was  confirmed j  not  by  his  own  experience  only,  but 
by  that  of  all  the  Moravian  churclK    Some  of  We8« 


WESLF.Y   SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS.      30 1 


ley's  disciples,  women  as  well  as  men,  who  were  pre- 
sent at  this  conference,  bore  testimony  to  the  possi- 
bility of  attaining  that  Christian  perlection  which  vyas 
atjjii^  time  WesleyVlayourite  tenet,  and  which  was 
so  HaTteTing  to  the  pride  of  his  followers.  Bnt  Span- 
geiiiberg  answered  this  with  great  truth,  as  well  as 
great  emotion*,  and  the  old  man's  hand  trembled  as 
he  spake :  "  You  all  deceive  your  own  souls !  There 
is  no  higher  state  than  that  I  have  described.  You 
are  in  a  very  dangerous  error.  You  know  not  your 
own  hearts.  You  fancy  your  corruptions  are  taken 
away,  whereas  they  are  only  covered.  Inward  cor- 
ruption never  can  be  taken  away,  till  our  bodies  are 
in  the  dust."  The  same  opinion  was  afterwards  ex- 
pressed to  Wesley,  in  familiar  conversation,  by  Boeh- 
ier,  but  with  characteristic  vigour:  "  Sin  will  and 
must  alwavs  remain  in  the  soul.  The  old  man  will 
remain  till  death.  The  old  nature  is  like  an  old 
tooth:  you  may  break  off  one  bit,  and  another,  and 
another:  but  you  can  never  get  it  all  aAvay.  The 
stump  will  stay  as  long  as  you  live,  and  sometimes 
will  ache  too." 

The  scheme  of  a  re-union,  however  had  been  so 
much  brought  forward,  that  the  Methodists  in  Lon- 
don set  apart  a  day  for  prayer  and  humbling  their 
souls  before  God,  if  haply  He  might  sho^v  them  His 
will  concerning  it.  All  the  men  and  women  bands 
met  accordingly,  and  tliey  were  satisfied,  from  the 
conviction  which  this  meeting  produced,  that  the 
time  was  not  yet  come,  "  because  the  Moravians  had 
not  given  up  their  most  essentially  erroneous  doc- 
trities  ;"  and  because,  it  was  said,  so  much  guile  had 
been  found  in  their  words,  that  it  was  difficult  to 
know  what  they  really  held  and  what  they  did  not.'' 
Wesley  did  not  perceive  that  there  was  a  beam  in  liis 
own  eye;  but  knowing  many  of  the  Moravians  as  he 
knew  them,  after  long  and  intimate  intercourse,  he 
ought  to  have  known  that  their  ambiguity  should  have 
been  imputed  to  any  cause  rather  than  guile.  On 
their  part  the  separation  was  not  desired  :  upon  the 
first  intelligence  of  the  difference,  Count  Zinzendorf 


'M2.     WESLEY   SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS. 


sent  over  Spangenberg  to  act  as  mediator;  and 
Spangenberg  having  pronounced  that  the  Moravians 
had  been  blameable,  and  had  injured  Wesley,  the 
Count  gave  orders  that  they  should  ask  *  his  forgive- 
ness ;  and  when  he  found  that  Wesley  had  rejected 
the  proffered  reconcileation,  he  came  to  England 
himself.  The  meeting  between  these  personages 
was  arranged  by  Hutton,  and  took  place  in  GrayV 
Inn  Walks.  They  conversed  in  Latin ;  and  Zinzen- 
dorf,  who  assumed  throughout  the  scene  that  superi- 
ority to  which  his  birth  and  rank  had  habituated  him, 
began  by  demanding  of  Wesley  wherefore  he  had 
changed  his  religion:  "You  have  affirmed,"  said  he, 
"  in  your  epistle,  that  they  who  are  true  Christians 
are  not  miserable  sinners  ;  and  this  is  most  false  ;  for 
the  best  of  men  are  most  miserable  sinners,  even  till 
death.  They  who  teach  otherwise  are  either  abso- 
lute impostors,  or  they  are  under  a  diabolical  delu- 
sion. You  have  opposed  our  brethren,  who  taught 
better  things  ;  and  when  they  offered  peace,  you  de- 
nied it.  I  loved  you  greatly,"  said  Zinzendorf, 
"  when  you  wrote  to  me  from  Georgia:  then  I  knew 
that  you  were  simple  at  heart.  You  wrote  again  ;  I 
knew  that  you  were  simple  at  heart,  but  that  your 
ideas  were  disturbed.  You  came  to  us,  and  then 
your  ideas  were  more  and  more  confused."  And  he 
reproached  him  for  having  refused  to  be  reconciled 
with  the  brethren,  when,  in  obedience  to  Spangen- 
berg, they  had  entreated  his  forgiveness.  Wesley  re- 
plied, it  was  true  that  they  had  treated  him  wrong- 
fully, and  aftervi^ards  asked  his  forgiveness.  He  had 
made  answer,  that  forgiveness  was  unnecessary,  be- 
cause he  had  never  been  offended  ;  but  that  he  fear- 
ed lest  they  taught  erroneously,  and  lived  incorrectly; 

*  It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  Wesley  that  these  circumstances 
are  not  stated  in  his  Journal,  and  no  otherwise  recorded  than  in 
the  conversation  with  Count  Zinzendorf,  which,  he  says,  he  dared 
not  conceal.  But,  as  he  printed  it  in  the  original  Latin,  and  did 
not  think  proper  to  annex  a  translation,  it  was  effectually  conceal- 
ed from  the  great  majority  of  his  followers.  Neither  are  they 
noticed  by  any  of  the  biographers  of  Wesley. 


WESLEY  SEPARATES  PROM  THE  MORAVIANS.  303 


and  this  was  the  matter  in  dispute :  they  erred  in 
their  iipiniQns_ciH\cer^^^  perfectiprhliind 
concernine  the  means^of^race.  To  this  Zinzendorf 
veliemently  replied,  "  I  acknowledge  no  inherent 
perfection  in  this  life.  This  is  the  error  of  errors.  I 
persecute  it  through  all  the  world  with  fire  and 
sword.  I  trample  upon  it,  I  destroy  it.  Christ  is  our 
only  perfection.  AH  Cliristian  perfection  is  faith  in 
the  blood  of  Christ.  It  is  imputed,  not  inherent.  We 
are  perfect  in  Christ ;  we  are  never  perfect  in  our- 
selves." Wesley  protested,  that  this  was  merely  a 
dispute  concerning  words,  and  attempted  to  prove 
it  so  by  a  series  of  interrogations,  by  which  the  Count 
was  led  to  this  assertion,  "  We  reject  all  self-denial ; 
we  trample  on  it.  In  faith  we  do  whatever  we  de- 
sire, and  nothing  more.  We  laugh  at  all  mortifica- 
tion ;  no  purification  precedes  perfect  love."  If  this 
meant  all  that  it  expresses,  it  would  indeed  be  a  pe- 
rilous doctrine.  But  it  often  happens,  that  language 
equally  indiscreet  is  innocently  intended,  and  less 
evil  is  produced  by  it  than  might  reasonably  be  ap- 
prehended, because  the  intention  is  understood. 

Wesley  put  an  end  to  this  curious  conversation, 
by  promising  that,  with  God's  help,  he  would  per- 
pend what  the  Count  had  said.  But  his  part  was 
already  taken :  no  further  attempt  at  reconcili- 
ation was  made ;  and  after  three  years  had  elaps- 
ed, he  published  the  breach  to  the  world,  in  the  fourth 
part  of  his  Journal,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  Mora- 
vian Church,  and  more  especially  to  that  part  of  it 
then  or  lately  residing  in  England,  I  am  constrain- 
ed at  length,"  he  said,  "  to  bpeak  my  present  senti- 
ments concerning  you.  I  have  delayed  thus  long,  be- 
cause I  loved  you,  and  was  therefore  unwilling  to 
grieve  you  in  any  thing:  and  likewise  because  I  was 
afraid  of  creating  another  obstacle  to  that  union 
which,  if  I  know  my  own  heart  in  any  degree,  1  desire 
above  all  things  under  heaven.  But  I  dare  no  longer 
delay,  lest  my  silence  should  be  a  snare  to  any  oth- 
ers of  the  children  of  God  ;  and  lest  you  yourselves 
should  be  more  confirmed  in  what  I  cannot  reconcile 


304      WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS. 

to  the  \Aw  and  the  testimony.  This  would  strength- 
en the  bar  which  I  long  to  remove.  And  were  that 
once  taken  out  of  the  way,  I  should  rejoice  to  be  a 
door-keeper  in  the  house  of  God,  a  hewer  of  wood, 
or  a  drawer  of  water  among  you-  Surely  I  would 
follow  you  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  or  remain  with 
you  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea.*"'  He  praised 
them  for  laying  the  true  foundation  in  their  doctrine; 
for  brotherly  love  of  each  other;  for  their  sober,  in- 
nocent, and  industrious  lives.  "1  love  and  esteem 
you,''  he  said,  "  for  your  excellent  discipline,  scarce 
inferior  to  that  of  the  apostolic  age  :  for  your  due 
subordination  of  officers,  every  one  knowing  and 
keeping  his  proper  rank ;  for  your  exact  division  of 
the  people  under  your  charge,  so  that  each  may  be 
fed  with  food  convenient  for  them  ;  for  your  care 
that  all  who  are  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
Church,  should  frequently  and  freely  confer  togetli- 
er;  and,  in  consequence  tliereof,  your  exact  and  sea- 
sonable knowledge  of  the  state  of  every  member,  and 
your  ready  distribution  cither  of  spiritual  or  tempo- 
ral relief,  as  every  man  hath  need."  In  relating 
M'hat  he  found  himself  enforced  by  a  sense  of  duty  to 
lay  before  the  public,  he  endeavoured,  he  said,  to  do 
.  it  with  a  tender  hand:  "  relating  no  more  than  1  be- 
lieved absolutely  needful,  carefully  avoiding  all  tart 
and  unkind  expressions,  all  that  I  could  foresee  would 
be  disobliging  to  you,  or  any  further  offensive  than 
was  implied  in  the  very  nature  of  tlie  thing;  labour- 
ing every  where  to  speak  consistently  with  that  deep 
sense  which  is  settled  in  my  heart,  that  you  are 
(though  I  cannot  call  you  Rabbi,  inf  dlible)  yet  far, 
far  better  and  wiser  than  me."  He  added,  that  if 
any  of  the  Moravian  Brethren  vvould  show  him  where- 
in he  had  erred  in  this  relatioii,  either  in  matter  or 
manner,  he  would  confess  it  before  angels  and  men, 
in  whatever  way  they  should  require;  and  h,e  en- 
treated that  they  would  not  cease  to  })ray  for  him  as 
their  weak  but  still  affectionate  brother. 

After  the  breach  had  been  thus  formally  announc- 
ed, Count  Zinzcndorf  published  an  advertisement, 


WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS.  305 


declaring  that  he  and  his  people  had  no  connexion 
with  John  and  Charles  Wesley.  The  Moravians 
forbore  from  all  controversy  upon  the  subject,  but 
Wesley  did  not  continue  the  tone  of  charity  and  can- 
dour in  which  he  had  addressed  them  upon  the 
separation.  Speaking  of  a  short  narrative  which 
ZinzenJorf  had  written  of  his  own  life,  he  says, 
"  Was  there  ever  such  a  Proteus  under  the  sun  as 
this  Lord  Fraydeck,  Domine  de  Thurstain,  &;c.  &c. 
for  he  has  almost  as  many  names  as  he  has  faces  or 
shapes.  Oh,  when  will  he  learn  (with  all  his  learn- 
ing) simplicity  and  godly  sincerity.'^  When  will  he 
be  an  upright  follower  of  the  Lamb,  so  that  no  guile 
may  be  found  in  his  mouth  He  still  for  a  while 
professed  that  he  loved  the  Moravians  ;  but  he  gave 
such  reasons  for  not  continuing  to  admire  them  as  he 
had  formerly  done,  that  it  was  manifest  the  love  also 
was  on  the  wane,  and  would  soon  be  succeeded  by 
open  enmity.  He  censured  them  for  calHng  them- 
selves the  Brethren,  and  condemned  them  with  as- 
perity for  arrogating  to  themselves  the  title  of  the 
Moravian  Church,  which  he  called  a  palpable  cheat. 
He  blamed  them  for  conforming  to  the  world  by  use- 
less trifling  conversation;  for  levity  in  their  general 
behaviour;  for  joining  in  diversions  in  order  to  do 
good,  and  for  not  reproving  sin  even  when  it  was 
gross  and  open.  Tfe  said  that  much  cunning  might 
be  observed  in  them,  much  evasion  and  disguise: 
that  they  treated  their  opponents  with  a  settled  dis- 
dain, which  was  neither  consistent  with  love  nor 
humility :  that  they  confined  their  beneficence  to 
the  narrow  bounds  of  tlieir  own  society.  Their 
preaching,  he  said,  destroyed  the  love  of  God  and 
the  love  of  our  neighbour.  "  If  a  man,"  said  he, 
"  was  before  a  zealous  member  of  our  church,  groan- 
ing for  the  prosperity  of  our  Zion,  it  is  past ;  all  that 
zeal  is  at  an  end  :  hf  regards  the  Church  of  England 
no  more  than  the  Church  of  Rome:  his  tears  no 
longer  fall,  his  prayers  no  longer  a-'cend,  that  God 
may  shine  upon  her  desolation.  The  frienJs  that 
were  once  as  his  o^vn  soul,  are  now  no  more  to  him 

VOL.    T.  -^9 


306     WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  THE  MORAVIANS. 


than  other  men.  All  the  bands  of  that  formerly  en- 
deared affection  are  as  threads  of  tow  that  have 
touched  the  fire.  Even  the  ties  of  filial  tenderness 
are  dissolved.  The  child  regards  not  his  own  pa- 
rent :  he  no  longer  regards  the  womb  that  bare,  nor 
the  paps  that  gave  him  suck.  Recent  instances  are 
not  wanting.  I  will  particularize,  if  required.  Yea^ 
the  son  leaves  his  aged  father,  the  daughter  her  mo- 
ther, in  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  I  know  the 
persons.  I  have  myself  relieved  them  more  than 
once  :  for  that  was  corban  whereby  they  should  have  been 
profited.'''' — He  should  have  asked  himself  whether 
Methodism  did  not  sometimes  produce  the  same 
effects.  The  fifth  commandment  is  but  a  weak  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  enthusiasm. 

Wesley  soon  went  further  than  this,  and  throwing 
aside  all  appearance  of  any  remaining  attachment 
to  the  Moravians,  charged  them  with  being  cruel 
and  deceitful  men.  He  published  in  his  journals 
accusations  against  them  of  the  foulest  kind,  made 
by  persons  who  had  forsaken  their  society;  thus 
giving  the  whole  weight  of  his  judgment  to  their 
abominable*  charges.  And  he  affirmed  that  it  was 
clear  to  a  demonstration,  that  the  Moravian  elders 
assumed  a  more  absolute  authority  over  the  con- 
science than  the  Pope  himself :  that  to  gain  and 
secure  this,  they  used  a  continued  train  of  guile, 
fraud,  and  falsehood  of  every  kind  ;  and  that  they 
scraped  their  votaries  to  the  bone  as  to  their  worldly 
substance.  Yet,  he  added,  they  were  still  so  infatu- 
ated as  to  believe  that  theirs  was  the  only  true 
Church  upon  earth.  They  could  not  possibly  have 
believed  so,  if  they  had  been  guilty  of  the  crimes 

*  "  Mr.  Rimius  has  said  nothing  to  what  might  have  been  said 
concerning  their  marriage  economy.  I  know  a  hundred  times 
more  than  he  has  written  ;  hut  the  particulars  are  too  shocking  to 
relate.  I  beheve  no  such  things  were  ever  practised  before  ;  no, 
not  among  the  most  barbarous  heathens."  Journal  9.  p.  179. 
(vol.  3.  of  Wesley's  Works.  1810.)  In  another  part  of  the  same 
Journal  (p.  107.)  they  are  charged,  upon  the  testimony  of  another 
witness,  with  the  vilest  abominations. 


1740.]    WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD. 


307 


%vith  which  they  were  charged  ;  and  that  Wesley 
should  have  repeated,  and  thereby  sanctioned  those 
charges,  must  be  considered  as  the  most  disingenu- 
ous act  of"  his  lite.  For  however  much  he  differed 
from  the  Moravians,  and  however  exceptionable  he 
might  have  deemed  their  doctrine,  he  well  knew 
that  there  was  nothing  in  that  doctrine  which  could 
lead  either  to  such  practices,  or  be  pleaded  in  palli- 
ation ot  them;  and  had  he  been  called  upon  to  give 
evidence  concerning  them  in  a  court  ofjustice,  his 
testimony  must  have  been  wholly  in  their  favour. 

Whitetield  also  entered  the  lists  against  them. 
They  had  committed  some  fooleries,  and,  like  the 
religious  communities  of  the  Komish  church,  it  ap- 
pears, that  if  a  believer  were  disposed  to  give  or 
bequeath  money  to  the  brotherhood,  they  were  not 
scrupulous  concerning  the  injury  which  he  might  do 
to  himself  or  his  family.  The  heavier  charges  have 
been  effectually  disproved  by  time. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD. 

In  separating  from  Count  Zinzendorf  and  the  Mo- 
ravians, there  had  been  little  sacrifice  of  feeling  on 
Wesley's  part ;  but  he  was  involved  at  the  same  time 
in  a  difference  with  Whitetield,  which  affected  him 
deeply,  and  led  to  consequences  of  greater  impor- 
tance. 

At  the  commencement  of  his  career,  Wesley  was 
of  a  pugnacious  spirit,  the  eflect  of  his  sincerity,  his 
ardour,  and  his  confidence.  He_jvis]^ied_ta.oJ[itain 
\^QiitefieM!s^cgu^^^  in  his  favourite  doctrine  of 

perlecUoii,  the  'MFee^lun,  and  present  salvation  from 
all_Jhe  guilt,  !aILtEe  power,  and  ail  the  in-being  of 
3iB-i'.'--a.doctrine  as  untenable  as  it  was  acceptable 


iOB         WESLEY   SEPARATES   FROM   WHITEFIELD.  [1740. 


to  weak  mindsLaudiiiflatedJmat^inatioris.  He  knew 

also  that  Whitetield  held  therCalA.iaiaiixi.  of 
election  and  irreversihle  decrees :  tenets^  \vly<^,  if 
true,  would  make  Gf3(1  unjust,  and  tfie  whole  Gospel 
a  mere  mockery.  Upon  both  these  subjects  he  wrote 
to  his  old  friend  and  disciple,  who  at  this  time, 
though  he  could  yield  to  him  upon  neither,  wished 
earnestly  to  avoid  all  dispute.  "  My  honoured  friend 
and  brother,"  said  he  in  his  reply,  "  for  once  hearken 
to  a  child  who  is  willing  to  wash  yoUr  feet.  I  be- 
Geech  you,  by  the  mercies  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord,  if  you  would  have  my  love  confirmed  to- 
wards you,  write  no  more  to  me  about  misrepresen- 
tations wherein  we  differ.  To  the  best  of  my  know- 
ledge, at  present  no  sin  has  dominion  over  me,  yet  1 
feel  the  strugglings  of  in-dwelling  sin  day  by  day. 
The  doctrine  of  election,  and  the  final  perseverance 
of  those  who  are  in  Christ,  I  am  ten  tliousand  times 
more  convinced  of,  if  possible,  than  when  I  saw  you 
last.  You  tliink  otherwise.  Why  then  should  we 
dispute,  when  there  is  no  probability  of  convincing.'' 
Will  it  not,  in  the  end,  destroy  brotherly  love,  and 
insensibly  take  from  us  that  cordial  union  and  sweet- 
ness of  soul,  which  I  pray  God  may  always  subsist 
between  us?  HoW  glad  would  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord  be  to  see  us  divided!  How  many  would  re- 
joice, should  f  join  and  make  a  party  against  yon ! 
And,  in  one  word,  how  would  the  cause  ol  our  com- 
mon Master  every  way  suffisr,  by  our  raising  disputes 
about  particular  points  of  doctrine  !  Honoured- Sir, 
let  us  offer  salvation  freely  to  nil  by  the  blood 4jf 
Jesus;  and  whatever  light  God  has  communicated  to 
us,  let  us  freely  communicate  to  others.  I  have 
lately  read  the  life  of  Luther,  and  think  it  in  no  wise 
to  his  honour,  that  the  last  part  of  his  life  was  so 
much  taken  up  in  disputing  with  Zvvinglius  and 
others,  who  in  all  probability  equally  loved  the  Lord 
Jesus,  though  they  might  diflfer  from  him  in  other 
points.  Let  this,  dear  Sir,  be  a  caution  to  us ;  I  hope 
it  will  to  me;  for,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  provoke 
me  to  it  as  much  as  you  please,  I  do  not  think  ever 


1740.]      WE3LEV  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  309 


to  enter  the  lists  of  controversy  with  you  on  the 
points  wherein  we  differ.  Only  1  pray  to  God,  that 
the  more  you  judge  me,  tlie  more  I  may  love  you, 
and  learn  to  desire  no  one's  approbation,  but  that  of 
ray  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ." 

These  feelings  are  creditable  to  Whitefield,  but 
he  was  not  consistent  in  pursuing  the  course  of 
conduct  which  he  thus  advised.  Two  months  only 
after  this  letter  was  written,  he  followed  it  with  an- 
other in  a  different  strain.  "  Honoured  Sir,"  it  be- 
gan, "I  cannot  entertain  prejudices  against  your 
conduct  and  principles  any  longer  without  informing 
you.  The  more  I  examine  the  writings  of  the  most 
experienced  men,  and  the  experiences  of  the  most 
established  Christians,  the  more  I  differ  from  your 
notion  about  not  committing  sin,  and  your  denying 
the  doctrines  of  election  and  the  final  perseverance 
of  the  saints.  I  dread  coming  to  England,  unless 
you  are  resolved  to  oppose  these  truths  with  less 
warmth  than  when  I  was  there  last.  1  dread  your 
coming  over  to  America ;  because  the  work  of  God 
is  carried  on  here,  and  that  in  a  most  glorious  man- 
ner, by  doctrines  quite  opposite  to  those  you  hold. — 
God  direct  me  what  to  do  !  Sometimes  I  think  it  best 
to  stay  here,  where  we  all  think  and  speak  the  same 
thing:  the  work  goes  on  without  divisions,  and  with 
more  success,  because  all  employed  in  it  are  of  one 
mind.  I  write  not  this,  honoured  Sir,  from  heat  of 
spirit,  but  out  of  love.  At  present  I  think  you  are 
entirely  inconsistent  with  yourself,  and  therefore  do 
not  blame  me  if  I  do  not  approve  of  all  that  you  say. 
God  himself,  I  find,  teaches  my  friends  the  doctrine 
of  election.  Sister  H.  hath  lately  been  convinced  of 
it ;  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  dear  and  honoured  Mr.  Wes- 
ley hereafter  will  be  convinced  also. — Perhaps  I  ma} 
never  see  you  again  till  we  meet  in  judgment;  then, 
if  not  before,  you  will  know,  that  sovereign,  distin- 
guishing, irresistible  grace  brought  you  to  Heaven." 
Wesley  received  this  letter  in  a  kindly  spirit,  and 
thanked  him  for  it.  "The  case  is  quite  plain,"  he 
said  in  reply.    "  There  are  bigots  both  for  predesti- 


lilO  WESLEY  SKPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  [1740. 


nation  and  against  it,  God  is  sending  a  message  to 
those  on  either  side,  but  neither  will  receive  it  un- 
less tVorn  one  who  is  of  their  own  opinion.  There- 
fore, for  a  time  you  are  suffered  to  be  of  one  opinion, 
and  I  of  another.  But  when  His  time  is  come,  God 
will  do  what  men  cannot,  namely,  make  us  both  of 
one  mind." — Soon  afterwards  Whitefield  writes  to 
one  of  his  friends  in  England,  "  for  Christ's  sake  de- 
sire dear  brother  Wesley  to  avoid  disputing  with  me. 
I  think  I  had  rather  die  than  see  a  division  between 
us  ;  and  yet  how  can  we  walk  together,  if  we  oppose 
each  other And  again  to  Wesley  himself,  he  says, 
"  for  Christ's  sake,  if  possible,  dear  Sir,  never  speak 
against  election  in  your  sermons  :  no  one  can  say  that 
I  ever  mentioned  it  in  public  discourses,*  whatever 
my  private  sentiments  may  be.  For  Christ's  sake, 
let  us  not  be  divided  amongst  ourselves :  nothing 
will  so  much  prevent  a  division  as  your  being  silent 
on  that  head.'' 

While  Whitefield  from  America  was  thus  exhort- 
ing to  forbearance  from  controversy,  the  Calvinistic 
Methodists  in  England  were  forcing  on  the  separation 
which  he  deprecated,  while  he  foresaw.  One  of  the 
leading  members  in  London,  by  name  Acourt,  had 
disturbed  the  society  by  introducing  his  disputed  te- 
nets, till  Charles  Wesley  gave  orders  that  he  should 
no  longer  be  admitted.    John  was  present  when  next 

*  Yet  it  appears  by  Whitefield's  Journal,  that  on  his  last  voyage 
to  America  he  had  been  confirmed  in  his  Calvinistic  opinions,  and 
had  resolved  in  consequence  upon  preaching  them.  "  This  after- 
noon was  exceedingly  strengthened  by  perusing  some  paragraphs 
out  of  a  book  called  The  Preacher,  written  by  Dr.  Edwards,  of 
Cambridge,  and  extracted  by  Mr.  .Jonathan  Warn,  in  his  books  en- 
titled The  Qmrch-of-Englnnd-man  turned  Dissenter,  and  Arminian- 
ism  the  Back-door  to  Popery.  Tliere  are  sucli  noble  testimonies 
given  before  that  University  of  Justification  by  Faith  only  in  the 
imputed  Righteousness  of  Christ,  our  having  no  Free  Will,  &,c., 
that  they  deserve  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold.  I  see  more 
and  more  the  benefit  of  leaving  written  testimonies  behind  us  con- 
cerning these  important  points.  They  not  only  profit  the  present, 
but  will  also  much  edify  the  future  ages.  Lord,  open  thou  my 
mouth,  that  I  may  henceforward  speak  more  boldly  and  explicitly  as 
I  ought  to  speaky 


1740.J      AVESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  311 


he  presented  himself,  and  demanded  whether  they 
refused  admitting  a  person  only  because  he  differed 
from  them  in  opinion.  Wesley  answered  no,  but  ask- 
ed what  opinion  he  meant.  He  replied,  "  that  of 
election.  I  hold  that  a  certain  number  are  elected 
from  eternity,  and  these  must  and  shall  be  saved,  and 
the  rest  of  mankind  must  and  shall  be  damned." — 
And  he  affirmed  that  many  of  the  society  held  the 
same;  upon  which  Wesley  observed  that  he  never 
asked  whether  they  did  or  not ;  "  only  let  them  not 
trouble  others  by  disputing  about  it."  Acourt  repli- 
ed, "  Nay,  but  I  will  dispute  about  it."—"  Why  then," 
said  Wesley,  "  w^ould  you  come  among  us,  who  you 
know  are  of  another  mind." — "  Because  you  are  all 
wrong,  and  I  am  resolved  to  set  you  all  right." — "  I 
fear,"  said  Wesley,  "your  coming  with  this  view 
would  neither  profit  yon  nor  us." — "  Then,"  rejoined 
Acourt,  "  I  will  go  and  tell  all  the  world  that  you 
and  your  brother  are  false  prophets.  And  I  tell  you 
in  one  fortnight  you  will  all  be  in  confusion." 

Some  time  before,  Wesley  had  received  a  letter  in 
which  he  was  reproached  for  not  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel because  he  did  not  preach  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion. According  to  his  usual  presumptuous  practice 
at  that  time,  instead  of  consulting  with  his  friends,  or 
even  advising  with  himself  upon  the  prudence  of  en- 
gaging in  controversy,  he  drew  a  lot  for  his  direction, 
and  the  lot  was  "  preach  and  print."  So  he  preach- 
ed a  sermon  against  this  deplorable  doctrine,  and 
printed  it.  Whitefield  was  then  in  England,  and  at 
his  desire  the  publication  was  for  a  while  suppress- 
ed ;  but  it  was  sent  into  the  world  soon  after  his  de- 
parture for  America.  The  rising  sect  was  thus  dis- 
turbed by  a  question  which  had  so  often  carried  dis- 
cord into  the  schools  of  theology,  which  had  unhap- 
pily divided  the  Protestatit  world,  and  which  when  it 
had  risen  in  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  church,  nei- 
ther the  Popes  with  their  bulls,  nor  the  Kings  of 
France  with  their  power,  nor  the  Jesuits  with  all  the 
wis'lom  of  the  serpent,  could  either  determine  or  lay 
to  rest.  Wesley  had  begun  the  discussion,  but  White- 


312  WESLBV  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEPIELD.  [1740. 


field  persevered  in  it,  when  he  would  fain  have  press- 
ed it  no  further ;  and  he  assumed  a  tone  of  superi- 
ority which  Wesley,  who  was  as  much  his  superior 
in  intellect  as  in  learning,  was  little  likely  to  brook. 
"  Give  me  leave,"  said  he,  "  with  all  humility  to  ex- 
hort you  not  to  be  strenuous  in  opposing  the  doctrines 
of  election  and  final  perseverance,  when  by  your  own 
confession  you  have  not  the  witness  of  the  spirit 
within  yourself,  and  consequently  are  not  a  proper 
judge. — I  am  assured  God  has  now  for  some  years 
given  me  this  living  witness  in  my  soul.  I  can  say  I 
nave  been  on  the  borders  of  Canaan,  and  do  every 
day,  nay  almost  every  moment,  long  for  the  appear- 
ing of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  not  to  evade  sufferings, 
but  with  a  single  desire  to  see  his  blessed  face.  1 
feel  his  blessed  spirit  daily  filling  my  soul  and  body, 
as  plain  as  I  feel  the  air  which  I  breathe,  or  the  food 
which  [  eat.  Perhaps  the  doctrine  of  election  and  of 
final  perseverance  hath  been  abused,  (and  what  doc- 
trine has  not  ?)  but  notwithstanding,  it  is  children's 
bread,  and  ought  not  In  ray  opinion  to  be  withheld 
from  them,  supposing  it  is  always  mentioned  with  pro- 
per cautions  against  the  abuse.  Dear  and  honoured 
Sir,  I  write  not  this  to  enter  into  disputation.  I  hope 
at  this  time  I  feel  something  of  the  meekness  and 
gentleness  of  Christ.  I  cannot  bear  the  thoughts  of 
opposing  you  :  but  how  can  I  avoid  it  if  you  go  about, 
as  your  brother  Charles  once  said,  to  drive  John 
Calvin  out  of  Bristol  ?  Alas,  I  never  read  any  thing 
that  Calvin  wrote :  my  doctrines  I  had  from  Christ 
and  his  Apostles ;  I  was  taught  them  of  God  ;  and  as 
God  was  pleased  to  send  me  out  first,  and  to  enlighten 
me  first,  so  I  think  he  still  continues  to  do  it.-^l  wish 
I  knew  your  principles  fully;  did  you  write  oftener 
and  more  frankly,  it  might  have  a  better  eflfect  than 
silence  and  reserve." 

Whltefield  indeed  was  frequently  indulging  some- 
times in  such  exaggerated  expressions  of  humility, 
and  at  others  in  such  ebullitions  of  spiritual  pride, 
that  it  is  no  wonder  the  suspicion  of  hypocrisy  should 
have  attached  to  him,  till  time  and  death  had  placed 


1740.]     WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  VVHITEPlELD.  313 


his  sincerity  beyond  all  dispute.  "  I  have  now,"  he 
says,  "  such  large  incomes  from  above,  and  such  pre- 
cious communications  from  our  dear  Lord  Jesus,  that 
my  body  sometimes  can  scarcely  sustain  them." — I 
have  a  garden  near  at  hand,  where  I  go  particularly 
to  meet  and  talk  with  my  God,  at  the  cool  of  every 
day.  I  often  sit  in  silence,  offering  my  soul  as  so 
much  clay,  to  be  stamped  just  as  my  heavenly  potter 
pleases  ;  and  whilst  I  am  musing,  1  am  often  filled,  as 
it  were  with  the  fullness  of  God.  I  am  frequently  at 
Calvary,  and  frequently  on  Mount  Tabor,  but  always 
assured  of  my  Lord's  everlasting  love." — Our  dear 
Lord  sweetly  fills  me  with  his  presence.  My  heaven 
is  begun  indeed.  I  feast  on  the  fatted  calf  The 
Lord  strengthens  me  mightily  in  the  inner  man."  At 
other  times  he  "  abhors"  himself  "  in  dust  and  ashes." 
He  is  "  a  worm  and  no  man."  He  "  deserves  to  be 
the  outcast  of  the  people." — "  Why  do  so  many  of 
my  Lord's  servants  take  notice  of  such  a  dead  dog 
as  I  am  ?"  Then  again  he  would  pamper  his  imagi- 
nation with  the  hopes  of  persecution  and  martyrdom. 
"  Dear  brother,"  he  says  to  one  of  his  American  coad- 
jutors. "  both  you  and  I  must  suffer,  and  that,  great 
things  before  we  enter  into  glory.  My  work  is  scarce 
begun  ;  my  trials  are  yet  to  come.  What  is  a  little 
scourge  of  the  tongue  ?  What  is  a  thrusting  out  of 
the  synagogues?  The  time  of  temptation  will  be 
when  we  are  thrust  into  an  inner  prison,  and  feel 
the  iron  entering  even  into  our  souls.  Then  perhaps 
even  God's  people  may  be  permitted  to  forsake  us 
for  a  while,  atid  none  but  the  Lord  Jesus  to  stand  by 
us.  But  if  thou,  O  dearest  Redeemer,  wilt  strength- 
en me  in  the  inner  man,  let  enemies  plunge  me  into  a 
fiery  furnace,  or  throw  me  into  a  den  of  lions !"  And 
he  writes  as  if  he  really  believed^  or  affected  to  be- 
lieve that  persecuting  rulers  were  again  about  to  em- 
ploy lions'  dens  and  burning  fiery  fun>aces !  "  I  am  now 
looking,"  he  says,  "  for  some  strong  attacks  from  Sa- 
tan."— Let  us  suffer  for  Jesus  with  a  cheerful  heart ! 
His  love  will  sweeten  every  cup,  though  never  so  bit- 
ter. Let  us  pledge  him  willingly,  and  continue  fuith- 
voL.  I.  40 


314        WESLEY  SEPAKATES  FROM  VVHITEFIELD.  [174Q, 

ful  even  to  death !  A  scene  of  sufferings  lies  before 
us.  Who  knows  but  we  may  wade  to  our  Saviour 
through  a  sea  of  blood  ?  I  expect  (Oh  pray  that  I 
may  be  strengthened  if  called  to  it !)  to  die  for  his 
great  name's  sake.  'Twill  be  sweet  to  wear  a  mar- 
tyr's crown." — "  Suffer  we  must,  1  believe,  and  that, 
great  things.  Our  Lord  by  his  providence  begins  to 
show  it.  Ere  long  perhaps  Ave  may  sing  in  a  prison, 
and  have  our  tieet  set  fast  in  the  stocks.  But  faith  in 
Jesus  turns  a  prison  into  a  palace,  and  makes  a  bed 
offlames  become  a  bed  of  down." 

This  was  safe  boasting:  and  yet  if  Whitefield  had 
lived  in  an  age  of  persecution  his  metal  would  have 
borne  to  be  tried  in  the  flames.  The  temper  from 
which  it  arose  made  him  as  ready  now  to  stand  up  in 
opposition  to  Wesley,  as  he  had  formerly  been  to 
follow  him.  "  I  am  sorry,"  he  says  to  him, "honoured 
Sir,  to  hear  by  many  letters,  that  you  seem  to  own  a 
sinless  jperj'edion  in  this  life  attainable.  I  think  1  can- 
not answer  you  better  than  a  venerable  old  minister 
in  these  parts  answered  a  Quaker,  'bring  me  a  man 
that  hath  really  arrived  to  this,  and  I  will  pay  his  ex- 
penses let  him  come  from  whence  he  w  ill.'  Besides, 
dear  Sir,  what  a  fond  conceit  is  it  to  cry  up  perfec- 
tion, and  yet  cry  down  the  doctrine  of  final  perseve- 
rance But  this  and  many  other  absurdities  you  will 
run  into,  because  you  will  not  own  election ;  and 
you  will  not  own  election  because  you  cannot  own 
it  without  believing  the  doctrine  of  reprobation. 
What  then  is  there  in  reprobation  so  horrid.'"'  That 
question  might  easily  have  been  answered.  The 
doctrine  implies  that  an  Ahnighty  and  All-wise  Cre- 
ator has  called  into  existence  the  greater  part  of  the 
human  race  to  the  end  that  after  a  short  sinful,  and 
miserable  life,  they  should  pass  into  an  eternity  of  in- 
conceivable torments,  it  being  the  pleasure  of  their 
Creator  that  they  should  not  be  able  to  obey  his  com- 
mands, and  yet  incur  the  penalty  of  everlasting  dam- 
nation for  disobedience.  In  the  words  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, who  has  stated  the  case  with  equal  force  and 
truth,  "  the  sum  of  all  is  this  ;  one  in  twenty  (sup- 


11740.]     WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROxM  WHITEFIELD.  315 


posse)  of  mankind,  are  elected ;  nineteen  in  twenty 
are  reprobated  !  The  elect  shall  be  saved,  do  what  they 
will;  the  reprobate  shall  be  damned,  do  what  they 
can.''^  This  is  tlie  doctrine  of  Calvinism,  for  which 
Diabolism  would  be  a  better  name ;  and  in  the 
worst  and  bloodiest  idolatry  that  ever  defiled  the 
earth,  there  is  nothing  so  horrid,  so  monstrous,  so  im- 
pious as  this. 

Whitefield  continued,  "  Oh  that  you  would  be 
raore  cautious  in  casting  lots  !  Oh  that  you  would 
not  be  too  rash  and  precipitant!  If  you  go  on  thus, 
honoured  Sir,  how  can  I  concur  with  you  ?  It  is  im- 
possible. I  must  speak  what  I  know.  Thus  I  write 
out  of  the  fulness  of  my  heart.  I  feel  myself  to  be  a 
vile  sinner.  I  look  to  Christ.  I  mourn  because  I 
have  pierced  him.  Honoured  Sir,  pray  for  me.  The 
Lord  be  with  your  dear  soul."  The  same  week  pro- 
duced a  letter  in  a  higher  style  of  assumed  superi- 
ority :  "  Dear  brother  Wesley,  what  mean  you  by 
disputing  in  all  your  letters  ?  May  God  give  you  to 
know  yourself,  and  then  you  will  not  plead  for  abso- 
lute perfection,  or  call  the  doctrine  of  election  a 
doctrine  of  devils.  My  dear  brother,  take  heed ! 
See  that  you  arc  in  Christ  a  new  creature  !  Beware 
of  a  false  peace :  strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate ; 
and  give  all  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and  elec- 
tion sure :  remember  you  are  but  a  babe  in  Christ, 
if  so  much!  Be  humble,  talk  little,  think  and  pray 
much.  Let  God  teach  you,  and  he  will  lead  you 
into  all  truth.  If  you  must  dispute,  stay  till  you  are 
master  of  the  subject;  otherwise  you  will  hurt  the 
cause  you  would  defend."  And  in  a  subsequent  let- 
ter he  says,  "  O  dear  Sir,  many  of  God's  children  are 
grieved  at  your  principles!  Oh  that  God  may  give 
you  a  sight  of  his  free,  sovereign,  and  electing  love  ! 
But  no  more  of  this.  Why  will  you  compel  me  to 
write  thus  ?  Why  will  you  dispute  ?  I  am  willing 
to  go  with  you  to  prison  and  to  death  ;  but  I  am  not 
willing  to  oppose  you."  And  again,  "  Oh  that  there 
may  be  harmony  and  very  intimate  union  between 
us,  yet  it  cannot  be,  since  you  hold  universal  redemp- 


316         WESLEY   SEPARATES  FROM   AVHITEFIELD.  [1740. 


lion.  The  Devil  rages  in  London.  He  begins  now 
to  triumph  indeed.  The  children  of  God  are  disuni- 
ted among  themselves.  My  dear  brother,  for  Christ's 
sake  avoid  all  disputation  !  Do  not  oblige  me  to 
preach  against  you  :  1  had  rather  die." 

He  soon,  however,  began  to  fear  that  he  had  been 
sinfully  silent.  The  children  of  God,  he  thought, 
were  in  danger  of  falling  into  error:  many  who  had 
been  worked  upon  by  his  ministry  had  been  misled, 
and  more  were  calling  loudly  upon  him  to  show  his 
opinion  also.  "  I  must  then  show,"  said  he,  that  I 
know  no  man  after  the  flesh,  and  that  I  have  no  re- 
spect to  persons  any  further  than  is  consistent  with 
my  duty  to  my  Lord  and  Master."  And  therefore  he 
took  pen  in  hand  to  w  rite  against  Wesley,  protesting 
that  Jonah  could  not  go  with  more  reluctnnce  against 
Nineveh.  "  Was  nature  to  speak,"  said  he,  I  had 
rather  die  than  do  it ;  and  yet  I  am  faithful  to  God, 
and  to  my  own  and  other's  souls,  I  must  not  stand 
neuter  any  longer."  In  this  letter  Wliitefield  related 
how  Wesley  had  preached  and  printed  his  obnox- 
ious sermon,  in  consequence  of  drawing  a  lot,  "I 
have  often  questioned,"  said  he,  "  whether  in  so  do- 
ing you  did  not  tempt  the  Lord.  A  due  exercise  of 
religious  prudence  without  a  lot,  would  have  direct- 
ed you  in  that  matter.  Besides  I  never  heard  that 
you  inquired  of  God,  whether  or  not  election  was  a 
gospel  doctrine.  But  I  fear  taking  it  for  granted  it 
was  not,  you  only  inquired  whether  you  should  be  si- 
lent, or  preach  and  print  against  it.  I  am  apt  to  think 
one  reason  why  God  should  so  suffer  you  to  be  de- 
ceived was,  that  hereby  a  special  obligation  might 
be  laid  upon  me  faithfully  to  declare  the  Scripture 
doctrine  of  election,  that  thus  the  Lord  might  give 
me  a  fresh  opportunity  of  seeing  what  was  in  my 
heart,  and  whether  I  would  be  true  to  his  cause  or 
not.  Perhaps  God  has  laid  this  difficult  task  upon 
me,  even  to  see  whether  I  am  willing  to  forsake  all 
for  him  or  not."  Thus  while  he  reprehended  Wes- 
ley for  a  most  reprehensible  and  presumptuous  prac- 
tice, did  he  manifest  a  spirit  little  less  presumptuous 


1740.]    WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  317 

himself.  In  further  proof  of  the  folly  of  Wesley's 
practice,  he  related  also  the  fact  of  his  drawing  lots 
to  discover  whether  Whitefield  should  proceed  to 
Georgia,  or  leave  the  ship  which  was  then  under  sail 
and  return  to  London,  upon  which  occasion  he  re- 
minded him  of  his  subsequent  confession  that  God 
had  given  him  a  wrong  lot.  "  I  should  never," 
says  he,  "  have  published  this  private  transaction  to 
the  world,  did  not  the  glory  of  God  call  me  to  it." 

This  was  the  only  important  part  of  the  letter,  and 
Whitefield  afterwards  felt  and  feelingly  acknowledg- 
ed the  great  impropriety  which  he  had  committed  in 
thus  revealing  the  weakness  of  his  friend.  The  ar- 
gumentative part  had  nothing  worthy  of  notice  either 
in  manner  or  matter,  for  powerful  preacher  as  he 
was,  he  had  neither  strength  nor  acuteness  of  intel- 
lect, and  his  written  compositions  are  nearly  worth- 
less. But  the  conclusion  is  remarkable  for  the  ho- 
nest confidence  and  the  warmth  of  affection  which  it 
breathes.  "  Dear,  dear  Sir,  Oh  be  not  offended  ! 
For  Christ's  sake  be  not  rash  !  Give  yourself  to  read- 
ing. Study  the  covenant  of  grace.  Down  with  your 
carnal  reasoning  !  Be  a  little  child  ;  and  then,  instead 
of  pawning  your  salvation,  as  you  have  done  in  a  late 
hymn-book,  if  the  doctrine  of  universal  redemption 
be  not  true;  instead  of  talking  of  sinless  perfection, 
as  you  have  done  in  the  preface  to  that  hymn-book, 
and  making  man's  salvation  to  depend  on  his  own 
free  will,  as  you  have  done  in  this  sermon,  you  will 
compose  a  hymn  in  praise  of  sovereign  distinguishing 
love.  You  will  caution  believers  against  striving  to 
work  a  perfection  out  of  their  own  hearts,  and  print 
another  sermon  the  reverse  of  this,  and  entitle  it  Free 
Grace  indeed  ;  free,  because  not  free  to  all ;  but  free, 
because  God  may  withhold  or  give  it  to  whom,  and 
when  he  pleases.  Till  you  do  this,  I  must  doubt  whe- 
ther or  not  you  know  yourself  God  knows  my  heart, 
nothing  but  a  single  regard  to  the  honour  of  Christ 
has  forced  this  letter  from  me.  I  love  and  honour 
you  for  his  sake  ;  and  when  I  come  to  judgment  will 
thank  you  before  men  and  angels  for  what  you  have, 


JI8        WESLEY   SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  [1740, 

under  God,  done  for  my  soul.  There  I  am  persuad- 
ed I  shall  see  dear  Mr.  Wesley  convinced  of  election 
and  everlasting  love.  And  it  often  fills  me  with  plea- 
sure to  think  how  I  shall  behold  you  casting  your 
crown  down  at  the  feet  of  the  Lamb,  and  as  it  were 
filled  with  a  holy  blushing  for  opposing  the  divine  so- 
vereignly in  the  manner  you  have  done.  But  I  hope 
the  Lord  will  show  you  this  before  you  go  hence. 
Oh  how  do  1  long  for  that  day  !" 

That  this  letter  was  intended  for  publication  is 
certain ;  but  there  seems  to  have  been  a  hope  in 
Whitefield's  mind  that  the  effect  which  its  perusal 
would  produce  might  render  publication  needless. 
His  friends  in  London,  however,  thought  proper  to 
print  it,  without  either  his  permission  or  Wesley's, 
and  copies  were  distributed  at  the  door  of  the 
Foundery,  and  in  the  meeting  itself  Wesley  hold- 
ing one  in  his  hand  stated  to  the  congregation  the 
f^ct  of  its  surreptitious  publication,  and  then  saying, 
''I  will  do  just  what  I  believe  Mr.  Whitefield  would 
were  he  here  himself,"  he  tore  it  in  pieces.  Every 
person  present  followed  his  example ;  and  Wesley,  in 
reference  to  the  person  by  whose  means  these  un- 
lucky copies  had  been  circulated,  exclaims  in  his 
journal,  "  Ah  poor  Ahitophel !  Ibi  omnis  effusus  la- 
horr 

The  person  who  seems  to  have  been  most  active 
in  enforcing  Calvinism  in  opposition  to  Wesley  at  this 
time  was  a  certain  John  Cennick,  whom  he  employed 
at  Kingswood  in  the  school  which  Whitefield  had 
designed  for  the  children  of  the  colliers.  Whitefield 
had  collected  some  money  for  this  good  work,  and 
had  performed  the  ceremony  of  laying  the  founda- 
tion ;  but  further  than  this  ceremony  it  had  not  pro- 
ceeded when  he  embarked  the  second  time  for  Ame- 
rica, and  left  it  to  be  carried  forward  by  Wesley. 
There  was  the  great  difficulty  of  want  of  money  in 
the  way  ;  but  this  was  a  difficulty  which  faith  would 
remove,  and  in  faith  Wesley  began  building  without 
having  a  quarter  of  the  sum  necessary  for  finishing  it. 
But  he  found  persons  who  were  willing  to  advance 


1740.]     WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.         3 19 


money  if  lie  would  become  responsible  for  the  debt; 
the  responsibility  and  the  property  thus  devolved  up- 
on him,  and  he  immediately  made  his  will,  bequeath- 
ing it  to  his  brother  Charles  and  Whitefield.  Two 
masters  were  pi'ovided  as  soon  as  the  house  was  tit 
to  receive  them,  and  Cennick  was  one.  He  was  not 
in  holy  orders,  but  the  practice  of  lay-preaching 
which  had  at  tirst  been  vehemently  opposed  by  the 
Wesleys,  had  now  become  inevitably  a  part  of  their 
system,  and  Cennick,  wiio  had  great  talents  tor  po- 
pular speaking,  laboured  also  as  one  of  these  helpers, 
as  they  were  called.  This  person  in  his  horror  against 
the  doctrines  of  the  Wesleys  wrote  urgently  to  White- 
field,  calling  upon  him  to  hasten  from  America  that 
he  might  stay  the  plague.  I  sit,"  said  he,  solitary 
like  Eli,  waiting  what  will  become  of  the  ark;  and 
while  I  wail  and  fear  the  carrying  of  it  away  from 
among  my  people,  my  trouble  increases  daily.  How 
glorious  did  the  Gospel  seem  once  to  flourish  in 
Kingswood  !  I  spake  of  the  everlasting  love  of  Christ 
with  sweet  power.  But  now  brother  Charles  is  suf- 
fered to  open  his  mouth  against  this  truth,  while  the 
frighted  sheep  gaze  and  fly,  as  if  no  shepherd  was 
among  them.  It  is  just  as  if  Satan  was  now  making 
war  with  the  saints  in  a  more  than  common  way. 
Oh  !  pray  for  the  distressed  lambs  yet  left  in  this 
place,  that  they  faint  not!  Surely  they  would  if 
preaching  would  do  it,  for  they  have  nothing  where- 
on to  rest,  who  now  attend  on  the  sermons,  but  their 
own  faithfulness.  With  universal  redemption  bro- 
ther Charles  pleases  the  world.  Brother  John  fol- 
lows him  in  every  thing.  I  believe  no  Atheist  can 
more  preach  against  predestination  than  they;  and 
all  who  believe  election  are  counted  enemies  to  God, 
and  called  so.  Fly  dear  brother  !  I  am  as  alone, — 
I  am  in  the  midst  of  the  plague  !  If  God  give  thee 
leave,  make  haste !" 

A  copy  of  this  letter  came  into  Wesley's  hands, 
and  it  stung  him,  because  he  said  the  writer  was 
-  one  I  had  sent  for  to  assist  me.  a  friend  that  wa^ 


;320       WESLtV   SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  [1740. 

as  my  own  soul,  that  even  while  he  opposed  me  lay 
in  my  bosom."  Charles  in  consequence  addressed  a 
letter  to  him  which  forcibly  expresses  the  feeling  of 
the  two  brothers  upon  having  one  of  their  disciples 
thus  rise  against  them.  "  You  came  to  Kingswood," 
says  he,  upon  my  brother's  sending  for  you.  You 
served  under  him  in  the  Gospel  as  a  son,  I  need  not 
say  how  well  he  loved  you.  You  used  the  authority- 
he  gave  you  to  overthrow  his  doctrine.  You  every 
where  contradicted  it,  (whether  true  or  false  is  not 
the  question).  But  you  ought  first  to  have  fairly 
told  him,  '  1  preach  contrary  to  you  :  are  you  willing^ 
notwithstanding,  that  1  should  continue  in  your  house, 
gainsaying  you  If  you  are  not,  I  have  no  place  in 
these  regions.  You  have  a  right  to  this  open  deal- 
ing. I  now  give  you  fair  warning.  Shall  I  stay  here 
opposing  you,  or  shall  I  depart.'*'  My  brother,  have 
you  dealt  thus  honestly  and  openly  with  him.-^  No. 
But  you  have  stolen  away  the  people's  heart  from 
him.  And  when  some  of  them  basely  treated  their 
best  friend^  God  only  excepted,  how  patiently  did  you 
take  it  I  When  did  you  ever  vindicate  us  as  we 
have  you  ?  Why  did  you  not  plainly  tell  them,  you 
are  eternally  indebted  to  these  men  ?  '  Think  not 
that  I  will  stay  among  you  to  head  a  party  against 
my  dearest  friend  and  brother,  as  he  suffers  me  to 
call  him,  having  humbled  himself  lor  my  sake,  and 
given  me,  no  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon,  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship.  If  I  hear  that  one  word  more  is 
spoken  against  him,  I  will  leave  you  that  moment.' 
This  had  been  just  and  honest,  and  not  more  than  we 
have  deserved  at  your  hands." 

This  was  put  into  John  Wesley's  hands  that  he 
might  deliver  it  to  Cennick  if  he  thought  proper. 
But  matters  had  proceeded  so  far  that  Cennick  was 
forming  a  separate  society,  and  Wesley  deemed  it 
better  to  speak  to  him  and  his  adherents  publicly, 
and  reprove  them  for  inveighing  against  him  behind 
his  back.  One  of  them  replied,  that  they  had  said 
no  more  of  him  behind  his  back  than  they  would 
say  to  his  lace,  which  was  that  he  preached  false 


1740.]    WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD. 


321 


doctrine  ; — he  preached  that  there  is  righteousness 
in  man.  "  So,"  said  Wesley,  "  there  is,  after  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  is  imputed  to  him  through 
faith.  But  who  told  you  that  what  we  preached  was 
false  doctrine  ?  Whom  would  you  have  beliex  ed  this 
from,  but  Mr.  Cennick  ?"  Cennick  then  boldly  an- 
swered, "  You  do  preach  righteousness  in  man.  I 
did  say  this,  and  I  say  it  still.  However,  we  are  will- 
ing to  join  with  you;  but  we  will  also  meet  apart 
from  you ;  for  we  meet,  to  confirm  one  another  in 
those  truths  which  you  speak  against."  Wesley  re- 
plied, "  You  should  have  told  rae  this  before,  and 
not  have  supplanted  me  in  my  own  house,  stealing 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  by  private  accusations 
separating  very  friends."  U  pon  this,  Cennick  denied 
that  he  had  ever  privately  accused  him.  "  My 
brethren,"  said  Wesley,  "judge  !"  and  he  produced 
Cennick's  letter  to  Whitefield.  Cennick  avowed  the 
letter,  and  said  that  he  neither  retracted  any  thing 
in  it,  nor  blamed  himself  for  having  sent  it.  Some 
heat  upon  this  began  to  manifest  itself  in  the  meet- 
ing, and  Wesley  with  liis  characteristic  prudence, 
preserved  his  superiority,  by  desiring  that  they  might 
meet  again  on  that  day  week,  and  that  the  matter 
might  rest  till  then. 

Cennick  and  his  friends  would  hardly  have  con- 
sented to  such  an  adjournment  if  they  had  suspected 
Wesley's  purpose.  At  the  appointed  time,  he  sur-' 
prised  them  by  reading  the  following  paper,  in  which 
they  were  treated  not  as  persons  wlio  differed  from 
him  in  opinion,  but  as  culprits  :  •■  By  many  witnesses 
it  appears  that  several  members  of  the  Band  Society 
in  Kingswood  have  made  it  tbeir  common  practice, 
to  scoff"  at  the  preaching  of  Mr.  John  and  Charles 
Wesley  ;  that  they  have  censured  and  spoken  evil  of 
them  behind  their  backs,  at  the  very  time  they  pro- 
fessed love  and  esteem  to  their  faces;  that  they  have 
studiously  endeavoured  to  prejudice  other  members 
of  that  society  against  them,  and  in  order  thereto, 
liave  belied  and  slandered  them  in  divers  instances ; 
tfierefore,  not  for  their  opinions,  nor  for  any  of  them. 

vor,.  I.  41 


322  WESLEY   SEPARATES   FROM  WHITEFIELU.  [1740. 


(whether  they  be  right  or  wrong)  but  for  the  causes 
above  mentioned,  viz.  for  their  scoffing  at  the  word 
and  ministers  of  God,  for  their  tale-bearing,  back- 
biting, and  evil  speaking,  for  their  dissembling,  ly- 
ing, and  slandering ;  I,  John  Wesley,  by  the  consent 
and  approbation  of  the  Band  Society  in  Kingswood, 
do  declare  the  persons  above  mentioned  to  be  no 
longer  members  thereof  Neither  will  they  be  so 
accounted  until  they  shall  openly  confess  their  fault, 
and  thereby  do  what  in  them  lies  to  remove  the 
scandal  tliey  have  given." 

No  founder  of  a  sect  or  order,  no  legislator,  ever 
understood  the  art  of  preserving  his  autliority  more 
perfectly  than  Wesley.  They  came  prepared  for  a 
discussion  of  their  opinions  and  conduct,  and  they 
were  astonished  at  hearing  themselves  thus  excom- 
municated. As  soon  as  they  recovered  from  their 
surprise  they  affirmed  that  they  had  heard  both  him 
and  his  brother  preach  popery  many  times.  How- 
ever, they  were  still  willing  to  join  with  them,  but 
they  would  not  own  that  they  had  done  any  thing 
amiss.  Wesley  desired  them  to  consider  of  it  yet 
again,  but  finding  after  another  week  had  elapsed 
that  they  still  refused  to  acknowledge  that  they  bad 
been  in  the  wrong,  he  once  more  assembled  the  bands, 
and  told  them  that  every  one  must  now  take  his 
chance  and  quit  one  society  or  the  other.  One  of 
the  Calvinistic  leaders  observed,  that  the  true  reason 
of  his  separating  from  them  w  as  because  they  held 
the  doctrine  of  election.  Wesley  made  answer, 
"  You  know  in  your  own  conscience  it  is  not.  There 
are  several  predestinarians  in  our  societies  both  at 
London  and  Bristol;  nor  did  I  ever  yet  put  any  one 
out  of  either,  because  he  held  that  opinion."  They 
then  offered  to  break  up  their  society,  provided  he 
would  receive  and  employ  Cennick  as  he  had  done 
before.  To  this  Wesley  replied,  "  My  brother  has 
wronged  me  much  :  but  he  doth  not  say  I  repent." 
Cennick  made  answer,  "Unless  in  not  speaking  in 
your  defence  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  wronged  you 
at  all." — "  It  seems  then,"  said  Wesley,  "  nothing 


1741.]     WESLEY  SEPARATES  PROM  WHITEFIELD.  323 


remains  but  for  each  to  choose  which  society  he 
pleases."  Upon  this  they  prayed  for  a  short  time,  in 
a  state  of  mind,  as  it  should  seem,  but  little  fit  for 
prayer,  after  which  Cennick  withdrew,  and  about 
half  the  meeting  followed  him. 

At  this  time  VVhitefield  was  on  the  way  from 
America.  While  upon  the  passage  he  wrote  to 
CharlesJ^esley,  expostulating  with  him  and  his  bro- 
tfier,  in  slrong  but  affectionate  terms.  "  My  dear, 
dear  brethren,"  said  he,  "  why  did  you  throw  out  the 
bone  of  contention  WJhj^dul  you  print  that  sermon 
againstjircdestiiiation  ?  Why  did  you  in  particular, 
my  dearlJrollier  Charles,  affix  your  hymn,  and  join 
in  putting  out  your  late  hymn  book  }  How  can  you 
say  you  will  not  dispute  with  me  about  election,  and 
yet  print  such  hymns,  and  your  brother  send  his 
sermon  against  election  over  to  America.'*  Do  not 
you  think,  my  dear  brethren,  1  must  be  as  much  con- 
cerned for  truth,  or  what  I  think  truth,  as  you  ^  God 
is  my  judge,  I  always  was,  and  hope  I  always  shall  be, 
desirous  that  you  may  be  preferred  before  me.  But 
I  must  preach  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  that  I  cannot 
noiv  do  without  speaking  of  election,"  He  then  in- 
formed Charles,  that  one  copy  of  his  answer  to  the 
sermon  was  printing  at  Charlestown  ;  that  another 
had  been  sent  to  Boston  for  the  same  purpose ;  and 
that  he  was  bringing  a  copy  to  be  printed  in  London. 
"  If,"  said  he,  "  it  occasion  a  strangeness  between 
us,  it  shall  not  be  my  fault.  There  is  nothing  in  my 
answer  exciting  to  it  that  I  know  of  O  my  dear 
brethren,  my  heart  almost  bleeds  within  me  !  Me- 
thinks  I  could  be  willing  to  tarry  here  on  the  waters 
for  ever,  rather  than  come  to  England  to  oppose 
you."  But  although,  when  he  was  thus  addressing 
the  Wesleys.  the  feelings  of  old  friendship  returned 
upon  him,  his  other  letters,  written  during  the  voy- 
age, evince  that  he  looked  on  to  a  separation  as  the 
certain  consequence  of  this  difference  in  opinion. 
"  Great  perils,"  he  says,  "  await  me  ;  but  Jesus 
Christ  will  send  his  angel,  atid  roll  away  every  stone 


324  WFSLEV   SEPARATES  FROM   WHITEFIELD.  [1741. 


of  difficulty."  "  My  Lord's  command  now,  I  believe, 
is,  '  Take  the  foxes,  the  httle  foxes  that  spoil  the 
vines,  for  our  vines  have  tender  grapes.'  Help  me 
by  your  prayers;  it  is  an  ease  thus  to  unbosom  my- 
self to  a  friend.  I  have  sought  the  Lord  by  prayer 
and  fasting,  and  he  assures  me  that  he  will  be  with 
me  ;  whom  then  should  I  fear?"' — "  The  Lord  is 
girding  me  for  the  battle,  and  strengthening  me 
mightily  in  the  inner  man.'' 

in  this  state  of  mind  he  reached  London. 
Charles  Wesley  was  there,  and  their  meeting  was 
affectionate.  "  It  would  have  melted  any  heart," 
says  Whitefield,  "  to  have  heard  us  weeping  after 
prayer,  that,  if  possible,  the  breach  might  be  pre- 
vented." Old  feelings  of  respect  and  love  revived 
with  such  strength  i[i  his  heart,  that  he  promised 
never  to  preach  against  the  Wesleys,  whatever  his 
private  opinion  might  be.  But  many  things  com- 
bined to  sour  him  at  this  time.  He  had  written 
against  Archbishop  Tillotson's  Morks,  and  the 
Whole  Duty  of  Man,  a  book  in  those  days  of  un- 
rivalled popularity,  in  a  manner  which  he  himself 
then  acknowledged  to  be  intemperate  and  injudi- 
cious ;  and  this  had  offended  persons,  who  were 
otherwise  favourably  disposed  towards  him.  His 
celebrity  also  seemed  to  have  passed  away  ;  the 
twenty  thousands  who  used  to  assemble  at  his 
preaching  had  dwindled  down  to  two  or  three 
hundred ;  and  in  one  exhibition  at  Kennington 
Common,  the  former  scene  of  -  his  triumphs, 
scarcely  a  hundred  were  gathered  together  to  hear 
him.  Worldly  anxieties,  too,  were  fretting  him, 
and  those  of  a  kind  which  made  the  loss  of  his  ce- 
lebrity a  serious  evil.  The  Orphan  House  in 
Georgia  was  to  be  maintained he  had  nov/  nearly 
a  hundred  persons  in  that  establishment,  who 
were  to  be  supported  by  his  exertions  :  there  were 
not  the  slightest  funds  provided,  and  Georgia  was 
the  dearest  part  of  the  British  dominions.  He  was 
above  a  thousand  pounds  in  debt  upon  that  score, 


1741. J     WESLEV  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  32.") 


and  lie  himself  not  worth  twenty.  Seward,*  the 
wealthiest  and  most  attached  of  his  disciples,  was 
dead,  and  had  made  no  provision  for  him,  nor  for 
the  payment  of  a  bill  for  35i)/.  on  the  Orphan  House 
account,  which  he  had  drawn,  and  for  which 
Whitefield  was  now  responsible,  and  threatened 
with  an  arrest.  If  his  celebrity  were  gone,  the 
Bank  of  Faith,  upon  which  he  had  hitherto  drawn 
with  such  confidence  and  such  success,  would  be 
closed  against  him.  He  called  it  truly  a  trying  time  : 
"  Many,  very  many  of  my  spiritual  children,"  says  he, 
"  who,  at' my  last  departure  from  England,  would 
have  plucked  out  their  own  eyes  to  have  given  me, 
are  so  prejudiced  by  the  dear  Messrs.  Wesleys  dress- 
ing up  the  doctrine  of  election  in  such  horrible  co- 
lours, that  they  will  neither  hear,  see,  nor  give  me 
the  least  assistance ;  yea,  some  of  them  send  threat- 
ening letters  that  God  will  speedily  destroy  me." — 
This  folly  on  the  part  of  Wesley's  hot  adherents  irri- 
tated him,  and  that  irritation  was  fomented  by  his 
own.  He  began  naturally  to  regard  his  former  friends 
as  heretics  and  enemies ;  and  when  Wesley,  who  had 

*  A  letter  from  Charles  AVesley  to  Whitefield  makes  it  evident 
that  this  zealous  man  was  bestowing  his  property  as  well  as  his 
time  in  the  service  of  Methodism.  Writing  from  London  in  1739, 
he  says,  "  I  cannot  preach  out  on  the  week-days  for  the  expense 
of  coach-hire,  nor  can  I  accept  of  dear  Mr.  Seward's  offer,  to 
which  I  should  be  less  backward  would  he  follow  my  advice,  but 
while  he  is  so  lavish  of  his  Lord's  goods  I  cannot  consent  that  his 
ruin  should  in  any  degree  seem  to  be  under  my  hands."  These 
goods  were  his  family's  also,  as  well  as  his  Lord's  ;  and  therefore 
it  is  not  surprising  that  when  Mr.  Seward  was  lying  ill  of  a  fever 
at  his  house  at  Bengcwortii,  and  Charles  Wesley  came  there  in 
one  of  his  rounds,  the  wife,  tlie  brother,  and  the  apothecary 
should  have  taken  especial  care  to  keef)  all  Methodists  from  him  ; 
and  when  they  could  not  prevail  upon  Wesley  to  give  up  his  in- 
tention of  preaching  near  the  house,  which  the  apothecary  de- 
clared would  throw  his  patient  back,  that  they  should  have  endea- 
voured to  drive  him  out  of  the  town  by  force.  Seward's  early 
loss  is  thus  noticed  by  John  Wesley  :  "  Monday,  Oct.  27,  (1740.) 
The  surprising  news  of  poor  Mr.  Seward's  death  was  confirmed. 
Surely  God  will  maintain  his  own  cause  !  Righteous  art  thou, 
O  Lord."  His  journal  was  published,  and  is  often  quoted  in 
Bishop  Lavington's  curious  work. 


326         WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELD.  [174K 


been  summoned  by  his  brother  Charles  to  London 
on  this  occasion,  went  to  him,  to  see  if  the  breach 
might  jet  be  closed,  Whitefield  honestly  told  him, 
that  thej  preached  two  different  gospels,  and  there- 
fore he  not  only  wouhl  not  join  with  him,  or  give 
him  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  but  would  publicly 
preach  against  him  wheresoever  he  preached  at  all. 
He  was  reminded  of  the  promise  which  he  had  but 
a  few  days  before  made,  that  whatever  his  opinion 
might  be  he  would  not  do  this :  but  he  replied,  that 
promise  was  only  an  effect  of  human  weakness,  and 
he  was  now  of  another  mind. 

This  temper  disposed  him  to  listen  to  the  repre- 
sentations of  paltry  minds;  and  he  wrote  to  Wesley 
upon  the  points  which  he  thought  had  been  impro- 
perly tnanpged  during  his  absence  in  America.  Wes- 
ley rephed,  Would  you  have  me  deal  plainly  with 
you,  my  brother  !  1  believe  you  would  :  then  by  the 
grace  of  God  1  will.  Of  many  things  I  find  you  are 
not  rightly  informed;  of  others  you  speak  what  you 
have  not  well  weighed.  The  Society  room  at  Bris- 
tol you  say  is  adorned.  How  ?  Why,  with  a  piece 
of  green  cloth  nailed  to  the  desk;  two  sconces  for 
eight  candles  each  in  the  middle  ;  and — nay,  I  know 
no  more.  Now,  w  hich  of  these  can  be  spared  I  know 
not ;  nor  would  I  desire  either  more  adorning  or  less. 
But  lodgings  are  made  for  me  or  my  brother.  That 
is,  in  plain  English,  there  is  a  little  room  by  the 
school,  where  I  speak  to  the  persons  -who  come  to 
rac;  and  a  garret  in  which  a  bed  is  placed  for  me. — 
And  do  you  grudge  me  this  ?  Is  this  the  voice  of  my 
brother,  my  son  Whitefield  }"'  Another  and  a  heavier 
charge  was,  that  lie  had  perverted  Whitefield's  de- 
sign for  the  poor  colliers;  and  this  was  answered  by 
a  plain  statement  of  the  matter,  which  must  have 
made  Whitefield  blush  for  the  hasty  and  ungenerous 
accusation.  "  But  it  is  a  poor  case,"  said  Wesley, 
"  that  you  and  1  should  be  talking  thus  !  Indeed 
these  things  ought  not  to  be.  It  lay  in  your  power 
to  have  prevented  all,  and  yet  to  have  borne  testi- 
mony to  what  you  call  the  truth.    If  you  had  disliked 


/ 


1741.]     WESLEY  SEPARATES  FROM  WHITEFIELC.  327 


my  sermon,  you  might  have  printed  another  on  the 
same  text,  and  have  answered  my  proofs  without 
mentioning  my  name.  This  had  been  fair  or  friendly. 
You  rank  all  the  maintainors  of  Universal  Redemp- 
tion with  Socinians  themselves.  Alas !  my  brother, 
do  you  not  know  even  this,  that  the  Socinians  allow 
no  redemption  at  all  ?  that  Socinus  himself  speaks 
thus,  Tota  redcraplio  nostra  per  Christum  mctap/iora ; 
and  says  expressly,  Christ  did  not  die  as  a  ransom 
for  any,  but  only  as  au  example  for  all  mankind  ? — 
How  easy  were  it  for  me  to  hit  many  other  palpable 
blots  in  that  which  you  call  an  answer  to  my  sermon  ■ 
And  how  above  measure  contemptible  would  you 
then  appear  to  all  impartial  men,  either  of  sense  or 
learning  !  But  1  spare  you  !  mine  hand  shall  not  be 
upon  you:  the  Lord  bo  judge  between  thee  and  me. 
The  general  tenor  both  of  my  public  and  private  ex- 
hortations, when  I  toucli  thereon  at  all,  as  even  my 
enemies  know,  if  they  would  testify,  is,  '  Spare  the 
young  man,  even  Absalom,  for  my  sake !'  " 

Wesley,  however,  felt  more  resentment  than  he 
here  thought  proper  to  express ;  and  thinking  that  it 
became  him  to  speak  his  sentiments  freely,  he  observ- 
ed to  him  in  private,  that  the  publication  of  his  letter 
had  put  weapons  into  the  hands  of  their  common 
enemies  ;  that  viewing  it  in  the  light  of  an  answer,  it 
was  a  mere  burlesque,  for  ho  had  left  half  the  argu- 
ments of  the  sermon  untouched,  and  handled  the 
other  half  so  gently,  as  if  ho  was  afraid  of  burning  his 
fingers  with  them ;  but  that  he  had  said  enough  of 
what  was  wholly  foreign  to  the  question  to  make  an 
open,  and,  probably,  an  irreparable  breach  between 
them,  seeing  that  for  a  treacherous  wound,  and  for  the  he- 
trayincf  of  secrcls.  every  friend  ivill  depart. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATISK.D.  FUNDS.  CLASSES. —  ITINE- 
RANCY. LAY  PREACHLNG. 

Wesley  had  at  this  time  some  cause  for  apprehend- 
ing a  disunion,  which  would  have  grieved  him  far 
more  than  his  breach  with  Whitefield.  His  brother 
Charles,  who  had  assisted  him  so  cordially  in  oppo- 
sing the  errors  of  MoUher,  was  inclined  to  side  with 
the  Moravians,  after  those  errors  had  been  disown- 
ed ;  and  he  proceeded  so  far  as  to  declare,  that  it 
was  his  intention  not  to  preach  any  more  at  the  Foun- 
dery.  "  The  Philistines  are  upon  thee,  Samson,'*''  says 
Wesley  in  his  Journal  on  this  occasion ;  "  but  the 
Lord  is  not  departed  from  thee.  He  shall  strengthen 
thee  yet  again,  and  (hou  shalt  be  avenged  of  them  for 
the  loss  of  thy  eyes.''''  Writing  to  Charles  upon  this 
subject,  lie  says,  "  O  my  brother,  my  soul  is  grieved 
for  you  !  the  poison  is  in  you  ;  fair  words  have  stolen 
away  your  heart.  No  English  man  or  woman  is  like 
the  Moravians  !  So  (he  matter  is  come  to  a  fair  is- 
sue. Five  of  us  did  still  stand  together  a  few  month* 
since,  but  two  are  gone  to  the  right  hand,  (Hutchins 
and  Cennick,)  and  two  more  to  the  left  (Mr.  Hall  and 
you.)  Lord,  if  it  be  thy  gospel  which  I  preach,  arise 
and  maintain  thine  own  cause !" 

Charles,  however,  soon  yielded  to  the  opinions  of 
a  brother  whom  he  so  entirely  respected  and  loved. 
A  breach  between  them  indeed  would  have  aflforded 
a  malignant  pleasure  to  their  enemies,  which  would 
in  no  slight  degree  have  aggravated  the  pain  arising 
from  such  a  disunion  ;  and  they  had  too  long  been 
linked  together  for  good  and  for  evil,  for  honour 
and  dishonour,  to  be  separated  by  any  light  differ- 
ence. Wesley  was  fully  sensible  of  the  value  of 
such  a  coadjutor,  who  had  one  heart,  one  object 
with  himself ;  whom  he  knew  so  thoroughly,  and  up- 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


329 


on  whom  he  could  perfectly  rely ;  and  whose  life, 
conversation,  talents,  and  acquirements  he  could  hold 
up  to  the  world  as  confidently  as  his  own,  defying 
calumny,  and  courting  investigation.  A  breach  here, 
though  it  certainly  would  not  have  disheartened, 
M'ouid,  for  a  time,  have  seriously  weakened  as  well 
as  distressed  him,  and  have  left  behind  it  a  perpetual 
regret  when  the  injury  should  have  been  overcome; 
whereas  the  separation  from  the  Moravians  and  from 
Whitefield  freed  him  from  all  shackles,  and  made 
him  the  sole  head  and  single  mover  of  the  sect 
which,  however  much  he  had  once  abhorred  the 
thoughts  of  schism,  he  had  now  begun  to  form  and 
organize.  His  restless  spirit  had  now  found  its 
proper  sphere,  where  it  might  move  uncontrolled, 
and  enjoy  a  prospect  boundless  as  his  desire  of  do- 
ing good,  the  ambition  which  possessed  him.  "I 
distinctly  remember,"  he  says  in  one  of  his  sermons, 
"  that  even  in  my  childhood,  even  wheri  I  was  at 
school,  I  have  often  said,  '  They  say  the  life  of  a 
school-boy  is  the  happiest  in  the  world  ;  but  I  am 
sure  I  am  not  happy,  for  1  am  not  content,  and  so 
cannot  be  happy."  When  I  had  lived  a  few  years 
longer,  beiiig  in  the  vigour  of  youth,  a  stranger  to 
pain  and  sickness,  and  particularly  to  lowness  of  spi- 
rits, (  which  1  do  not  remember  to  have  felt  one  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  ever  since  I  was  boni,)  having  plenty  of 
all  things,  in  the  midst  ofsensibleand  amiable  friends, 
who  loved  me,  and  I  loved  them,  and  being  in  the 
way  of  life  which  of  all  others  suited  my  inclinations, 
still  I  was  not  happy.  I  wondered  why  I  was  not, 
and  could  not  Imagine  what  the  reason  was.  Upon 
the  coolest  reflection,  1  knew  not  one  week  which  I 
would  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  have  lived 
over  again,  taking  it  with  every  inward  and  outward 
sensation,  without  any  variation  at  all.  The  reason," 
he  adds,  "certainly  was,  that  I  did  not  know  God, 
the  source  of  present  as  well  as  eternal  happiness." 
Another  reason  was,  that  powers  like  his  produce  an 
inward  restlessness,  and  a  perpetual  uneasy  sense  of 
discontent,  till  they  find  or  force  their  way  into  ac- 
vor..  \.  42 


330 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


lion  :  but  now  when  those  powers  were  fully  deve- 
loped, and  in  full  activity,  at  once  excited  and  exert- 
ed to  the  utmost  in  the  service  of  that  God,  whom  he 
surely  loved  with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all  his  soul, 
and  with  all  his  strength,  the  world  did  not  contain 
a  happier  man  than  Wesley,  nor,  in  his  own  eyes,  a 
more  important  one. 

Schism,  according  to  Wesley,  has  almost  always 
been  wrongly  defined  a  separation  from  a  church, 
instead  of  a  separation  in*  a  church.  Upon  his  own 
definitio£i  he  himself  was  more  peculiarly  guilty  of 
the  offence  ;  and  however  much  he  contended  against 
those  of  his  followers,  who  were  for  separating  from 
the  Establishment,  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  he 
should  not  have  foreseen  the  separation,  to  which 
all  his  measures  tended.  Those  measures  were  ta- 
ken in  good  faith,  and  with  good  intent,  most  of  them 
indeed  arising,  unavoidably,  from  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  found  himself;  but  this  was  their  direct, 
obvious,  inevitable  tendency.  One  step  drew  on  an- 
other. Because  he  ^reached  an  enthusiastic  and 
dangerous  doctrine,  which  threw  his  hearers  into 
convulsions,  he  was  properly,  by  most  clergymen,  re- 
fused the  use  of  their  pulpits  ;  this  drove  him  to  field.- 
preaching.  But  field-preaching  is  not  for  alT  wea- 
thers in  a  climate  like  ours ;  prayer-meetings  also 
were  a  part  of  his  plan ;  and  thus  it  became  expedient 
to  build  meeting-houses.  Meetinj>;-Tiouses  rgguiretT 
funTds :  they  required  ministers,  too,  whirelie  was  iti- 
neirating.  Few  clergymen  could  be  found  to  co-ope- 
rate with  him;  and  though^  at  fijltj  he  a,^  the 
thought  of  admitting  uneducated  laymen 
nistry,  lay  preachers  were  soon  forced  upon  liim,  by 
their  own  zeal,  which  was  too  strong  to  be  restrain- 
ed, and  by  the  plain  necessity  of  the  case. 

The  organization  of  Methodism,  which,  at  this 
time,  may  vie  with  that  of  any  society  that  has  ever 
been  instituted,  for  the  admirable  adaptation  of  the 
means  to  the  end  proposed,  was  siowly  developed, 

*  See  his  Sermon  on  Schism,  in  the  9th  vol.  of  his  collected 
works,  p.  386,  edition  1811. 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


331 


and  assisted  in  its  progress  by  accidental  circum- 
stances. When  the  meeting-house  was  built  at  Bris- 
tol, Wesley  had  made  himself  responsible  for  the  ex- 
penses of  the  building  :  subscriptions  and  public  col- 
lections had  been  made  at  the  time,  but  they  fell 
short.  As  the  building,  however,  was  for  their  pub- 
lic use,  the  Methodists  at  Bristol  properly  regarded 
the  debt  as  public  also;  and  Wesley  was  consulting 
with  them  concerning  measures  for  discharging  it, 
when  one  of  the  members  proposed  that  every  per- 
son in  the  society  should  contribute  a  penny  a  week, 
till  the  whole  was  paid.  It  was  observed  that  many 
of  them  were  poor,  and  cou'd  not  afford  it.  "  Then," 
said  the  proposer,  "  put  oieven  of  the  poorest  with 
me,  and  if  they  can  give  any  thing,  well ;  I  will  call 
on  them  weekly,  and  if  they  can  give  nothing,  I  will 
give  for  them  as  well  as  for  myself  And  each  of 
you  call  upon  eleven  of  your  neighbours  weekly,  re- 
ceive what  they  give,  and  make  up  what  is  wanting." 
The  contribution  of  class  money  thus  began,  and  ihe 
same  accident  led  to  a  perfect  system  of  inspection. 
In  the  course  of  their  weekly  calls,  the  persons  who 
had  undertaken  for  a  class,  as  these  divisions  were 
called,  discovered  some  irregularities  among  those 
for  whose  contributions  they  were  responsible,  and 
reported  it  to  Wesley.  Immediately  he  saw  the 
whole  advantage  that  might  be  derived  from  such  an 
arrangement.  This  was  the  very  thing  which  he  had 
long  wanted  to  effect.  He  called  together  the  lead- 
ers, and  desired  that  each  would  make  a  particular 
inquiry  into  the  behaviour  of  those  under  his  care. 

They  did  so,"  he  says :  "  many  disorderly  walkers 
were  detected  ;  some  turned  from  the  evil  of  their 
ways  ;  some  were  put  away  from  us ;  many  saw  it 
with  fear,  and  rejoiced  unto  God  with  reverence." 
A  few  weeks  afterwards,  as  soon  as  Wesley  arrived 
in  London,  he  called  together  some  of  his  leading 
disciples,  and  explained  to  them  the  great  difficulty 
under  which  he  had  hitherto  laboured,  of  properly 
knowing  the  people  who  desired  to  be  under  his  care. 


332 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


They  agreed  that  there  could  be  no  better  way  to 
come  at  a  sure  and  thorough  knowledge  of  every  in- 
dividual, than  by  dividing  them  into  classes,  under 
the  direction  of  those  who  could  be  trusted,  as  had 
been  done  at  Bristol.  Thenceforth,  whenever  a  so- 
ciety of  Methodists  was  formed,  this  arrangement 
was  followed :  a  scheme  for  which  Wesley  says  he 
could  never  sufficiently  praise  God,  its  unspeakable 
usefuhiess  having  ever  since  been  more  and  more 
manifest. 

The  business  of  the  leaders  was  to  see  every  per- 
son in  his  class  at  least  once  a  week,  in  order  to  in- 
quire how  their  souls  prospered;  to  advise,  reprove, 
comfort  or  exhort,  as  occasion  might  require ;  and  to 
receive  what  they  were  willing  to  give  toward  the 
expenses  of  the  society,  and  the  relief  of  the  poor. 
They  were  also  to  meet  the  minister  and  the  stewards 
of  the  society,  that  they  might  inform  the  minister  of 
any  that  were  sick,  and  of  any  that  were  disorderly, 
and  would  not  be  reproved,  and  pay  to  the  stewards 
what  they  had  collected  from  their  several  classes  in 
the  week  preceding.  At  first  they  visited  each  per- 
son at  his  own  house,  but  this  was  soon  found,  on 
many  accounts  to  be  inexpedient,  and  even  impracti- 
cable. It  required  more  time  than  the  leaders  could 
spare;  many  persons  lived  with  masters,  mistresses, 
or  relations,  who  would  not  suffer  them  to  be  thus 
visited  ;  and  when  this  frequent  and  natural  objec- 
tion did  not  exist,  it  often  happened  that  no  opportu- 
nity could  be  had  of  speaking  to  them,  except  in  the 
presence  of  persons  who  did  not  belong  to  the  socie- 
ty, so  that  the  purpose  of  the  visit  was  rendered  use- 
less. Differences,  also,  and  misunderstandings  be- 
tween members  of  the  same  class  could  not  be  clear- 
ed up,  unless  the  parties  M'ere  brought  face  (o  face. 
For  these  reasons  it  was  soon  determined  that  every 
class  should  assemble  weekly.  Advice  or  reproof 
was  the^i  given,  as  need  required  ;  quarrels  were 
made  up.  misunderstandings  were  removed;  and  af- 
ter an  hour  or  two  had  thus  been  passed,  the  meet- 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


.533 


ing  concluded  with  prayer  and  singing*.  "It  can 
scarcely  be  conceived,"  says  Wesley,  "  what  advan- 
tages have  been  reaped  from  this'httle  prudential  re- 
gulation. M^l^yjiow^  happily  experienced  that 
Cliristian  feliowsmpTot  vvTu  not  so  much" 

as^an  idea  before.  They  began  to  bear  one  anotheFs 
burdens,  and  naturally  to  care  lor  each  other.  As 
tiiey  had  daily  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with,  so 
they  had  a  more  endeared  affection  for  each  other. 
Ejvil_meii-werc  detected  and  reproved  :  they  were 
borne  with  lor  a  season ;  if  they  forsook  their  sins  we 
received  them  gladly;  if  they  obstinately  persisted 
therein,  it  was  operdy  declared  that  they  were  not  of 
us.  The  rest  mourned  and  prayed  for  them,  and 
yet  rejoiced,  that  as  far  as  in  us  lay  the  scandal  was 
rolled  away  from  the  society." 

Accident  had  led  to  this  essential  part  of  the  Me- 
thodist discipline.  The  practice  of  itinerancy  also 
was  taken  up,  not  from  forethought,  but  as  the  natu- 
ral consequence  of  the  course  in  which  the  Wesleys 
found  themselves  engaged.  John,  indeed  has  affirm- 
ed, that  at  their  return  from  America,  they  were  "  re- 
solved to  retire  out  of  the  world  at  once,  being  sated 
with  noise,  hurry,  and  fatigue,  and  seeking  nothing 
but  to  be  at  rest.  Indeed,"  says  he,  "  for  a  long  sea- 
son, the  greatest  pleasure  I  had  desired,  on  this  side 
eternity,  was 

 taciturn  sijlvaf:' inter  reptare  salubres, 

Clucerentein  quicquid  dignum  sapiente  bonoque  ; 

and  we  had  attained  our  desire.    We  wanted  no- 

*  The  leader  has  a  class  paper,  upon  which  he  marks,  oppo- 
site to  the  name  of  each  member,  upon  every  day  of  mceling, 
whether  the  person  has  attended  or  not  ;  and  if  absent,  whether 
the  absence  was  owinif  lo  distance  of  abode,  business,  sickness,  or 
neglect.  And  every  member  had  a  printed  cl  iss  ticket,  with  a 
text  of  scripture  upon  it,  and  a  letter.  These  tickets  must  be  re- 
newed every  quarter,  the  text  being  changed,  and  the  letter  also, 
till  all  the  alphabet  has  been  gone  through,  and  then  it  begins 
again.  One  shilling  is  paid  by  every  member  upon  receiving  a 
new  ticket  ;  and  no  person,  without  a  proper  ticket,  is  considered 
a  member  of  the  society.  These  were  later  regulations  ,  but  the 
main  system  of  finance  and  inspection,  for  which  the  class  meetings 
provide,  was  established  at  this  time,  in  consequence  of  the  debt 
incurred  for  the  first  meeting-house. 


334 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


thing,  we  looked  for  nothing  more  in  this  world,  whet* 
we  were  dragged  out  again,  by  earnest  importunity, 
to  preach  at  one  place  and  another ;  and  so  carried 
on,  we  knew  not  how,  without  any  design  but  the 
general  one  of  saving  souls,  into  a  situation  which, 
had  it  been  named  to  us  at  first,  would  have  appear- 
ed far  worse  than  death."  Whitefield,  on  his  first  re- 
turn from  America,  earnestly  advised  Charles  Wes- 
ley to  accept  a  college  living,  thinking  that  the  best 
service  which  he  could  perform  would  be  thus  to  get 
possession  of  a  pu^lpit;  and  his  brother  and  all  the 
first  leaders  of  the  Methodists  urged  him  after  this  to 
settle  at  Oxford.  But  soon,  before  they  were  aware  of 
it,  they  were  engaged  in  a  course  of  itinerancy.  This 
was  no  new  practice  in  England.  The  Saxon  bishops 
used  to  travel  through  their  dioceses,  and  where  there 
were  no  churches,  preach  in  the  open  air.  It  is  part 
of  the  system  of  the  Mendicant  orders ;  and  the 
Romish  church  has  been  as  much  benefited  by  their 
exertions  in  this  way  as  it  has  been  disgraced  by  their 
fooleries  and  their  fables.  At  the  beginning  of  our  Re- 
formation, preachers  were  sent  to  itinerate  in  those 
counties  where  they  were  most  needed,  for  thus  it  was 
thought  they  would  be  more  extensively  useful,  than 
if  they  were  fixed  upon  particular  cures.  Four  of  Ed- 
ward the  Sixth's  chaplains  were  thus  employed,  of 
whom  John  Knox  was  one  ;  and  in  the  course  of  his 
rounds  he  frequently  preached  every  day  in  the  week. 
At  that  time  it  was  designed  that  there  should  be 
in  every  diocese  some  persons  who  should  take  their 
circuit  and  preach*  like  Evangelists,  as  some  of  the 
favourers  of  the  Reformation  called  them.  Unhappy 
circumstances  frustrated  this  among  other  good  inten- 
tions of  the  fathers  of  our  church,  but  it  was  practis- 

*  Something  was  done  in  this  way  by  individuals  who  deemed 
their  own  strong  sense  of  duty  a  sufficient  quaUfication.  In  1557, 
George  E;igle,  a  tailor,  who  was  CtJled  Trudge-over  for  his  acti- 
vity ae  an  itinerant  preacher,  was  executed  as  a  traitor,  "  for 
gathering  the  Queen's  subjects  together,  though  he  never  stirred 
them  up  to  rebellion  ;"  and  zeal  for  genuine  Christianity  was  his 
only  ofifence. 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


335 


ed  with  great  efficacy  in  a  part  of  England,  where  it 
was  greatly  wanted,  by  Bernard  Gilpin,  one  of  the 
most  apostolical  men  that  later  ages  have  produced. 
During  the  civil  wars  the  practice  revived,  but  it  was 
in  hostility  to  the  Establishment :  Quakerism  was 
propagated  by  itinerant  preachers  of  both  sexes ; 
and  the  fierce  Calvinistic  fanatics,  by  their  harangues 
from  tubs  as  well  as  puipits,  and  in  barns  and  streets 
as  well  as  churches,  fomented  the  spirit  which  they 
raised,  and  which  for  a  whole  generation  made  this 
country  miserable.  And  when  they  had  won  the  vic- 
tory, they  attempted  not  merely  to  get  rid  of  any 
church  establishment,  but  even  of  all  settled  minis- 
ters, and  to  substitute  a  system  of  itinerancy.  When 
this  was  proposed  for  England,  it  was  lost  only  by  a 
minority  of  two  voices  in  Cromwell's  parliament;  and 
it  was  partly  carried  into  effect  in  Wales  under  the 
direction  of  Hugh  Peters  and  Vavasor  Powell.  But 
when  the  Methodists  began  their  career,  the  prac- 
tice had  been  discontinued  for  more  than  seventy 
years,  and  therefore  it  had  all  the  effect  of  novelty 
when  it  was  revived.  It  existed,  indeed,  among  the 
Quakers,  but  the  desire  of  making  proselytes  had 
ceased  in  that  society :  they  had  by  that  time  ac- 
quired that  quiet  and  orderly  character,  by  which 
they  have  long  been  distinguished,  and  the  move- 
ments of  their  preachers  were  rarely  or  never  ob- 
served out  of  their  own  circle. 

By  becoming  an  itinerant,  Wesley  acquired  gene- 
ral notoriety,  which  gratified  his  ambition,  and  by  ex- 
citing curiosity  concerning  him,  induced  persons  to 
hear  him  who  would  not  have  been  brought  within 
the  influence  of  his  zeal  by  any  other  motive.  This 
alone  would  have  filled  the  churches  if  he  had  been 
permitted  to  preach  in  them  :  field  preaching  was  a 
greater  novelty;  it  attracted  greater  multitudes,  and 
brought  him  more  immediately  among  the  lower  and 
ruder  classes  of  society,  whom  he  might  otherwise 
in  vain  have  wished  to  address.  He  has  forcibly 
shown  in  one  of  his  Appeals,  the  usefulness  and  ne- 
cessity of  the  practice:  "  Wjiat  need  is  there,"  he 


336 


METHODISM  SVSTEMATIZED. 


says,  speaking  for  his  antagonists,  "  of  this  preaching 
in  f.aids  and  streets  ?  Are  there  not  churches  enough 
to  preach  in  ? — No,  my  friend,  there  are  not,  not  for 
us  to  preach  in.  You  forget :  we  are  not  suffered  to 
preach  there ;  else  we  should  prefer  them  to  any 
place  whatever.  Well,  there  are  ministers  enough 
witlbout  you!  Ministers  enough,  and  churches 
enough,  for  what  ?  To  reclaim  all  the  sinners  within 
the  four  seas  ?  If  there  were  they  would  all  be  re-  r 
claimed:  but  they  are  not  reclaimed.  Therefore  it 
is  evident  there  are  not  churches  enough.  And  one 
plain  reason  why,  notwithstanding  all  these  churches, 
they  are  no  nearer  being  reclaimed,  is  this:  they  ne- 
ver come  into  a  church;  perhaps  not  once  in  a 
twelvemonth,  perhaps  not  for  many  years  together. 
Will  you  say  (as  I  have  known  some  tender-hearted 
Christians),  "  then  it  is  their  own  fault ;  let  them  die 
and  be  damned."  I  grant  it  is  their  own  fault.  And 
so  it  was  my  fault  and  yours  when  we  went  astray, 
like  sheep  that  were  lost ;  yet  the  Saviour  of  souls 
sought  after  us,  and  went  after  us  into  the  wilder- 
ness. And  oughtest  not  thou  to  have  compassion  on 
thy  fellow  servants,  as  he  had  pity  on  thee  ?  Ought 
not  we  also  to  seek  as  fir  as  in  us  lies,  and  to  save 
that  which  is  lost  The  utility  of  the  practice, 
while  so  many  persons  lived  in  habitual  disregard  of 
ail  religious  ordinances,  and  while  so  large  a  part  of 
the  people  were  suffered  to  grow  up  in  brutal  igno- 
rance, could  not  indeed  be  questioned  by  any  rea- 
sonable man.  Its  irregularity  he  confessed,  but  he 
protested  that  those  persons  who  compelled  him  to 
be  thus  irregular,  had  no  right  to  censure  the  irregu- 
larity. "  Will  they  throw  a  man  into  the  dirt,"  said 
he,  "  and  beat  him  because  he  is  dirty  ?  Of  all  men 
living  those  clergymen  ought  not  to  complain  who 
believe  I  preach  the  gospel.  If  they  do  not  ask  me 
to  preach  in  their  churches,  (hey  are  accountable  for 
my  preaching  in  the  fields." 

^  Wesley  had  the  les^  r^pugn^JQce^JajCfiiJimfiJttce 
prearTilng  in  the  open  air  in  England,  because  it-was 
wbat  he  had  often  done  in  Georgia,  and  did  not  there- 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


337 


fore  at  first  appear  so  strange XQ..liijns£jf  as  to  his  con- 
gregation. But  neither  he  nor  liis  brother  at  that 
time  perceived  that  it  must  soon  become  a  necessary 
part  of  their  plan  to  admit  the  co-operation  of  lay- 
men. Their  first  co-adjutors  were  all  clergymen: 
except  Whitefield,  none  of  them  had  devoted  them- 
selves body  and  soul  to  the  work ;  they  had  not  en- 
tered upon  it  with  the  same  passion  or  the  same  am- 
bition ;  their  habits,  their  feelings,  or  their  circum- 
stances, would  have  rendered  an  itinerant  life  impos- 
sible or  intolerable ;  they  were  settled  upon  cures,  or 
staked  down  by  family  duties,  or  disqualified  for  in- 
cessant fatigue  and  public  exhibitions  by  their  state 
of  health  and  constitutional  ditfidence.  But  among 
the  lay-converts  there  were  many  who  were  not  trou- 
bled with  this  last  disqualification, — young  men  in 
the  heat  and  vigour  of  youth,  free  to  choose  their 
course,  and  with  tiie  world  before  them.  And  the 
doctrine  which  Wesley  preached  was  above  all 
others  able  to  excite  confidence  while  it  kindled  en- 
thusiasm. His  proselytes  by  the  act  of  conversion 
were  regenerate  men  ;  they  were  in  a  state  of  Chris- 
tian perfection;  they  had  attained  the  grace  of  our 
Lord — the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  they  had 
received  the  seal  and  slainp  of  God.  So  he  taught 
and  they  believed  ;  and  men  who  believed  this  re- 
quired no  other  qualification  to  set  up  as  teachers 
themselves  than  a  good  stock  of  animal  spirits,  and  a 
ready  flow  of  words,  the  talent  which  of  all  others 
has  the  least  connexion  with  sound  intellect.  They 
were  acted  upon  by  sympathy  at  their  meetings,  as 
some  persons  are  stage-struck  by  frequenting  the 
theatres,  and  others  are  made  apostles  of  anarchy 
and  atheism  at  debating  clubs. 

The  first  example  of  lay  preaching  appears  to  have 
been  set  by  a  Mr.  Bower^;,  who  is  not  otherwise 
named  in  the  history  of  Methodism.  One  Saturday, 
after  Whitefield  had  finished  a  sermon  in  Islington 
Chin-ch-yard,  Bowers  got  up  to  address  the  people; 
Charl^es  Wesley  entreated  him  to  desist,  but  rlndiiig 
that  hiss  entreaties  were  ilisregarded,  fie  ^vithd^cw, 

vox..  I.  4:{ 


338 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


and  drew  with  him  many  of  the  persons  present- 
Bowers  afterwards  confessed  that  he  had  done 
wrong,  but  the  inclination  which  he  mistook  for  the 
spirit  soon  returned  upon  him;  he  chose  to  preach 
in  the  streets  at  Oxford,  and  was  laid  hold  of  by  the 
beadle.  Charles  Wesley  just  at  that  time  came  to 
Oxford,  Bowers  was  brought  to  him,  and  promising 
after  a  reproof  to  do  so  no  more,  was  set  at  liberty. 
The  fitness  of  this  innovation  naturally  excited  much 
discussion  in  the  society,  and  the  Wesleys  strongly 
opposed  it ;  but  a  sort  of  compromise  seems  to  have 
been  made,  for  the  laymen  Avere  permitted  to  ex- 
pound the  Scriptures,  w  hich,  as  Law  justly  observed 
to  Charles,  was  the  very  worst  thing  both  for  them- 
selves and  others. 

Wesley  had  raised  a  spirit  which  he  could  not 
suppress,  but  it  was  possible  to  give  it  a  useful  di- 
rection. He  has  been  said  at  first  to  have  entertain- 
ed a  hope,  that  the  ministers  of  those  parishes  in 
which  he  had  laboured  with  success,  would  watch 
over  those  whom  he  had  "  turned  from  the  error  of 
their  ways."  But  in  the  very  commencement  of  his 
career,  Methojtlism  was  decidedly-aad^properly_dis- 
couraged  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  because 
of  the  enthusiastic  doctrines  which  were  preached, 
and  the  extravagances  which  vvere  encouraged. 
That  hope,  therefore,  could  not  long  have  been 
maintained ;  and  Wesley  soon  found  that  if  his  con- 
verts were  left  to  themselves,  they  speedily  relapsed 
into  their  former  habits.  When  he  returned  to  these 
places,  great  part  of  his  work  was  to  begin  again, 
and  with  greater  difficulty,  for  the  second  impression 
was  neither  so  strong,  nor  so  readily  made  as  the 
first.  "  What,"  says  he,  "was  to  be  done  in  a  case 
of  so  extreme  necessity,  where  so  many  souls  lay  at 
stake  }  No  clergyman  would  assist  at  all.  The  ex- 
pedient that  remained  was  to  find  some  one  among 
themselves,  who  was  upright  of  heart,  and  of  sound 
judgment  in  the  things  of  God,  and  to  desire  him  to 
meet  the  rest  as  often  as  he  could,  in  order  to  con- 
firm them  as  he  was  able  in  the  ways  of  God,  eithei 


THOMAS  MAXFIELD. 


339 


by  reading  to  them,  or  by  prayer,  or  by  exhortation." 
In  this  capacity  he  had  appointed  Cennick  to  reside 
at  Kingswood,  and  left  Maxfield  in  charge  of  the 
society  in  London.  Both  these  persons  were  men 
of  great  natnral  powers,  and  though  ultimately  both 
separated  from  him,  they  did  honour  to  his  discern- 
ment, and  never  disgraced  his  choice. 

From  expo^inding  to  preaching  was  an  easy  step. 
The  official  biographers  say  that  the  young  man 
Maxfield,  "  being  fervent  in  spirit,  and  mighty  in 
the  Scriptures,  greatly  profited  the  people.  They 
crowded  to  hear  him;  and  by  the  increase  of  their 
number,  as  well  as  by  their  earnest  and  deep  atten- 
tion, they  insensibly  led  him  to  go  further  than  he 
had  at  first  designed.  He  began  to  preach  ;  and  the 
Lord  so  blessed  the  word,  that  many  were  not  only 
deeply  awakened  and  brought  to  repentance,  but 
were  also  made  happy  in  a  consciousness  of  pardon. 
The  Scripture  marks  of  true  conversion,  inward 
peace,  and  power  to  walk  in  all  holiness,  evinced 
the  work  to  be  of  God."  But  however  successful 
his  preaching,  it  was  represented  to  Wesley  as  an 
irregularity,  which  it  required  his  presence  to  put  a 
stop  to,  and  he  hastened  to  London  for  that  purpose. 
His  mother  lived  at  that  time  in  his  house  adjoining 
the  Foundery,  and  she  perceiving  marks  of  displea- 
sure in  his  countenance  when  he  arrived,  inquired 
the  cause.  He  replied,  "  Thomas  Maxfield  has  turn- 
ed preacher,  I  find."  Mrs.  Wesley  looked  at  him 
seriously,  and  said,  "  John,  you  know  what  my  sen- 
timents have  been  ;  you  cannot  suspect  me  of  favour- 
ing readily  any  thing  of  this  kind ;  but  take  care 
what  you  do  with  respect  to  that  young  man,  for  he 
is  as  surely  called  of  God  to  preach  as  you  are. 
Examine  what  have  been  the  fruits  of  his  preaching, 
and  hear  him  also  yourself"  Wesley,  like  Loyola, 
was  always  ready  to  correct  any  part  of  his  conduct, 
or  system,  as  soon  as  he  discovered  that  it  was  in- 
convenient or  erroneous.  He  was  too  wise  a  man  to 
be  obstinate,  and  too  sincere  in  all  his  actions  to  feel 
any  reluctance  at  acknowledging  that  he  had  been 


310 


JOHN  NELSON. 


mistaken.  He  heard  Maxfield  preach,  and  express- 
ed at  once  his  satisfaction  and  his  sanction,  bj  say- 
ing, It  is  the  Lord  ;  let  Him  do  what  seemeth  Him  ^ood. 
He  saw  that  it  was  impossible  to  prevent  his  follow- 
ers from  preaching,  and  with  admirable  readiness 
resolved  to  lead  the  stream  which  it  was  bej  ond  his 
power  to  turn.  From  that  time,  therefore,  he  admit- 
ted volunteers  whom  he  thought  qualified  to  servo 
him,  as  sons  in  the  Gospel but  always  upon  the 
condition  that  they  should  labour  where  he  appoint- 
ed, because  otherwise  they  would  have  stood  in  each 
other's  vvay. 

If  this  determination  had  not  been  occasioned  by 
Maxfield's  conduct,  it  would  have  been  brought 
about  by  the  service  of  another  labourer,  who  in  like 
manner  anticipated  the  system  about  the  same  time. 
This  person  was  a  Yorkshire  mason,  by  name  John 
Nelson,  one  of  those  men  who  found  in  Methodism 
their  proper  sphere  of  action.  He  grew  up  under 
a  pious  father,  who  read  the  Scriptures  in  his  family, 
and  died  Avith  a  settled  reliance  upon  the  mercy  of 
God,  and  in  full  trust  that  Providence  would  provide 
for  his  widow  and  children.  Fie  married  early  and 
happily;  his  labour  amply  supported  him,  and  he 
and  his  wife  lived,  he  says,  "  in  a  good  way,  as  the 
world  calls  it ;  that  is,  in  peace  and  plenty,  and  love 
to  each  other."  But  his  tirst  religious  impressions 
had  been  of  a  frightful  character :  he  formed  reso- 
lutions which  he  was  unable  to  keep  ;  uneasiness  of 
mind  produced  a  restless  desire  of  changing  place; 
wherever  he  was  he  felt  the  same  disquietude;  and 
though  he  had  experienced  neither  sorrow  nor  mis- 
fortune of  any  kind,  being  in  all  respects  fortunate 
beyond  most  men  of  his  condition,  still  bethought 
that  rather  than  live  thirty  years  more  like  llie  thirty 
which  he  had  passed,  he  would  choose  to  be  stran- 
gled. The  fear  of  judgment  made  him  wish  that  he 
never  had  been  born,  and  yet  there  was  a  living 
hope  in  his  soul.  "  Surely,"  said  he,  "  God  never 
made  man  to  be  such  a  riddle  to  himself,  and  to  leave 
him  so  !    There  must  be  something  in  religion  that 


JOHN  NELSQN. 


341 


I  am  unacquainted  with,  to  satisfy  the  empty  mind  of 
man,  or  he  is  in  a  worse  state  tlian  the  beasts  that 
perish."  Under  such  feelings  he  wandered  up  and 
down  the  fields  after  his  day's  work  was  dorie,  think- 
ing what  he  should  do  to  be  saved,  and  he  went  from 
church  to  church,  but  found  no  ease,  for  what  he 
heard  exasperated  the  distemper  of  his  mind  itistead 
of  allaying  it.  When  he  heard  a  clergyman  expa- 
tiate upon  the  comfort  which  good  men  derive  in 
death  from  the  retrospect  of  a  well-spent  life,  it  led 
him  to  reflect  that  he  had  never  spent  a  single  day 
wherein  he  had  not  left  undone  something  which  he 
ought  to  have  done,  and  done  something  which  he 
ought  not  to  have  done.  "  Oh,"  says  he,  what  a 
stab  was  that  sermon  to  my  wounded  soul !  It  made 
me  w  ish  that  my  mothers  womb  had  been  my  grave." 
And  when  at  another  church  he  heard  it  affirmed, 
that  man  had  no  right  to  expect  any  interest  in  the 
merits  of  Christ,  if  he  had  not  fulfilled  his  part,  and 
done  all  that  lay  in  his  power,  he  thought  that  if  that 
were  true,  none  but  little  children  could  be  saved, 
for  he  did  not  believe  that  any  who  had  lived  to 
years  of  maturity  had  done  all  the  good  they  could, 
and  avoided  all  the  evil  they  might.  "  Oh,"  he  ex- 
claims, what  deadly  physic  was  that  sort  of  doc- 
trine to  my  poor  sin-sick  soul !" 

He  went  to  hear  dissenters  of  divers  denomina- 
tions, but  to  no  purpose.  He  tried  the  Fioman  Ca- 
tholics, but  was  soon  surfeited  with  (heir  way  of 
worship,  which  of  all  ways  was  the  least  likely  to 
satisfy  a  spirit  like  his.  He  attended  the  Quakers' 
meeting  w  itii  no  better  success.  For  names  he  cared 
nothing,  nor  for  what  he  might  be  called  upon  to 
suffer,  so  that  he  might  find  peace  for  his  soul. 
"  I  had  now,"  he  says,  "  tried  all  but  the  Jews,  and 
I  thought  it  was  to  no  purpose  to  go  to  them  ;"  so  he 
determined  to  keep  to  the  church,  and  read  and 
pray,  whether  he  perished  or  not.  A  judicious 
minister,  who  should  have  known  the  man.  mighl 
have  given  him  the  comfort  which  he  sought:  hui 
the  sort  of  intercourse  between  the  pastor  and  his 


JOHN  WELSON. 


I^eople  which  this  would  imply,  hardly  exists  any 
where  in  England,  and  cannot  possibly  exist  in  the 
metropolis,  where  Nelson  was  then  residing.  At 
this  time  Whitefield  began  his  campaign  in  Moor- 
fields,  and  there  it  might  have  been  thought  that 
he  would  have  found  the  right  physician,  but 
Whitefield  did  not  touch  the  string  to  which  his 
heart  accorded,  He  was  to  me,"  says  John 
Nelson,  as  a  man  that  could  play  well  on  an 
instrument,  for  his  preaching  was  pleasant  to  me, 
and  I  loved  the  man ;  so  that  if  any  one  offered  to 
disturb  him,  I  was  ready  to  fight  for  him;  but  1  did 
not  understand  him  ;  yet  I  got  some  hope  of  mercy, 
so  that  I  was  encouraged  to  pray  on,  and  spend  my 
leisure  hours  in  reading  the  Scriptures."  While 
Nelson  was  in  this  state,  he  seldom  slept  four  hours 
in  the  night, — sometimes  he  started  from  his  sleep 
as  if  he  were  falhng  into  a  horrible  pit;  sometimes 
dreamed  that  he  was  fighting  with  Satan,  and  awoke 
exhausted  and  bathed  in  sweat  from  the  imaginary 
conflict. 

Thus  he  continued,  till  Wesley  preached  for  the 
first  time  in  Moorfields.  "  Oh  !"  says  he,  "  that  was 
a  blessed  morning  for  my  soul !  As  soon  as  he  got 
upon  the  stand,  he  stroked  back  his  hair  and  turned 
his  face  towards  where  I  stood,  and  I  thought  he  fix- 
ed his  eyes  on  me.  His  countenance  struck  such  an 
awful  dread  upon  me  before  I  heard  him  speak,  that 
it  made  my  heart  beat  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock ; 
and  when  he  did  speak,  I  thought  his  whole  discourse 
was  aimed  at  me."  Nelson  might  well  think  thus, 
for  it  was  a  peculiar  characteristic  of  Wesley  in  his 
discourses,  that  in  winding  up  his  sermons, — in  point- 
ing his  exhortations  and  driving  them  home. — he 
spoke  as  if  he  were  addressit)g  himself  to  an  indivi- 
dual, so  that  every  one  to  whom  the  Condition  which 
he  described  was  applicable,  felt  as  if  he  were  sing- 
led out ;  and  the  preacher's  words  were  then  like 
ihe  eyes  of  a  portrait  which  seem  to  look  at  every 
beholder.  "  Who,"  said  the  preacher,  "  Who  art 
thou,  that  now  seest  and  feelest  both  thine  inward 


JOHN  NELSON. 


343 


and  outward  ungodliness  ?  Thou  art  the  man  I  I  want 
thee  for  my  Lord,  I  challenge  thee  for  a  child  of  God  by 
faith.  The  Lord  hath  need  of  thee.  Thou  who 
feelest  thou  art  just  fit  for  hell,  art  just  fit  to  advance 
his  glory, — the  glory  of  his  free  grace,  justifying  the 
ungodly  and  him  that  worketh  not.  O  come  quick- 
ly!  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus :  and  thou,  even  thou, 
art  reconciled  to  God."  And  again, — "  Thou  ungod- 
ly one,  who  hearest  or  readest  these  words,  thou 
vile,  helpless,  miserable  sinner,  I  charge  thee  before 
God,  the  Judge  of  all,  go  strait  unto  Him,  with  all  thy 
ungodliness  !  Take  heed  thou  destroy  not  thine  own 
soul  by  pleading  thy  righteousness  more  or  less.  Go 
as  altogether  ungodly,  guilty,  lost,  destroyed,  deserv- 
ing, and  dropping  into  hell ;  and  thou  shalt  then  find 
favour  in  His  sight,  and  know  that  He  justifieth  the 
ungodly.  As  such  thou  shalt  be  brought  unto  the 
blood  of  sprinkling,  as  an  undone,  helpless,  damned 
sinner.  Thus  look  unto  Jesus  !  There  is  the  Lamb 
of  God,  who  taketh  away  thy  sins  !  Plead  thou  no 
works,  no  righteousness  of  thine  own  !  No  humility, 
no  contrition,  sincerity  !  In  no  wise  !  That  were  in 
very  deed,  to  deny  the  Lord  that  bought  thee.  No. 
Plead  thou  singly,  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  the  ran- 
som paid  for  thy  proud,  stubborn,  sinful  soul." 

This  was  the  emphatic  manner  in  which  Wesley 
used  to  address  his  hearers,  knowing  as  he  did,  that 
there  would  always  be  some  among  them  to  whom 
it  would  be  precisely  adapted.  By  such  an  address 
the  course  of  John  Nelson's  after  life  was  determin- 
ed ; — the  string  vibrated  now  which  Whitefield  had 
failed  to  touch;  and  when  the  sermon  was  ended,  he 
said  within  himself,  "This  man  can  tell  the  secret^: 
of  my  heart.  He  hath  not  left  me  there,  for  he  hath 
showed  the  remedy,  even  the  blood  of  Jesus."  He 
did  not,  however,  at  once  make  his  case  known  to 
the  preacher,  and  solicit  his  particular  attention  : 
during  all  his  inward  conflicts,  there  was  in  his  out- 
ward actions  a  coolness  and  steadiness  of  conduct, 
which  is  the  proper  virtue  of  an  Englishman.  His 
acquaintances,  however.  More  apprehensive  that  he 


344 


JOHN  NELSOJf. 


was  going  too  far  in  religion,  and  would  thus  bring 
poverty  and  distress  upon  his  family  by  becoming 
untit  for  business,  and  they  wished  he  had  never 
heard  Mr.  Wesley,  lor  they  were  afraid  it  would  be 
his  ruin.  His  reply  was  not  likely  to  remove  these 
apprehensions.  "  I  told  them,"  says  he,  "  I  had  rea- 
son to  bless  God  that  ever  he  was  born,  for  by  hear- 
ing him  I  was  made  sensible  that  my  business  in  this 
world  is  to  get  well  out  of  it;  and  as  for  my  trade, 
health,  wisdom,  and  all  things  in  this  world,  they  are 
no  blessings  to  me  any  further  than  as  so  many  instru- 
ments to  help  me  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  work  out 
my  salvation."  Upon  tliis,  his  friends,  with  a  feeling 
of  indignation  arising  from  the  warmth  of  their  good 
will,  replied,  "  they  were  very  sorry  for  him,  and 
should  be  glad  to  knock  Mr.  Wesley's  brains  out, 
for  he  would  be  the  ruin  of  many  families,  if  he  were 
allowed  to  live  and  go  on  as  he  did."  Poor  Nelson 
at  this  time  narrowly  escaped  being  turned  out  of 
doors  by  the  persons  with  whom  he  lodged,  lest  some 
mischief,  they  said,  should  come  upon  them  with  so 
much  praying  and  fuss  as  he  made  about  religion. 
But  they  were  good  simple  people;  and  a  doubt 
came  upon  them,  that  if  John  should  be  right  and 
they  wrong,  it  would  be  a  sad  thing  to  turn  him  out; 
and  John  had  soon  the  satisfaction  of  taking  them  to 
hear  Mr.  Wesley.  He  risked  his  employment  too 
by  refusing  to  work  at  the  Exchequer  on  a  Sunday 
when  his  master's  foreman  told  him  that  the  King's 
business  required  haste,  and  that  it  was  common  to 
work  on  the  Sunday  for  His  Majesty  when  any  thing 
was  upon  the  finish.  But  John  stoutly  averred, 
"  that  he  would  not  work  upon  the  Sabbath  for  any 
man  in  England,  except  it  were  to  quench  fire,  or 
something  that  required  the  same  immediate  help." 
— ''Religion,"  said  the  foreman,  "has  made  you  a 
rebel  against  the  King." — "No,  sir,"  he  replied  "it 
has  made  me  a  better  subject  than  ever  I  was.  The 
greatest  enemies  the  King  has,  are  the  Sabbath- 
breakers,  swearers,  drunkards  and  whoremongers, 
for  these  pull  down  God's  judgments  both  upon  King 


JOHN  NELSON. 


and  country."  He  was  told  that  he  should  lose  his 
employment  if  he  would  not  obey  his  orders;  his 
answer  was,  "  he  would  rather  want  for  bread  than 
wilfully  offend  God."  The  foreman  swore  that  he 
would  be  as  mad  as  Whitefield  if  he  went  on.  "  What 
hast  thou  done,"  said  he,  "  that  thou  needest  make 
so  much  ado  about  salvation 1  always  took  thee 
to  be  as  honest  a  man  as  any  I  have  in  the  work,  and 
could  have  trusted  thee  with  five  hundred  pounds." 
"  So  you  might,"  answered  Nelson,  ^'  and  not  have 
lost  one  penny  by  me."  "  1  have  a  worse  opinion  of 
thee  now,"  said  the  foreman.  "  Master,"  he  replied, 
"  I  have  the  odds  of  you ;  for  I  have  a  much  worse 
opinion  of  myself  than  you  can  have."  But  the  end 
was  that  the  work  was  not  pursued  on  the  Sunday, 
and  that  John  Nelson  rose  in  the  good  opinion  of  his 
employer  for  having  shown  a  sense  of  his  duty  as  a 
Christian. 

Hejiow  fasted  Jhe  whole  of  every  Friday,  giving 
away  toTFTe  poor,  the  food  which  he  would  other- 
Wise  JBiavfs  eaten.  He  spent  his  leisure  hours  in 
prayer,  and  in  reading  the  Bible ;  and  his  desire  for 
the  salvation  of  souls  was  such,  that  he  actually  hired 
one  of  his  fellow- workmen  to  go  and  hear  Mr.  Wes- 
ley preach.  The  experiment  answered,  for  the 
workman  afterwards  told  him  it  was  the  best  thing 
both  for  him  and  his  wife  that  ever  man  had  done  for 
them.  When  he  dreamed  of  the  devil  now,  it  was 
no  longer  a  dream  of  horrors;  he  was  a  match  for 
him,  and  seeing  him  let  loose  among  the  people  in 
the  shape  of  a  red  bull,  he  took  him  by  the  horns 
and  twisted  him  upon  his  back,  and  set  his  right  foot 
upon  his  neck.  A  letter  came  from  his  wife  in  the 
country,  with  the  tidings  of  the  death  of  one  darling 
child,  and  the  desperate  illness  of  another;  lie  re- 
ceived it  with  a  composure  which  made  the  by-stand- 
ers  accuse  him  of  hardness  of  heart :  but  he  was  in 
a  high  state  of  exaltation  :  his  soul,"  he  says,  seem- 
ed to  breathe  its  life  in  God,  as  naturally  as  his  body 
breathed  life  in  the  common  air."  This  was  at  the 
time  when  the  Methodists  separated  from  the  Mo- 

VOL.  I.  44 


346 


JOHN  NELSON. 


ravians  first,  and  immediately  afterwards  from  the 
Calvinists,  Both  Moravians  and  Calvinists  fell  upon 
John  Nelson.  The  former  assured  him  that  Mr. 
Wesley,  poor  dear  man,  was  wandering  in  the  dark, 
a  blind  leader  of  the  blind  ;  that  indeed  he  was  only 
a  John  the  Baptist,  to  go  before  and  prepare  the  way 
of  the  brethren;  the  brethren  in  Fetter-lane  were 
the  men  who  were  to  lead  people  into  true  stillness  ; 
most  of  his  followers  had  forsaken  him,  and  were  be- 
come happy  sinners, — and  he  must  do  the  same, 
otherwise  Mr.  Wesley  would  still  keep  him  under 
the  law,  and  bring  him  into  bondage.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Calvinists  affirmed  that  Mr.  Wesley  denied 
the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  which  was  predestination  and 
election.  He  happened  to  reprove  one  of  these 
comfortable  believers  for  swearing,  and  the  man  re- 
plied that  he  was  predestinated  to  it,  and  did  not 
trouble  himself  about  it  at  all,  for  if  he  were  one  of 
the  elect  he  should  be  saved,  but  if  he  were  not,  all 
he  could  do  would  not  alter  God's  decree.  Nelson 
blessed  God  that  he  had  not  heard  such  things  in  the 
time  of  his  distress,  for  he  thought  they  would  in  that 
case  have  been  the  destruction  of  his  body  and  soul. 
He  was  now  able  to  make  his  part  good  against  such 
reasoners ;  and  when  they  told  him  that  their  eyes 
were  opened,  that  they  saw  now  into  the  electit)g 
love  of  God,  and  that,  do  what  they  would,  they 
could  not  finally  fall,  he  said  to  them  :  "  You  have 
gone  out  of  the  highway  of  holiness,  and  have  got  in- 
to the  devil's  pinfold.  You  are  not  seeking  to  per- 
fect holiness  in  the  fear  of  God,  but  are  resting  in 
opinions  that  give  you  liberty  to  live  after  the  flesh. 
Satan,"  he  said,  "  had  preached  that  doctrine  to  him 
before  they  did,  and  God  had  armed  him  both  against 
him  and  them."  Soon  afterwards  he  had,  for  the 
first  time,  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to  Mr.  Wesley. 
They  walked  together  some  way  ;  and  he  says  it  was 
a  blessed  conference  to  him.  When  they  parted, 
Wesley  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  looking  him 
in  the  face,  bade  him  take  care  that  he  did  not 
quench  the  spirit. 


JOHN  NELSON. 


347 


Dreams  and  impresions,  according  to  his  own  ac- 
count, rather  tlian  the  desire  of  rejoining  liis  family, 
induced  him  now  to  return  to  Birstall,  his  native 
place,  where  they  resided,  and  where  indeed  he  had 
always  carefully  provided  for  them,  whether  he  was 
at  home  or  abroad.  Some  little  discomfort  at  first 
attended  his  return.  John  was  perfectly  satisfied 
that  he  had  received  the  assurance,  and  knew  his  sins 
were  forgiven.  His  wife  and  mother  entreated  him  not 
to  say  this  to  any  one,  for  no  one  would  believe  him. 
But  he  said  he  should  not  be  ashamed  to  tell  what 
God  had  done  for  his  soul,  if  he  could  speak  loud 
enough  for  all  the  men  in  the  world  to  hear  him  at 
once.  His  mother  said  to  him,  "  Your  head  is  turn- 
ed and  he  replied, "  Yes,  and  my  heart  too,  I  thank 
the  Lord."  T  he  wife  besought  him  that  he  would 
either  leave  off  abusing  his  neighbours,  or  go  back 
to  London ;  but  he  declared  that  it  was  his  determi- 
nation to  reprove  any  who  sinned  in  his  presence ; 
she  began  to  weep,  and  said  he  did  not  love  her  so 
well  as  he  used  to  do,  and  that  her  happiness  was 
over,  if  he  believed  her  to  be  a  child  of  the  devil,  and 
himself  a  child  of  God.  But  Nelson  told  her  he  pray- 
ed and  believed  God  would  make  her  a  blessed  com- 
panion for  him  in  the  way  of  heaven ;  and  she,  who 
was  a  good  wife,  and  knew  that  she  had  a  good  hus- 
band, soon  fell  in  with  his  wishes,  listened  to  his 
teaching,  and  became  as  zealous  in  the  cause  as 
himself. 

He  now  began  to  exhort  his  neighbours  as  well  as 
to  reprove  them,  and  by  defending  his  doctrines 
when  they  were  disputed,  was  led  unawares  to  quote 
texts  of  Scripture,  expound,  and  enforce  them,  in  a 
manner  which  at  length  differed  from  preaching  only  in 
the  name.  This  he  did  in  his  own  house  at  first,  where 
he  had  the  good  fortune  to  convert  most  of  his  rela- 
tions;  and  when  his  auditors  became  so  numerous 
that  the  house  could  not  hold  them,  he  then  stood  at 
the  door  and  harangued  there.  Ingham  was  settled 
in  this  neighbourhood  with  a  Moravian  society,  and 
he,  at  Peter  Boehler's  desire,  gave  John  Nelson  leave 


348 


JOHfV  NELSON. 


to  exhort  them;  this  permission  was  withdrawn^ 
when  the  ill  temper  which  the  division  in  London 
had  excited,  extended  itself  here  also,  and  Ingham 
would  then  have  silenced  him,  but  John  said  he 
had  not  begun  by  the  order  of  man,  and  would 
not  leave  off'  b}^  it.  Hitherto  Nelson  had  not  ven- 
tured upon  preaching,  for  preaching  it  was  now  be- 
come, without  strong  inward  conflicts  of  reluctance, 
arising  from  the  natural  sobriety  of  his  character, 
and  perhaps  from  a  diffidence  of  himself ;  he  says 
he  would  rather  have  been  hanged  on  a  tree  than 
go  to  preach ;  and  once  when  a  great  congregation 
Was  gathered  together  begging  him  to  preach,  he 
acted  the  part  of  Jonah,  and  fled  into  the  fields.  But 
opposition  stimidated  him  now;  he  "desired  to  die 
rather  than  live  to  see  the  children  devoured  by  these 
boars  out  of  the  German  wood."  "  God,"  he  says, 
"opened  his  word  more  and  more;"  in  other  words, 
zeal  and  indignation  made  him  eloquent.  He  now 
wrote  to  Mr.  Wesley,  telling  him  what  he  was  doing, 
and  requesting  him,  "as  his  father  in  the  Gospel,  to 
Write  and  give  him  sonic  instructions  how  to  proceed 
in  the  work  which  God  had  begun  by  such  an  unpo- 
lished tool  as  himself"  Wesley  replied,  that  he 
would  see  him  in  the  ensuing*  week.    He  came  ac- 

*  N^lsbn  says,  in  bis  .Touinal,  "  He  sate  down  by  iny  fire-sid^j 
ia  the  very  posture  I  bad  dreamed  about  four  months  before,  and 
spoke  the  same  words  1  dreamed  be  spoke."  There  is  no  reasort 
either  to  credit  this  (o  the  letter,  or  to  discredit  the  general  verrt- 
city  of  this  remarkable  man,  because  he  is  fond  of  relating  his 
dreams.  The  universal  attention  which  has  been  paid  to  dreams 
Ml  all  ages,  proves  that  the  superstition  is  natural  ;  and  I  have 
hftard  too  many  well-attested  tacts  (facts  to  which  belief  could  not 
be  refused  upon  any  known  laws  of  evidence)  not  to  believe  that 
impressions  are  sometimes  made  in  this  manner,  and  forewarnings 
communicated  which  cannot  be  explained  by  material  philosophy, 
or  mere  metaphysics.  1  do  not  mean  to  apply  this  to  such  stories 
as  are  found  in  John  Nelson's  Journal,  or  in  books  of  a  similar 
kind  ;  most  of  them  are  the  effects  of  a  distempered  imagination. 
But  the  particular  instance  which  has  occasioned  this  note,  may 
be  explained  by  a  state  of  mind  which  many  persons  will  recognise 
in  their  own  experience, — a  state  when  we  seem  to  feel  that  the 
same  thing  which  is  then  happening  to  us  has  happened  to  us  for- 
merly, though  there  be  no  remembrance  of  it  otlier  than  this  Siln 
recognition. 


WESLEV   AT  NEWCASTLti. 


349 


tordiiigly  to  Birstall,  and  found  there  a  preacher  and 
a  large  congregation  raised  up  without  his  interfer- 
ence. Had  he  been  still  doubtful  whether  the  ad- 
mission of  laj-preachers  should  make  a  part  of  his 
plan,  this  must  have  decided  him :  "  Therefore,"  in 
the  words  of  his  official  biographers,  "  he  now  fully 
acquiesced  in  the  order  of  God,  and  rejoiced  that 
the  thoughts  of  God  were  not  as  his  confused 
thoughts." 

This  was  Wesley's  first  expedition  to  the  north  oi 
England.  He  piacefided^to  Newcastle,  being  in- 
duced t9  try  that  scene  of  action  because  of  the  suc- 
cess which  he  had  found  among  the  colliers  in  Kings- 
wood.  Upon  entering  the  town  at  evening  and  on 
foot,  the^rfifli^acy  of  the  populace  surprise'd  as  well 
as  shocked  him  "  So  much  drunkenness,"  he  says, 
"  Cj^rgmg  and  swe.arliig,  (even  trom  the  mouths  of 
little  cmTdreji.)  do  I  never  remember  to  have  seen 
and  heard  before,  in  so  small  a  compass  of  time. — 
Surely  this  place  is  ripe  for  Him  who  came  to  call 
sinners  to  repentance."  At  seven  on  a  Sunday  morn- 
ing he  walked  with  his  companion  to  Sandgate,  tlic 
poorest  and  most  contemptible  part  of  the  town,  and 
there  he  began  to  sing  the  hundreth  psalm.  This 
-soon  brought  a  crowd  about  him,  which  continued  to 
increase  till  he  had  done  preaching.  When  he  had 
finished,  the  people  still  stood  staring  at  him  with 
the  most  profound  astonishment.  Upon  which  he 
said,  '"If you  desire  to  know  who  I  am,  my  name  is 
John  Wesley.  At  five  in  the  evening,  with  God's 
help,  I  design  to  preach  here  again."  At  that  hour 
the  hill  upon  which  he  intended  to  preach  was  co- 
vered from  top  to  bottom.  I  never,"  he  says,  "  saw 
so  large  a  number  of  people  together,  either  in  Moor- 
fields  or  at  Kennington  Common.  I  knew  it  was  not 
possible  for  the  one  half  to  hear,  although  my  voice 
was  then  strong  and  clear,  and  I  stoou  so  as  to  have 
them  all  in  view  as  they  were  ranged  on  the  side  of 
the  hill.  The  word  of  God  which  1  set  before  them 
was,  /  will  heal  their  backsliding ;  I  will  love  them  freely. 
After  preaching,  the  poor  people  were  ready  to  tread 


350 


WESLEY  AT  NEWCASTLE. 


me  under  foot,  out  of  pure  love  and  kindness."  Wes- 
ley could  not  then  remain  with  them,  but  his  brother 
soon  came  and  organized  them,  and  in  a  few  months 
he  returned,  and  began  to  build  a  room  for  what  he 
called  the  wild,  staring,  loving  society.  "  I  could  not 
but  observe,"  he  says,  "  the  different  manner  wherein 
God  is  pleased  to  work  in  different  places.  The 
grace  of  God  flows  here  with  a  wider  stream  than  it 
did  at  first,  either  at  Bristol  or  Kingswood  :  but  it 
does  not  sink  so  deep  as  it  did  there.  Few  are  tho- 
roughly convinced  of  sin,  and  scarce  any  can  wit- 
ness that  the  Lamb  of  God  has  taken  away  their  sins." 
But  the  usual  symptoms  were  ere  long  produced. — 
One  woman  had  her  sight  and  strength  taken  away 
at  once,  and  at  the  same  time,  she  said,  the  love  of 
God  so  overflowed  her  soul  that  she  could  neither 
speak  nor  move.  A  man  also  lost  his  sight  for  a  time, 
and  subjects  began  to  cry  out,  and  sink  down  in  the 
meeting.  "  And  I  could  not  but  observe,"  says  Wes- 
ley, "  that  here  the  very  best  people^  so  called,  were 
as  deeply  convinced  as  open  sinners.  Several  of 
these  were  now  constrained  to  roar  aloud  for  the 
disquietness  of  their  hearts,  and  these  generally  not 
young,  (as  in  most  other  places,)  but  either  middle 
aged,  or  well  stricken  in  years.  I  never  saw  a  work 
of  God  in  any  other  place,  so  evenly  and  gradually 
carried  on.  It  continually  rises  step  by  step.  Not 
so  much  seems  to  be  done  at  any  one  time,  as  hath 
frequently  been  at  Bristol  or  London,  but  something 
at  every  time.  It  is  the  same  with  particular  souls. 
.  I  saw  none  in  that  triumph  of  faith,  which  has  been 
so  common  in  other  places.  But  the  believers  go  on 
calm  and  steady.  Let  God  do  as  seemeth  him  good  I" 
Calm  and  steady,  however,  as  Wesley  conceived 
these  believers  to  be,  there  soon  occurred  what  he 
himself  pronounced  a  genuine  instance  of  enthusi- 
asm. He  had  preached  at  Tanfield  Leigh,  a  few 
railes  from  Newcastle,  to  a  people  whom  he  had  left, 
in  appearance,  "  very  well  satisfied  with  the  preacher 
and  themselves ;"  the  first  part  of  this  predicament 
might  be  as  he  desired,  but  the  second  was  out  of 


WESLEY  AT  NEWCASTLE. 


351 


time,  before  they  had  passed  through  the  grievous 
process  of  conviction  and  regeneration.  "  So  dead, 
senseless,  unaffected  a  congregation,"  said  he,  "  I 
have  scarce  seen.  Whether  gospel  or  law,  or  En- 
glish or  Greek,  seemed  all  one  to  them."  It  was 
therefore  the  more  grateful  to  him  when  he  learnt 
that  even  there  the  seed  which  he  had  sown  was  not 
quite  lost ;  for  on  the  fourth  morning  after  his  preach- 
ing, a  certain  John  Brown,  who  had  been  one  of  the 
insensible  congregation,  "  was  waked  out  of  sleep 
by  the  voice  that  raiseth  the  dead,  and  ever  since," 
says  Wesley,  "  he  has  been  full  of  love,  and  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  He  had  judged  too 
hastily  of  his  patient,  for  only  two  days  after  his  new 
birth,  the  said  John  Brown  came  riding  through  New- 
castle, "  hollowing  and  shouting,  and  driving  all  the 
people  before  liim,  telling  them  God  had  told  him  he 
should  be  a  king,  an  !  should  tread  all  his  enemies 
under  his  feet."  It  was  a  clear  case  that  this  man 
had  been  made  crazy  by  his  enthusiasm.  Wesley 
took  the  right  method  of  curing  him ;  he  sent  him 
home  immediately  to  his  work,  and  advised  him  to 
cry  day  and  night  to  God  that  he  might  be  lowly  in 
heart,  lest  Satan  should  again  get  an  advantage  over 
him. 

There  was  some  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  place  at 
Newcastle  whereon  to  build  his  meeting-house.  "  We 
can  get  no  ground,"  he  says,  "  for  love  or  money.  I 
like  this  well.  It  is  a  good  sign.  If  the  Devil  can 
hinder  us  he  shall."  The  *purchase  at  length  was 
made,  and  the  foundation  was  laid  of  a  meeting  and 
orphan-house  upon  a  scale,  for  the  completion  of 

*  Inconsequence  of  some  demur  in  obtaining  possession,  Wes- 
ley wrote  this  characteristic  note  to  the  seller  :  "  Sir,  I  am  sur- 
prised. You  give  it  under  your  hand,  that  you  will  put  me  in 
possession  of  a  piece  of  ground  specified  in  an  article  between  ns 
in  fifteen  days'  time.  Three  months  are  passed,  and  that  article 
is  not  fulfilled.  And  now,  you  say,  you  can't  conceive  what  I 
mean  by  troubling  you.  I  mean  to  have  that  article  fulfilled.  I 
think  my  meaning  is  very  plain. 

I  am.  Sir,  your  humble  Servant, 

John  Weslev." 


352 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


which  it  was  computed  that  700/.  would  be  required, 

"  Many,"  says  Wesley,  "  were  positive  it  would  never 
be  finished  at  all,  others  that  I  should  not  live  to  see 
it  covered.  I  was  of  another  mind,  nothing  doubt- 
ing, but  as  it  was  begun  for  God's  sake,  he  would 
provide  what  was  needful  for  the  finishing  it."  Con- 
tributions did  not  come  in  so  fast  as  the  work  re- 
quired, and  the  building  would  more  than  once  have 
been  at  a  stop,  if  he  had  not  possessed  credit  for 
being  very  rich.  He  had  now  meeting-houses  in 
Bristol,  London,  Kingswood  and  Newcastle,  and 
societies  were  being  rapidly  formed  in  other  places 
by  means  of  itinerancy,  which  was  now  become  a 
regular  system,  and  by  the  co-operation  of  lay- 
preachers,  who  sprung  up  daily  among  his  followers. 
At  this  time  he  judged  it  expedient  to  draw  up  a  set 
of  general  rules,  and  this  was  done  with  the  advice 
and  assistance  of  his  brother.  The  United  Society 
as  they  now  denominated  it,  was  defined  to  be  "  no 
other  than  a  company  of  men  having  the  form  and 
seeking  the  power  of  godliness  ;  united  in  order  to 
pray  together,  to  receive  the  word  of  exhortation, 
and  to  watch  over  one  another  in  love,  that  they  may 
help  each  other  to  work  out  their  salvation."  The 
class  rules  were  then  laid  down,  as  a  means  for  more 
easily  discerning  whether  the  members  were  indeed 
thus  employed.  The  only  condition  previously  re- 
quired of  those  who  applied  for  admission  was  "  a 
desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  be  saved 
from  their  sins."  But  it  was  expected  that  all  who 
continued  in  the  society  should  "  continue  to  evi- 
dence their  desire  of  salvation;  first,  by  doing  no 
harm,  by  avoiding  evil  in  every  kind,  especially  that 
which  is  most  generally  practised ;  such  as,  taking 
the  name  of  God  in  vain ;  profaning  the  Sabbath, 
either  by  doing  ordinary  work  thereon,  or  by  buying 
or  selling  ;  drunkenness  ;  buying  or  seUing  spiritous 
liquors,  or  drinking  them,  unless  in  cases  of  extreme 
necessity;  fighting,  quarrelling,  brawling;  brother 
going  to  law  with  brother;  returning  evil  for  evil,  or 
railing  for  railing :  using  many  words  in  buying  or 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


353 


selling  ;  buying  or  selling  uncustomed  goods  ;  giving 
or  taking  things  on  usury;  uncharitable  or  unprotit- 
able  conversation;  particularly  speaking  evil  ot  ma- 
gistrates or  of  ministers  ;  doiiig  to  others  as  we  would 
not  they  should  do  unto  us  ;  and  doing  what  we 
know  is  not  for  the  glory  of  God,  as,  the  putting  on 
of  gold,  or  costly  apparel ;  the  taking  such  diversions 
as  cannot  be  used  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus ; 
the  singing  those  songs  or  reading  those  books  that 
do  not  tend  to  the  knowledge  or  love  of  God;  soft- 
ness and  needless  self-indulgence ;  laying  up  treasure 
on  earth ;  borrowing  without  a  probability  of  paying, 
or  taking  up  goods  without  a  probability  of  paying 
for  them.  These  were  the  inhibitions  which  the 
members  of  the  Society  were  expected  to  observe. 

They  were  expected  to  evidence  their  desire  of 
salvation,  "  secondly,  by  doing  good,  by  being  in 
every  kind  merciful  after  their  power,  as  they  had 
opportunity;  doing  good  of  every  possible  sort,  and 
as  far  as  possible  to  all  men  ;  to  their  bodies,  of  the 
ability  that  God  giveth,  by  givirig  Ibod  to  the  htuigry, 
by  clothing  the  naked,  by  visiting  or  helping  them 
that  arc  sick  or  in  prison  ;  to  their  soul^,  by  instruct^ 
ing,  reproving  or  exhorting  all  they  had  any  inter- 
course with ;  trampling  under  foot  that  enthusiastic 
doctrine  of  devils,  that  we  are  not  to  do  good  unless 
our  hearts  be  free  to  it;  by  doing  good,  especially 
to  them  that  arc  of  the  household  of  Irnth,  or  groan- 
ing so  to  be  ;  employing  them  preferably  to  others  ; 
buying  one  of  another ;  helping  each  other  in  busi- 
ness: and  so  much  the  more,  because  the  world  will 
love  its  own  and  them  ordy ;  by  all  possible  diligence 
and  frugality  that  the  Gospel  might  not  be  blamed  ; 
by  running  with  p  itience  the  race  that  was  set  before 
them,  (lcnyi)ig  themselves  and  takincr  vp  their  cross  daily  ; 
submitting  to  hear  the  reproach  of  Ctjrist, — to  be  as 
the  filth  and  offscouring  of  the  world,  and  looking 
that  men  should  say  all  manner  of,  evil  of  them  falsely 
for  the  Lord's  sake.  .They  were  expected  also  to  at- 
tend on  all  the  ordinances  of  God.  such  as  public 
worship,  the  ministry  ol  thc  word,  either  road  or  ex- 

voi„  r.  15 


J54 


METHODISM  SYSTEMATIZED. 


pounded;  the  Lord's  supper;  family  and  private 
prayer ;  searching  the  Scriptures,  and  fasting  or  ab- 
stinence."— "  These,"  said  the  two  brothers,  "  are 
the  general  rules  of  our  societies ;  all  which  we  are 
taught  of  God  to  observe,  even  in  his  written  word» 
the  only  rule,  and  the  sufficient  rule,  both  of  our  faith 
and  practice.  And  all  these  we  know  his  Spirit 
writes  on  every  truly  awakened  heart.  If  there  be 
any  among  us  who  observe  them  not,  who  habitually 
break  any  of  them,  let  it  be  made  known  unto  them 
who  watch  over  that  soul,  as  they  must  give  an  ac- 
count. We  will  admonish  him  of  the  error  of  his 
ways :  we  will  bear  with  him  for  a  season.  But  then 
if  he  repent  not,  he  hath  no  more  place  among  us. 
We  have  delivered  our  own  souls." 


NOTES 

AND 

ILLUSTRATIONS 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  I.    Page  36. 
Bartholomew  Wesley  supports  himself  by  the  practice  of  physic. 

This  should  seem  to  have  been  the  old  resource  of  ejected  miiiisterf. 

'•  At  the  beginning  of  the  happy  raigne  of  our  late  good  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, divers  commissioners  of  great  place,  being  authorized  to  enquire 
nf  and  to  displace  all  such  of  the  clergie  as  would  not  co!iforme  to  the 
reformed  church,  one  amongst  others  was  convented  before  them,  who 
being  asked  whether  he  would  sulBcribe  or  no,  he  denied  it,  and  so  con- 
sequently was  adjudged  to  lose  his  benefice,  and  be  deprived  of  his  func- 
tion ;  whereupon,  in  his  impatience,  he  said.  That  if  they,  meaning  the 
commissioners,  held  this  course,  it  would  cost  many  a  man's  life.  For 
which  the  commissioners  called  him  back  againe,  and  charged  him  that 
he  had  spoke  treasonable  and  seditious  words,  tending  to  the  raysing  of 
a  rebellion  or  some  tumult  in  the  laud,  for  which  he  should  receive  the 
reward  of  a  traitor.  .\nd  being  abked  whether  he  spake  those  words  or 
no,  he  acknowledged  it,  and  took  upon  him  the  justification  thereof. 
'•  for,  said  he,  ye  have  taken  from  me  my  living  and  profession  of  th'' 
ministrie.  Scholarship  is  all  my  portion :  and  I  have  no  oiher  meaner 
now  left  fur  my  maintenance  but  to  turn  physitian,  and  before  I  shall  b>; 
absolute  master  of  that  mystery,  God  he  knoives  how  many  men's  lives 
it  will  cost.  For  few  physiti  »ns  use  to  try  experiments  upon  their  owi; 
bodies. 

"  With  us  it  is  a  profession  can  maintaine  hut  a  few ;  and  divers  of 
those  more  indebted  to  opinion  than  learning,  and  (for  fiie  most  part)  bet 
ter  qualified  in  discoursing  of  their  travailes  than  in  discerning  their  pa 
tients  maladies.  For  it  is  growne  to  he  a  vei-y  huswives  trade,  where 
fortune  prevailes  more  than  skill.  Their  best  benefactor,  the  Neapolitan, 
their  grand  signieur:  the  Sorpego,  their  gonfoHinire  ;  the  ScialicH,  theii 
great  marshall,  that  calles  tlii!  muster-roUe  of  them  all  tosether  at  every 
spring  and  fall,  are  all  as  familiar  to  her  as  the  cuckow  at  Cankwood  in 
-May.  And  the  cure  of  them  is  the  skill  of  every  good  old  ladies  cast 
gentlewoman ;  when  she  gives  over  painting  she  falls  to  plastering,  and 
shall  have  as  good  practice  as  the  best  of  them  for  those  kinde  of  dis- 
eases."— .3r<  of  Thriving,  by  Thomas  Powel.  Scott's  Somers'  Tract.*--. 
7.  200. 

By  the  ancient  laws  of  Spain,  no  monk  was  permitted  to  study  physic 
or  law  ;  because  when  under  pretence  irf  studying  for  the  advantage  ol 
their  brethren  they  had  acquired  either  of  these  professions,  the  devil 
used  to  tempt  them  to  quit  their  mDOastcries,  and  go  wandering  about 
the  world  — Parlida  1.  Tit.  7.  Lei/.  23. 

Baxter,  aftor  he  was  fifed  at  Kidderminster,  assisted  the  people  for 
^ome  time  with  his  advice  in  physic,  and  was  very  successful;  but  find- 
ing it  took  up  so  much  time  as  to  be  burdtuisome,  he  at  length  fixed 
among  them  a  diligent  skilful  physician,  and  boimd  himself  to  him  by 
pr«mi-;e,  tli.it  lie  would  practise  no  more  iu  common  cases. 


358 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  excellLMit  George  Herbert  also  writes  thus,  in  the  chapter  which 
he  entitles, 

"  The  Parson''s  Completeness." 

"  The  country  parson  desires  to  be  all  to  his  parish,  and  not  onely  a 
pastoin-,  but  a  lawyer  also,  and  a  physitian.  Therefore  hee  endures  not 
that  any  of  his  flock  should  go  to  law ;  but  in  any  controversy  that  they 
should  resort  to  him  as  their  judge.  To  this  end,  he  hath  gotten  to  him- 
self some  insight  in  things  ordinarily  iocident  and  controverted,  by  ex- 
perience ;  and  by  reading  some  initiatory  treatises  in  the  law,  with  Dal- 
tou's  Justice  of  Peace,  and  the  Abridgements  of  the  Statutes,  as  also  by 
discourses  with  men  of  that  profession,  whom  he  hath  ever  some  cases 
to  ask,  when  he  meets  with  them;  holding  that  rule,  that  to  put  men  to 
discourse  of  that  wherein  they  are  most  eminent,  is  the  most  gainful! 
way  of  conversation.  Yet  whenever  any  controversie  is  brought  to  him, 
he  never  decides  it  alone,  but  sends  for  three  or  four  of  the  ablest  of  the 
parish  to  hear  the  cause  with  him,  whom  he  makes  to  deliver  their  opi- 
nion first :  out  of  which  he  gathers,  if  he  be  ignorant  himself,  what  to 
hold,  and  so  the  thing  passeth  with  more  authority  and  lesse  envy.  In 
judging,  he  followes  that  which  is  altogether  right ;  so  that  if  the  poor- 
est man  of  the  parish  detain  but  a  pin  unjustly  from  the  richest,  he  ab- 
solutely restores  it  as  a  judge  ;  but  when  he  hath  so  done,  then  he  as- 
sumes the  parson,  and  exhorts  to  charity.  Neverthelesse,  there  may 
happen  sometimes  some  cases  wherein  he  cliooseth  to  permit  his  parish- 
ioners rather  to  make  use  of  the  law  than  himself:  as  in  cases  of  an  ob- 
scure a.id  dark  nature,  not  easily  determinable  by  lawyers  themselves ; 
or  in  cases  of  high  consequence,  as  establishing  of  inheritances  ;  or 
lastly,  wHen  the  persons  in  difference  are  of  a  contentious  disposition, 
and  cannot  be  gained,  but  that  they  still  fall  from  all  compromises  tliat 
have  been  made.  But  then  he  shews  them  how  to  go  to  law,  even  as 
brethren,  and  not  as  enemies,  neither  avoiding  therefore  one  another's 
company,  much  lesse  defaming  one  another. 

Now  as  the  parson  is  in  law,  so  is  he  in  sickness  also  :  if  there  be  any 
of  his  flock  sick,  hee  is  their  physician,  or  at  least  his  wife,  of  whom, 
instead  of  the  qualities  of  the  world,  he  asks  no  other  but  to  have  the 
skill  of  healing  a  wound,  or  helping  the  sick.  But  if  neither  himselfe 
nor  his  wife  have  the  skill,  and  his  means  serve,  hee  keeps  some  young 
practitioner  in  his  house  for  the  benefit  of  his  parish,  whom  yet  he  ever 
exhorts  not  to  exceed  his  bounds,  but  in  tickle  cases  to  call  in  help.  If 
all  fail,  then  he  keeps  good  correspondence  with  some  neighbour  phy- 
sician, and  entertaines  him  for  the  cure  of  his  parish. 

Yet  is  it  easy  for  any  scholar  to  attain  to  such  a  measure  of  phisick 
as  may  be  of  much  use  to  him,  both  for  himself  and  others.  This  is 
done  by  seeing  one  anatomy,  reading  one  book  of  phisick,  having  one 
hci  ball  by  him.  And  let  Fernelius  be  the  phisick  author,  for  he  writes 
briefly,  neatly,  and  judiciously ;  especially  let  his  Method  of  Phisick  be 
diligently  perused,  as  being  the  practicall  part,  and  of  most  use.  Now 
both  the  r.  ading  of  him,  and  the  knowing  of  herbs,  may  be  done  at  such 
times  as  they  may  he  an  help  and  a  recreation  to  more  divine  studies, 
Nature  serving  Grace  both  in  comfort  of  diversion,  and  the  benefit  of 
application  when  need  requires;  as  also  by  way  of  illustration,  even  as 
our  Saviour  made  plants  and  seeds  to  teach  the  people;  for  he  was  the 
true  householder,  who  bringeth  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old  ; 
the  old  things  of  Philosophy,  and  the  new  of  Grace,  and  maketh  the 
one  serve  the  other.  And,  I  conceive,  our  Saviour  did  this  for  three 
reasons:  first,  that  by  familiar  things  hee  might  make  his  doctrines  slip 
the  more  easily  into  the  hearts  even  of  the  meanest.  Secondly,  that 
labouring  people,  whom  he  chiefly  considered  might  have  every  where  - 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


359 


monuments  of  his  doctrine,  remembering  in  gardens  his  mustard  seed 
and  lillyes  ;  in  the  field,  his  seed-corn  and  tares ;  and  so  not  be  drowned 
altogether  in  the  works  of  their  vocation,  but  sometimes  lift  up  their 
minds  to  better  things,  even  in  the  midst  of  their  pains.  Thirdly,  that 
he  might  set  a  copy  for  Parsons.  In  the  knowledge  of  simples,  wherein 
the  manifold  wisdome  of  God  is  wonderfully  to  be  seen,  one  thing  would 
be  carefully  observed,  which  is  to  know  what  herbes  may  be  used  in- 
stead of  drugs  of  the  same  nature,  and  to  make  the  garden  the  shop  ; 
for  home-bred  medicines  are  both  more  easie  for  the  Parson's  purse, 
and  more  familiar  for  all  men's  bodies.  So  where  the  Apothecary  useth 
either  for  loosing,  rhubarb ;  or  for  binding,  bolearmena ;  the  Parson 
useth  damask  or  white  roses  for  the  one,  and  plaintain,  shepherd's  purse, 
knot-gi^se  for  the  other,  and  that  with  better  successe.  As  for  spices, 
he  doth^ot  only  prefer  home-bred  things  before  them,  but  condemns 
them  for  vanities,  and  so  sliuts  them  out  of  his  family,  esteeining  that 
there  is  no  spice  comparable  for  herbs,  to  rosemary,  time,  savoury, 
mints  ;  and  for  seeds,  to  fennell  and  carroway  seeds.  Accordingly,  for 
salves  his  wife  seeks  not  the  city,  but  prefers  her  gardens  and  fields  be- 
fore all  outlandish  gums.  And  surely  hyssope,  valerian,  mercury,  ad- 
der's tongue,  yerrow,  mehlot,  and  Saint  John  wort,  made  into  a  salve  ; 
and  elder,  camomile,  mallowes,  comphrey,  and  smailage,  made  into  a 
poultice,  have  done  great  and  rare  cures.  In  curing  of  any,  the  Parson 
and  his  family  use  to  premise  prayers,  for  this  is  to  cure  like  a  Parson, 
and  this  raiseth  the  action  from  the  shop  to  the  church.  But  though 
the  Parson  sets  forward  all  charitable  deeds,  yet  he  looks  not  in  this 
point  of  curing  beyond  his  own  parish,  except  the  person  bee  so  poor 
that  he  is  not  able  to  reward  the  physician,  for  as  hee  is  charitable,  so 
hee  is  just  also.  Now  it  is  a  justice  and  debt  to  the  commonwealth  he 
lives  in,  not  to  incroach  on  others  professions,  but  to  live  on  his  own. 
.\nd  justice  is  the  ground  of  charity." 

NOTE  II.    Page  36. 
John  Owen. 

Cotton  Mather  has  preserved  a  choice  specimen  of  invective 
against  Dr.  Owen,  by  one  of  the  primitive  Quakers,  whose  name  was 
Fisher.  It  was,  indeed,  a  species  of  rhetoric  in  which  they  indulged 
freely,  and  exceeded  all  other  sectarians.  Fisher  addressed  him  thus : 
"  Thou  fiery  fighter  and  green-headed  trumpeter  ;  thou  hedgehog  and 
grinning  dog  ;  thou  bastard,  that  tumbled  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Ba- 
bylonish bawd ;  thou  mole  ;  thou  tinker ;  thou  lizard  ;  thou  bell  of  no 
metal,  but  the  tone  of  a  kettle ;  thou  wheelbarrow  ;  thou  whirlpool ; 
thou  whirligig  :  O  thou  firebrand  ;  thou  adder  and  scorpion  ;  thou  louse  ; 
thou  cow-dung;  thou  moon-calf;  thou  ragged  tatterdemaliion ;  thou 
Judas :  thou  livest  in  philosophy  and  logic,  which  are  of  the  Devil." 

NOTE  III.    Page  40. 

Manner  in  which  the  children  were  taught  to  read. 

Mrs.  Wesley  thus  describes  her  peculiar  method  in  a  letter  to  hei 
son  John :  "  None  of  them  were  taught  to  read  till  five  years  old,  ex- 
cept Kezzy,  in  whose  case  I  was  overruled  ;  and  she  was  more  years  in 
learning  than  any  of  the  rest  had  been  months.  The  way  of  teaching 
was  this :  the  day  before  a  child  began  to  learn,  the  house  was  set  \u 
order,  every  one's  work  appointed  them,  and  a  charge  given,  that  none 
should  come  into  the  room  from  nine  till  twelve,  or  from  two  till  five, 
which  were  our  school  hours.  One  day  wds  allowed  the  child,  wherein 
t<*  learn  its  letters,  and  each  of  them  did  in  that  time  know  all  its  letters. 


360 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIOxNS, 


reat  and  small,  except  Molly  and  Nancy,  who  were  a  day  and  a  half 
efore  they  knew  them  perfectly,  for  which  I  then  thought  them  very 
dull ;  but  the  reason  why  I  thought  them  so,  was  because  the  rest 
learned  them  so  readily,  and  your  brother  Samuel,  who  was  the  first 
child  I  ever  taught,  learnt  the  alphabet  in  a  few  hours.  He  was  five 
years  old  the  tenth  of  February  ;  the  next  day  he  began  to  learn,  and  as 
soon  as  he  knew  the  letters,  began  at  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  He 
was  taught  to  spell  the  first  verse  ;  then  to  read  it  over  and  over  till  he 
could  read  it  off  hand  without  any  hesitation ;  so  on  to  the  second,  &,c. 
till  he  took  ten  verses  for  a  lesson,  which  he  quickly  did.  Easter  fell 
low  that  ye:u-.  and  by  Whitsuntide  he  could  read  a  chapter  very  well  ; 
for  he  read  continually,  and  had  such  a  prodigious  memory,  that  I  can- 
not remember  pwr  to  have  told  him  the  same  wArd  twice.  What  was 
yet  stranger,  :niy  word  he  had  learnt  in  his  lesson,  he  knew  wherever 
he  saw  it.  either  in  his  Bible,  or  any  other  book;  by  which  means  he 
learnt  very  soon  to  read  an  Enslish  author  well. 

"  The  same  method  was  observed  with  them  all.  As  soon  as  they 
knew  the  letters  they  were  first  put  to  spell  and  read  one  line ;  then  a 
verse  ;  never  leaving  till  perfect  in  their  lesson,  were  it  shorter  or  longer. 
So  one  or  other  continued  reading  at  school-time,  without  any  inter- 
mission ;  and  before  we  left  school,  each  child  read  what  be  had  learned 
that  morning ;  and  ere  we  partfd  in  the  afternoon,  what  he  had  learned 
that  day." 

NOTE  IV.    Page  42. 
John  Wesley, — horn  at  EpwoHh. 

''I  HAVE  heard  him  say,"  says  Mr.  Crowther,  in  his  Portraiture  of 
Methodism,  (p.  siO  )  "  that  he  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  John  Benja- 
min ;  that  his  mothf  r  luid  buried  two  sons,  one  called  John,  and  the 
other  Beiijamiii,  and  that  she  united  their  names  in  him.  But  he  never 
made  use  of  the  second  name." 

Mr.  Crowther  also  says,  that,  in  1719,  Wesley  went  from  the  Char- 
ter-house to  Westminster  school,  "  where  he  made  a  more  rapid  pror 
gress  in  Hebrew  and  Greek."  I  have  so  much  iidmiration  of  Wesley, 
and  so  much  Westminster  feeling,  that  I  should  be  glad  to  believe  this. 
But  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Moore  have  distinctly  stated  that  he  went  from 
th<!  Charter-house  to  Oxford  ;  and  Mr.  Crowther  has  probably  been 
misled  by  what  Samuel  says  in  a  letter  to  his  father: — "  Jack  is  with 
me,  and  a  brave  boy,  learning  Hebrew  as  fast  as  he  can."  He  was  pi  o- 
bably  in  his  brother's  house,  during  the  interval  between  his  leaving 
school  and  going  to  college.  But,  that  he  was  never  at  Westminster  is 
certain  :  a  list  of  all  entrances  there  has  been  kept  from  a  time  earliei- 
than  his  boyhood  ■.  and  my  friend,  Mr.  Knox,  has  ascertained  for  rae. 
that  the  name  of  John  Wesley  is  not  in  that  list. 

NOTE  V.    Page  44. 
/  am  rich  enough. 

TnK  day  after  the  fire,  as  Mr.  Wesley  was  walking  in  the  garden,  and 
surveying  the  ruins  of  the  house,  he  picked  up  part  of  a  leaf  of  his 
Polyglot  Bible,  on  which  (says  his  son  John),  just  these  words  were 
legible  :  Fade,  vende  omnia  qnce  halts,  et  attolle  cnicem,  et  sequere  vie.— 
Go,  sell  all  that  thou  hast,  and  take  up  thy  cross,  and  follow  me. 

How  Mr.  Wesley  surmounted  this  loss,  with  his  large  family  and 
Hmited  means,  does  not  appear.  Mr.  i'owyer's  house  and  piinting- 
office  were  burnt  about  the  same  time,  and  he  obtained,  by  means  of  a 
brief,  the  clear  sum  of  15141.  13s.  4^d.    Fires  were  in  those  days  fttv  , 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


361 


less  frequent  than  they  are  now,  notwithstanding  so  much  more  timber 
was  used  in  the  construction  of  houses.  The  increase  is  more  attributa- 
ble to  increased  roguery,  than  to  decreased  care ;  though  something,  no 
doubt,  to  the  latter  cause.  But  it  is  only  since  insurance  offices  have  been 
established  that  houses  have  been  set  on  fire  for  purposes  of  fraud  :  and 
that  in  many  or  most  cases  in  the  metropolis  this  is  the  fact,  is  proved 
by  the  proportion  of  lires  being  so  much  greater  there  than  in  any  other 
city.  AVhere  one  fire  takes  place  in  Manchester  or  Bristol,  there  are  at. 
least  fifty  in  London. 

NOTE  VI.    Page  48. 

Sacheverel's  Defence. 

Burnet  says  of  it,  "  It  had  a  great  effect  on  the  weaker  sort;  while 
it  possessed  those  who  knew  the  man  and  his  ordinary  discourses  with 
horror,  when  they  heard  him  affirm  so  many  falsehoods,  with  such  so- 
lemn appeals  to  God.  It  was  very  plain  the  speech  was  made  for  him 
by  others  ;  for  the  style  was  correct,  and  far  different  from  his  own." 

NOTE  VII.    Page  53. 

LETTERS  concerning  some  Supernaiural  Disturbances,  at  my  Falher^s 
House,  at  Epworth,  in  Lincolnshire.* 

Letter  I. — To  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley,  from  his  Mother, 
Dear  Sam,  January  12,  1716-7. 

This  evening  we  were  agreeably  surprised  with  your  pacquet,  which 
brought  the  welcome  news  of  your  being  alive,  after  we  had  been  in  tlie 
greatest  panic  imaginable,  almost  a  month,  thinking  either  you  was  dead, 
or  one  of  your  brothers  by  some  misfortune  been  killed. 

The  reason  of  our  fears  is  as  follows.  On  the  first  of  December,  our 
maid  heard,  at  the  door  of  the  dining-room,  several  dismal  groans,  like 
a  person  in  extremes,  at  the  point  of  death.  We  gave  little  heed  to  her 
relation,  and  endeavoured  to  laugh  her  out  of  her  fears.  Some  nights 
(two  or  three)  after,  several  of  the  family  heard  a  strange  knocking  in 
divers  places,  usually  three  or  four  knocks  at  a  time,  and  then  stayed  a 
little.  This  continued  every  night  for  a  fortnight ;  sometimes  it  was  in 
the  garret,  but  most  commonly  in  the  nursery,  or  green  chamber.  We 
all  heard  it  but  your  father,  and  I  was  not  willing  ha  should  be  informed 
of  it,  lest  he  should  fancy  it  was  against  his  own  death,  which,  indeed, 
we  all  apprehended.  But  when  it  began  to  be  so  troublesome,  both  day 
and  night,  that  few  or  none  of  the  family  durst  be  alone,  I  resolved  to 
tell  him  of  it,  being  minded  he  should  speak  to  it.  At  first  he  would 
not  believe  but  somebody  did  it  to  alarm  us ;  but  the  night  after,  as  soon 
as  he  was  in  bed,  it  knocked  loudly  nine  times,  just  by  his  bedside.  He 
rose,  and  went  to  see  if  he  could  find  out  what  it  was,  but  could  see 
nothing.    .Afterwards  he  heard  it  as  the  rest. 

One  night  it  made  such  a  noise  in  the  room  over  our  heads,  as  if  seve- 
ral people  were  walking,  then  run  up  and  down  stairs,  and  was  so  out- 
rageous that  we  thought  the  children  would  be  frighted,  so  yoiu-  father 
and  I  rose,  and  went  down  in  the  dark  to  light  a  candle.  Just  as  we 
came  to  the  bottom  of  the  broad  stairs,  having  hold  of  each  other,  on 
my  side  there  seemed  as  if  somebody  had  emjitied  a  bag  of  money  at 
my  feet ;  and  on  his,  as  if  all  the  bottles  under  the  stairs  (which  were 
many)  had  been  dashed  in  a  thousand  pieces.    We  passed  through  the 

*  The  MS.  is  in  the  handwritiDS  of  .Mr.  F.  Wesley.  Tbft  ei'itor  has  nrly  siWed  the  ♦itle»  yf 
the  Itti-rs,  denoting  the  writera,  aod  thr  persona  to  nhom  they  w»re  wfiltea 


VOL.  I. 


362 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


hall  into  the  kitchen,  and  got  a  candle,  and  went  to  see  the  children, 
whom  we  found  asleep. 

The  next  night  your  father  would  get  Mr.  Hoole  to  lie  at  our  house, 
and  we  all  sat  together  till  one  or  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  heard 
the  knocking  as  usual.  Sometimes  it  would  make  a  noise  like  the  wind- 
ing up  of  a  jack,  at  other  times,  as  that  night  Mr  Hoole  was  with  us, 
like  a  carpenter  planing  deals  ;  but  most  commonly  it  knocked  thrice 
and  stopped,  and  then  thrice  again,  and  so  many  hours  together.  We 
persuaded  your  father  to  speak,  and  try  if  any  voice  would  be  heard. — 
One  night  about  six  o'clock  he  went  into  the  nursery  in  the  dark,  and  at 
first  heard  several  deep  groans,  then  knocking.  He  adjured  it  to  speak 
if  it  had  power,  and  tell  him  why  it  troubled  his  house,  but  no  voice  was 
heard,  but  it  knocked  thrice  aloud.  Then  he  questioned  it  if  it  were 
Sammy,  and  bid  it,  if  it  were,  and  could  not  speak,  knock  again,  but  it 
knocked  no  more  that  night,  which  made  us  hope  it  was  not  against 
your  death. 

Thus  it  continued  till  the  28th  of  December,  when  it  loudly  knocked 
(as  your  father  used  to  do  at  the  gate)  in  the  nursery,  and  departed. — 
We  have  various  conjectures  what  this  may  mean.  For  my  own  part, 
I  fear  nothing  now  you  are  safe  at  London  hitherto,  and  I  hope  God 
will  still  preserve  you.  Though  sometimes  I  am  inclined  to  think  my 
brother  is  dead.    Let  me  know  your  thoughts'  on  it.  S.  W. 

Letter  II. — To  my  Father. 

Honoured  Sir,  January  SO.  Saturday. 

Mt  mother  tells  me  a  very  strange  story  of  disturbances  in  your  house. 
I  wish  I  could  have  some  more  particulars  from  you.  I  would  thank 
Mr.  Hoole,  if  he  would  favour  me  with  a  letter  concerning  it.  Not  that 
I  want  to  be  confirmed  myself  in  the  belief  of  it,  but  for  any  other  per- 
son's satisfaction.  My  mother  sends  to  me  to  know  my  thoughts  of  it, 
and  I  cannot  think  at  all  of  any  interpretation.  Wit,  I  fancy,  might  find 
many,  but  wisdom  none. 

Your  dutiful  and  loving  Son, 

S.  Weslet. 

Letter  III— From  Mr.  S.  Wesley  to  his  Mother. 

Dear  Mother, 

Those  who  are  so  wise  as  not  to  believe  any  supernatural  occurren- 
ces, though  ever  so  well  attested,  could  find  a  hundred  questions  to  ask 
about  those  strange  noises,  you  wrote  me  an  account  of;  but  for  my 
part,  I  know  not  what  question  to  put,  whiqh,  if  answered,  would  con- 
firm me  more  in  the  belief  of  what  you  tell  me.  Two  or  three  I  have 
hpard  from  others.  Was  there  never  a  new  maid,  or  man,  in  the  house, 
that  might  play  tricks?  Was  there  nobody  above  in  the  garrets,  when 
the  walking  was  there  ?  Did  all  the  family  hear  it  together  when  they 
were  in  one  room,  or  at  one.  time  ?  Did  it  seem  to  all  to  be  in  the  same, 
place,  at  the  same  time  ?  Could  not  cats,  or  rats,  or  dogs,  be  the  sprights  ? 
Was  the  whole  family  asleep,  when  my  father  and  you  went  down  stairs  ? 
Such  doubts  as  these  being  replied  to,  though  they  could  not,  as  God 
himself  assures  us,  convince  them  who  believe  not  Moses  and  the  pro- 
phets, yet  would  strengthen  such  as  do  believe.  As  to  my  particular 
opinion,  concerning  the  events  foreboded  by  these  noises,  I  cannot,  I  must 
confess,  form  any — I  think  since  it  was  not  permitted  to  speak,  all 
guesses  must  be  vain.  The  end  of  spirits'  actions  is  yet  more  hidden 
than  that  of  men,  and  even  this  latter  puzzles  the  most  subtle  politicians. 
That  we  may  be  struck  so  as  to  prepare  seriously  for  any  ill,  may,  it  is 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


363 


possible,  be  one  design  of  Providence.  It  is  surely  our  duty  and  wis- 
dom to  do  so. 

Dear  Mother, 

I  beg  your  blessing, 
on  your  dutiful  and  affectionate  Son, 

S.  Wesley. 

Jan.  19,  I7I6-7,  Saturday, 
Dean's  Yard,  Westminster. 

I  expect  a  particular  account  from  every  one. 

Letter  IV.— From  Mrs.  ff'esley  to  her  Son  Samuel, 

Dear  Sam,  Jan.  25,  or  27,  1716-7. 

Though  I  am  not  one  of  those  that  will  believe  nothing  supernatural, 
but  am  rather  inclined  to  think  there  would  be  frequent  intercourse  be- 
tween good  spirits  and  us,  did  not  our  deep  lapse  into  sensuality  prevent 
it ;  yet  1  was  a  great  while  ere  I  could  credit  any  thing  of  what  the  chil- 
dren and  servants  reported,  concerning  the  noises  they  heard  in  several 
parts  of  our  house.  Nay,  after  I  had  heard  them  n)yself,  I  was  willing 
to  persuade  myself  and  them,  that  it  was  only  rats  or  weasels  that  dis- 
turbed us  ;  and  having  been  formerly  troubled  with  rats,  which  were 
frighted  away  by  sounding  a  horn,  I  caused  a  horn  to  be  procured,  and 
made  them  blow  it  all  over  the  house.  But  from  that  night  they  began 
to  blow,  the  noises  were  more  loud,  and  distinct,  both  day  and  night, 
than  before,  and  that  night  we  rose,  and  went  down,  I  was  entirely  con- 
vinced, that  it  was  beyond  the  power  of  any  human  creature  to  make 
such  strange  and  various  noises. 

As  to  your  questions,  I  will  answer  them  particularly,  but  withal,  I  de- 
sire my  answers  may  satisfy  none  but  yourself;  for  I  would  not  have 
tJie  matter  imparted  to  any.  We  had  both  man  and  maid  new  this  last 
Martinmas,  yet  I  do  not  beUeve  either  of  them  occasioned  the  disturb- 
ance, both  for  the  reason  above-mentioned,  and  because  they  were  more 
affrighted  than  any  body  else.  Besides,  we  have  often  heard  the  noises 
when  they  were  in  the  room  by  us  ;  and  the  maid  particularly  was  in 
such  a  panic,  that  she  was  almost  incapable  of  all  business,  nor  durst  ever 
go  from  one  room  to  another,  or  stay  by  herself  a  minute  after  it  began 
to  be  dark. 

The  man,  Robert  Brown,  whom  you  well  know,  was  most  visited  by 
it  lying  in  the  garret,  and  has  been  often  frighted  down  bare-foot,  and 
almost  naked,  not  daring  to  stay  alone  to  put  on  his  clothes,  nor  do  I 
think,  if  he  had  power,  he  would  be  guilty  of  such  villanj'.  When  tlie 
walking  was  heard  in  the  garret,  Robert  was  in  bed  in  the  next  room,  in 
a  sl<!ep  so  sound,  that  he  never  heard  your  father  and  we  walk  up,  and 
down,  though  we  walked  not  softly,  I  am  sure.  All  the  family  has  heaird 
it  together,  in  the  same  room,  at  the  same  time,  particularly  at  family 
prayers.  It  always  seemed  to  all  present  in  the  same  place  at  the  same 
time,  though  often  before  any  could  say  it  is  here,  it  would  remove  to 
another  place. 

All  the  family  as  well  as  Robin,  were  asleep  when  your  father  and  I 
went  down  stairs,  nor  did  they  wake  in  the  nursery  when  we  held  the 
candle  close  by  them,  only  we  observed  that  Hetty  trembled  exceedingly 
in  her  sleep,  as  she  always  did,  before  the  noise  awaked  her.  It  com- 
monly was  nearer  her  than  the  rest,  which  she  took  notice  of,  and  was 
much  frightened,  because  she  thought  it  had  a  particular  spite  at  her  :  I 
could  multiply  particular  instances,  but  I  forbear.  I  believe  your  father 
will  write  to  you  about  it  shortly.  Whatever  may  be  the  design  of  Pro- 
vidence ia  permitting  these  thing>5,  I  cannot  say.    Secret  things  belong 


NOTES   AM)  ILLUSTRATIOiXS. 


to  God ;  but  I  entirely  agree  vvitli  you,  that  it  is  our  wisdom  and  duty  to 
prepare  seriously  for  all  events. 

S.  Wesley. 

Letter  V. — From  Miss  Susaiinah  Wesley  to  her  Brother  Samuel. 

Dear  Brother,  Epworth,  Jan.  24. 

Aeodt  the  first  of  December,  a  most  terrible  and  astonishing  noise 
U'as  heard  by  a  maid  servant,  as  at  the  dining  room  door,  which  caused 
the  up-starting  of  her  hair,  and  made  her  ears  prick  forth  at  an  unusual 
rate.  She  said,  it  ivas  like  the  groans  of  one  expiring.  These  so  frighted 
her,  that  for  a  great  while  she  durst  not  go  out  of  one  room  into  ano- 
ther, after  it  began  to  be  dark,  without  company.  But,  to  lay  aside 
jesting,  which  should  not  be  done  in  sei-ious  matters,  I  assure  you  that 
"from  the  first  to  the  last  of  a  lunar  month,  the  groans,  squeaks,  tinglings, 
and  knockings,  were  fi  ightful  enough. 

Though  it  is  needless  for  nie  to  send  you  any  account  of  what  we  all 
}ieard,  my  father  himself  having  a  larger  account  of  the  matter  than  I  am 
able  to  give,  which  he  designs  to  send  you  ;  yet,  in  compliance  with  your 
desire,  I  will  tell  you  as  briefly  as  I  can,  what  I  heard  of  it.  The  first 
night  I  ever  heard  it,  my  sister  Nancy  and  I  were  set  in  the  dining  room. 
V\'e  heard  something  rush  on  the  outside  of  the  doors  that  opened  into 
the  garden,  then  three  loud  knocks,  immediately  after  other  three,  and 
in  half  a  minute  the  sarne  number  over  our  heads.  We  inquired  whe- 
ther any  body  had  been  in  the  garden,  or  in  the  room  above  us,  but  there 
was  nobody.  Soon  after  my  sister  Molly  and  I  were  up  after  all  the 
family  were  abed,  except  my  sister  Nancy,  about  some  business.  We 
heard  three  bouncing  thumps  under  our  feet,  which  soon  made  us  throw 
away  our  work,  and  tumble  into  bed.  Afterwards  the  tingling  of  the 
latch  and  warming  pan,  and  so  it  took  its  leave  that  night. 

Soon  after  the  above  mentioned,  we  heard  a  noise  as  if  a  great  piece 
of  sounding  metal  was  thrown  down  oil  the  outside  of  our  chamber. 
We,  lying  in  the  quietest  part  of  the  house,  heard  less  than  the  rest  for 
a  pretty  while,  but  the  latter  end  of  the  night  that  Mr.  Hoolc  sat  up  on, 
I  lay  in  the  nursery,  where  it  was  violent.  I  then  heard  frequent  knocks 
over  and  under  the  room  where  I  lay,  and  at  the  cliildren's  bed-head, 
which  was  made  of  boards.  It  seemed  to  rap  against  it  very  hard  and 
loud,  so  that  the  bed  shook  under  them.  I  heard  something  walk  by 
my  bed-side,  like  a  man  in  a  long  night  gown,  The  knocks  were  so 
loud,  that  Mr.  Hoole  c<ime  out  of  their  chamber  to  us.  It  still  continued. 
My  father  spoke,  but  nothing  answered.  It  ended  that  night,  with  my 
father's  particular  knock,  very  fierce. 

It  is  now  pretty  quiet,  only  at  our  repeating  the  praj'ers  for  the  king 
and  prince,  when  it  usually  begins,  especially  when  my  father  says, "  Our 
most  gracious  Sovereign  Lord,"  Uc.  This  my  father  is  angry  at,  and 
designs  to  say  three  instead  of  two  for  the  royal  family.  We  all  heard 
the  same  noise,  and  at  the  same  time,  and  as  coming  from  the  same 
place.  To  conclude  this,  it  now  makes  its  personal  appearance  ;  but  of 
this  more  hereafter.  Do  not  say  one  word  of  this  to  our  folks,  nor  give 
the  least  hint.  I  am, 

Your  sincere  friend  and  affectionate  Sister, 

Susannah  Wesi.ey. 

Letter  VI. — Mr.  S.  Wesley  in  Answer. 
Dear  Sister  Sukey,  Dean's  Yard,  Feb.  9,  1716-7. 

YoDR  telling  me  the  spirit  has  made  its  personal  appearance,  without 
feiiying  bow,  or  to  whom,  or  when,  or  how  long,  has  excited  my  curiosity 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


365 


very  much.  I  long  mightily  for  a  further  account  of  every  circumstance 
by  your  next  letter.  Do  not  keep  me  any  longer  in  the  dark.  Why 
need  you  write  the  less,  because  my  father  is  to  send  me  the  whole  story. 

Has  the  disturbance  continued  since  the  28th  of  December  ?  I  under- 
stand my  father  did  not  hear  it  all,  but  a  fortnight  after  the  rest.  What 
did  he  say  remarkable  to  any  of  you  when  he  did  hear  it  ?  As  to  the 
Devil's  being  an  enemy  to  King  George,  were  I  the  king  myself,  I  should 
rather  Old  Nick  should  be  my  enemy,  than  my  friend.  I  do  not  like 
the  noise  of  the  night  gown  sweeping  along  the  ground,  nor  its  knocking 
like  my  father.  Write  when  you  receive  this,  though  nobody  else  should, 
to  your  loving  brother,  S.  W. 

Letter  Mr.  S.  Wesley  to  his  Mother. 

Dear  Mother, 

YoD  say  you  could  multiply  particular  instances  of  the  spirit's  noises, 
but  I  want  to  know  whether  nothing  was  ever  seen  by  any.  For  though 
it  is  hard  to  conceive,  nay,  morally  impossible,  that  the  hearing  of  so 
many  people  could  be  deceived,  yet  the  truth  will  be  still  more  manifest, 
and  undeniable,  if  it  is  grounded  on  the  testimony  of  two  senses.  Has  it 
never  at  all  disturbed  you  since  the  28th  of  December  ?  Did  no  circum- 
stance give  any  light  into  the  design  of  the  whole  ? 

Your  obedient  and  loving  Son, 

Feb.  12.  S.  Wesley. 

Have  you  dug  in  the  place  where  the  money  seemed  poured  at  your 
feet? 

Letter  VlU.—Mr.  S.  Wesley  to  his  Father. 
Honoured  Sir, 

I  HAVE  not  yet  received  any  answer  to  the  letter  I  wrote  some  time 
ago,  and  my  mother  in  her  last  seems  to  say,  that  as  yet  I  know  but  a 
very  small  part  of  the  whole  story  of  strange  noises  in  our  house.  1 
shall  be  exceedingly  glad  to  ha\e  the  entire  account  from  you.  What- 
ever may  be  the  main  design  of  such  wonders,  I  cannot  think  they  were 
ever  nieant  to  be  kept  secret.  If  they  bode  any  thing  remarkable  to  our 
family,  f  am  sure  I  am  a  party  concerned. 

Your  dutiful  Son, 

Feb.  12.  S.  Wesi-ey. 

Letter  IX.— From  Mr.  S.  Wesley  to  his  Sister  Emily. 
Dear  Sister  Emily, 
I  WISH  you  would  let  me  have  a  letter  from  you  about  the  spirit,  as 
indeed  from  every  one  of  my  sisters.  I  cannot'  think  any  of  you  very 
Buperstitious,  unless  you  are  much  changed  since  I  saw  you.  My  sister 
Hetty,  I  find,  was  more  particularly  troubled.  Let  mc  know  all.  Did- 
any  thing  appear  to  her.'    I  am. 

Your  affectionate  Brother, 
Feb.  12.  S.  WtSLET. 

Letter  X.~Fro7n  old  Mr,  Wtslty  to  his  Son  Samtiel. 
Dear  Sam,  Feb,  11,  1716-7. 

As  for  the  noises,  inc.  in  our  family,  I  thank  God  we  are  now  all  quiet. 
There  were  some  surprising  circumstances  in  that  affair.  Your  mother 
has  not  written  you  a  third  part  of  it.  When  I  sec  you  here,  you  shall 
see  the  whole  account,  which  I  wrote  down.    It  would  make  a  glorious 


3bb 


N6TRS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


penny  book  for  Jack  Dunton ;  but  while  I  live  I  am  not  ambitious  for  an/ 
thing  of  that  nature.    I  think  that's  all,  but  blessings,  from 
Your  loving  Father, 

Sam.  Wesley. 

The  following  Letter  I  received  at  the  same  time,  though  it  has 
no  date. 

Letter  XI. — From  Miss  Emily  Wesley  to  her  Brother  Samuel. 
Dear  Brother, 

I  THANK  you  for  your  last,  and  shall  give  you  what  satisfaction  is  in  my 
power,  concerning  what  has  happened  in  our  family.  I  am  so  far  from 
being  superstitious,  that  I  was  too  much  inclined  to  infidelity,  so  that  I 
heartily  rejoice  at  having  such  an  opportunity  of  convincing  myself  past 
doubt  or  scruple,  of  the  existence  of  some  beings  besides  those  we  see. 
A  whole  month  was  sufficient  to  convince  any  body  of  the  reality  of  the 
thing,  and  to  try  all  ways  of  discovering  any  trick,  had  it  been  possible 
for  any  such  to  have  been  used.  I  shall  only  tell  you  what  I  myself 
heard,  and  leave  the  rest  to  others. 

My  sisters  in  the  paper  chamber  had  heard  noises,  and  told  me  of  them, 
but  I  did  not  much  believe,  till  one  night,  about  a  week  after  the  first 
groans  were  heard,  which  was  the  beginning,  just  after  the  clock  had 
struck  ten,  I  went  dow n  stairs  to  lock  the  doors,  which  I  always  do. 
Scarce  had  I  got  up  the  best  stairs,  when  I  heard  a  noise,  like  a  person 
throv>ring  down  a  vast  coal  in  the  middle  of  the  fore  kitchen,  and  all  the 
the  splinters  seemed  to  fly  about  from  it.  I  was  not  much  frighted,  but 
went  to  my  sister  Suky,  and  we  together  went  all  over  the  low  rooms, 
but  there  was  nothing  out  of  order. 

Our  dog  was  fast  asleep,  and  our  only  cat  in  the  other  end  of  tlie  house. 
No  sooner  was  I  got  up  stairs,  and  undressing  for  bed,  but  I  heard  a  noise 
among  many  bottles  that  stand  under  the  best  stairs,  just  like  throwing 
of  a  great  stone  among  them,  which  had  broke  them  ail  to  pieces.  This 
made  me  hasten  to  bed ;  but  my  sister  Hetty,  who  sits  always  to  wait 
on  my  fath<;r  going  to  bed,  was  still  sitting  on  the  lowest  step  on  the 
garret  stairs,  the  door  being  shut  at  her  back,  when  soon  after  there  came 
down  the  stairs  behind  her,  sometliing  like  a  man,  in  a  loose  night- 
gown trailing  after  him,  which  made  her  fly  rather  than  run  to  me  in 
(he  nursery. 

All  this  time  we  never  told  our  father  of  it,  but  soon  after  we  did.  He 
emiled,  and  gave  no  answer,  but  was  more  careful  than  usual,  from  that 
time,  to  sec  us  in  bed,  imagining  it  to  be  some  of  us  young  women,  that 
sat  up  late,  and  made  a  noise.  His  incredulity,  and  especially  hi-  imput- 
ing it  to  us,  or  our  lovers,  made  me,  I  own,  desirous  of  its  continuance 
till  he  was  convinced.  As  for  my  mother,  she  firmly  believed  it  to  be 
rats,  and  sent  for  a  horn  to  blow  them  away.  I  laughed  to  think  how 
wisely  they  were  employed,  who  were  striving  half  a  day  to  fright  away 
Jeffrey,  for  that  name  I  :»ave  it,  with  a  horn. 

But  whatever  it  was.  I  perceived  it  could  be  made  angry.  For  from 
that  time  it  was  so  outrageous,  there  was  no  quiet  for  us  after  ten  at 
night.  I  heard  frequently  between  ten  and  eleven,  something  like  the 
quick  winding  up  of  a  jack,  at  the  corner  of  the  room  by  my  bed's  head, 
just  like  the  ruiming  of  the  wheels  and  the  creaking  of  the  iron  work. 
This  was  the  common  signal  of  its  coming.  Then  it  would  knock  on 
the  floor  three  times,  then  at  my  sister's  bed's  head  in  the  same  room, 
almost  always  three  together,  and  then  stay.  The  sound  was  hollow, 
and  loud,  so  as  none  of  us  could  ever  imitate. 

It  would  answer  to  my  mother,  if  she  stamped  on  the  floor,  and  bid  it 
It  would  knock  when  I  was  putting  the  children  to  bed,  just  under  me 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


367 


^vhere  I  sat.  One  time  little  Kesy,  pretending  to  scare  Patty,  as  I  was 
undressing  them,  stamped  with  her  foot  on  the  floor,  and  immediately  it 
answered  with  three  knocks,  just  in  the  same  place.  It  was  more  loud 
and  fierce  if  any  one  said  it  was  rats,  or  any  thing  natural. 

I  could  tell  you  abundance  more  of  it,  but  the  rest  will  write,  and 
therefore  it  would  be  needless.  I  was  not  much  frighted  at  first,  and 
very  little  at  last ;  but  it  was  never  near  me,  except  two  or  three  times, 
and  never  followed  me,  as  it  did  my  sister  Hetty.  I  have  been  with  her 
when  it  has  knocked  under  her,  and  when  she  has  removed  has  followed, 
and  still  kept  just  under  her  feet,  which  was  enough  to  terrify  a  stouter 
person. 

If  you  would  know  my  opinion  of  the  reason  of  this,  I  shall  briefly 
tell  you.  I  believe  it  to  be  witchcraft,  for  these  reasons.  About  a  year 
since,  there  was  a  disturbance  at  a  town  near  us,  tliat  was  undoubtedly 
witches  ;  and  if  so  near,  why  may  they  not  reach  us  Then  my  father 
had  for  several  Sundays  before  its  coming  preached  warmly  against  con- 
sulting those  that  are  called  cunning  men,  which  our  people  are  given  to  ; 
and  it  had  a  particular  spite  at  my  father. 

Besides,  something  was  thrice  seen.  The  first  time  by  my  mother, 
under  my  sister's  bed,  like  a  badger,  only  without  any  head  that  was 
discernible.  The  same  creature  was  sat  by  the  dining  room  fire  one 
evening ;  when  our  man  went  into  the  room,  it  run  by  him,  through  the 
hall  under  the  stairs.  He  followed  with  a  candle,  and  searched,  but  it 
was  departed.  The  last  time  he  saw  it  in  the  kitchen,  like  a  white  rabbit, 
which  seems  likely  to  be  some  witch  ;  and  I  do  so  really  believe  it  to  be 
one,  that  I  would  venture  to  fire  a  pistol  at  it,  if  I  saw  it  long  enough.  It 
has  been  heard  by  me  and  others  since  December.  I  have  filled  up  all 
my  room,  and  have  only  time  to  tell  you,  I  am, 

Your  loving  Sister, 

Emilia  Wesley. 

Letter  XII. — Miss  Susaniiah  Wesltij  io  htr  Brother  Samuel. 
Dear  Brother  "Wesley,  March  27. 

I  SHOULD  further  satisfy  you  concerning  the  disturbances,  but  it  is 
needless,  because  my  sisters  Emilia  and  Hetty  write  so  particularly  about 
it.  One  thing  I  beheve  you  do  not  know,  that  is,  last  Sunday,  to  my 
father's  no  small  amazement,  his  trencher  danced  upon  the  table  a  pretty 
while,  without  any  body's  stirring  the  table.  When  lo  !  an  adventmous 
wretch  took  it  up.  and  spoiled  the  sport,  for  it  remained  still  ever  after. 
How  glad  should  I  be  to  talk  with  you  about  it.  Send  me  some  news, 
for  we  are  secluded  from  the  sight,  or  hearing,  of  any  versal  thing 
except  Jeffrey. 

Susannah  Wkslkv. 

A  Passage  in  a  Letter  from  my  J\Jolhtr  to  me,  dated  March  27,  IT  1  r. 

I  CANNOT  imagine  how  you  should  be  so  curious  about  our  unwelcome 
guest.  For  riiy  part,  I  am  quite  tired  with  hearing  or  speaking  of  it  ; 
but  if  you  come  among  us,  you  will  find  enough  to  satisfy  all  your  sent 
pies,  and  perhaps  may  hear  or  see  it  yourself. 

S.  VVesle\. 

^  Passage  in  a  Letter  from  my  Sister  Emily  to  Mr.  JST.  Berry 
dated  JlprilX. 

Tell  my  brother  the  sprite  was  with  us  last  night,  and  heard  by  man\ 
of  our  family,  especially  by  our  maid  and  myself,  .'^he  sat  up  with  drink 
and  it  came  just  at  one  o'clock,  and  opened  the  dining  room  door.  A  ftp; 


368 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


some  time  it  shut  again.  She  saw  as  well  as  heard  it  hoth  shut  and 
open  ;  then  it  began  to  knock  as  usual.  But  I  dare  write  no  longer,  lest 
I  should  hear  it. 

Emilia  Wesley. 

My  Faiher's  Journal,  or  Diary,  transcribed  by  my  Brother  Jack,  August 
27,  1726,  and  from  him  by  me,  February  7,  17S0-1. 

\n  Account  of  Noises  and  disturbances  in  my  House,  at  Epworth, 
Lincolnshire,  in  December  and  January,  1716. 

From  the  first  of  December,  my  children  and  servants  heard  many 
strange  noises,  groans,  knockings,  &.c.  in  every  story,  and  most  of  the 
rooms  of  my  house.  But  I  hearing  nothing  of  it  myself,  they  would  not 
tell  me  for  some  time,  because,  according  to  the  vulgar  opinion,  if  it 
boded  any  ill  to  me,  I  could  not  hear  it.  When  it  increased,  and  the 
family  could  not  easily  conceal  it,  they  told  me  of  it. 

My  daughters  Susannah  and  Ann,  were  below  stairs  in  the  dining 
room,  and  heard  first  at  the  doors,  then  over  their  heads,  and  the  night 
after  a  knocking  under  their  feet,  though  nobody  was  in  the  chambers 
or  below  them.  The  like  they  and  my  servants  heard  in  both  the 
kitchens,  at  the  door  against  the  partition,  and  over  them.  The  maid 
servant  heard  groans  as  of  a  dying  man.  My  daughter  Emilia  Coming 
down  stairs  to  draw  up  the  clock,  and  lock  the  doors  at  ten  at  night, 
as  usual,  heard  under  the  stair-case  a  sound  among  some  bottles  there, 
as  if  they  had  been  all  dashed  to  pieces  ;  but  when  she  looked,  all 
was  safe. 

Something,  like  the  steps  of  a  man,  was  heard  going  up  and  down 
stairs,  at  all  hours  of  the  night,  and  vast  rumblings  below  stairs,  and  in 
the  garrets.  My  man,  who  lay  in  the  garret,  heard  some  one  come 
slaring  through  the  garret  to  his  chamber,  rattling  by  his  side,  as  if  against 
his  shoes,  though  he  had  none  there;  at  other. times  walking  up  and 
down  stairs,  when  all  the  house  were  in  bed,  and  gobbling  like  a  turkey 
cock.  Noises  were  heard  in  the  nursery,  and  all  the  other  chambers ; 
knocking  first  at  the  feet  of  the  bed  and  behind  it ;  and  a  sound  like  that 
of  dancing  in  a  matted  chamber,  next  the  nursery,  when  the  door  was 
locked,  and  nobody  in  it. 

My  wife  would  have  persuaded  them  it  was  rats  within  doors,  and 
some  unlucky  people  knocking  without ;  till  at  last  we  heard  several  loud 
knocks  in  our  own  chamber,  on  my  side  of  the  bed ;  but  till,  I  think,  the 
■21st  at  night  I  heard  nothing  of  it.  That  night  I  was  waked  a  little  be- 
fore one,  by  nine  distinct  very  loud  knocks,  which  seemed  to  be  in  the 
next  room  to  ours,  with  a  sort  of  a  pause  at  every  third  stroke.  I  thought 
it  might  be  somebody  without  the  house,  and  having  got  a  stout  mastiff, 
hoped  he  would  soon  rid  me  of  it. 

The  next  night  I  heard  six  knocks,  but  not  so  loud  as  the  former.  I 
know  not  whether  it  was  in  the  morning  after  Sunday  the  23d,  when 
about  seven  my  daughter  Emily  called  her  mother  into  the  nursery,  and 
told  her  she  might  now  hear  the  noises  there.  She  went  in,  and  heard  it 
at  the  bedsteads,  then  under  the  bed,  then  at  the  head  of  it.  She  knock- 
ed, and  it  answered  her.  She  looked  under  the  bed,  and  thought  some- 
thing ran  from  thence,  but  could  not  tell  of  what  shape,  but  thought  it 
most  like  a  badger. 

The  next  night  but  one,  we  were  awaked  about  one,  by  the  noises, 
which  were  so  violent,  it  was  in  vain  to  think  of  sleep  while  they  con- 
tinued. I  rose,  and  my  wife  would  rise  with  me.  We  went  into  every 
chamber,  and  down  stairs  :  and  generally  as  we  went  into  one  room,  we 
heard  it  in  that  behind  us,  though  all  the  family  had  been  in  bed  several 
hours.    When  we  were  going  down  stairs,  and  at  the  bottom  of  them. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


369 


we  heard,  as  Emily  had  done  before,  qi  clashing  among  the  bottles,  as  if 
they  had  been  broke  all  to  pieces,  and  another  sound  distinct  from  it,  as 
if  a  peck  of  money  had  been  thrown  down  before  us.  The  same,  three 
of  my  daughters  heard  at  another  time. 

We  went  through  the  the  hah  into  the  kitchen,  when  our  mastiff  came 
whining  to  us,  as  he  did  always  after  the  first  night  of  its  coming  ;  for 
then  he  barked  violently  at  it,  but  was  silent  afterwards,  and  seemed 
more  afraid  than  any  of  the  children.  We  still  heard  it  rattle  and  thun- 
der in  every  room  above  or  behind  us,  locked  as  well  as  open,  except  my 
study,  where  as  yet  it  never  came.  After  two,  we  went  to  bed,  and  were 
pretty  quiet  the  rest  of  the  night. 

Wednesday  night,  December  26,  after,  or  a  little  before,  ten,  my 
daughter  Emilia  heard  the  signal  of  its  beginning  to  play,  with  which  she 
was  perfectly  acquainted  ;  if  was  like  the  strong  winding  up  of  a  jack. 
She  called  us,  and  I  went  into  the  nursery,  where  it  used  to  be  most  vio- 
lent. The  rest  of  the  childrei)  were  asleep.  It  began  with  knocking  in 
the  kitchen  underneath,  then  seeirjed  to  be  at  the  bed's  feet,  then  under 
the  bed,  at  last  at  the  head  of  it.  I  went  dqwn  stairs,  and  knocked  with 
my  stick  against  the  joists  of  the  kitchen.  It  answered  me  as  often  and 
as  loud  as  I  knocked ;  but  then  I  knocked  as  I  usually  do  at  my  door, 
1 — 2  3  4  5  6 — 7,  but  tliis  puzzled  it,  and  it  did  not  answer,  or  not  in  the 
same  method  ;  though  the  children  heard  it  do  the  s^me  exactly  twice 
or  thrice  after. 

I  went  up  stairs,  and  found  it  still  knocking  hard,  though  with  some 
respite,  sometimes  under  the  bed,  sometimes  at  the  bed's  head.  I  ob- 
served my  children  that  they  were  frighted  in  their  sleep,  and  trembled 
very  much  till  it  waked  them.  I  stayed  there  alone,  bid  them  go  to 
sleep,  and  sat  at  the  bed's  feet  by  them,  when  the  noise  began  again.  I 
asked  it  what  it  was,  and  why  it  distm  bed  innocent  children,  and  did  not 
come  to  me  in  my  study,  if  it  had  any  thing  to  say  to  me.  Soon  after 
it  gave  one  knock  on  tlje  outside  of  the  house.  All  the  rest  were  within, 
and  knocked  off  for  that  nigiit. 

I  went  out  of  doors,  sometimes  alone,  at  others  with  company,  and 
walked  round  the  house,  but  could  see  or  hear  nothing.  Several  nights 
the  latch  of  our  lodging  chamber  would  be  lifted  up  very  often,  when  al| 
were  in  bed.  One  night,  when  the  noise  was  great  in  the  kitchen,  and 
on  a  deal  partition,  and  the  door  in  the  yard,  the  latch  w|iereof  was  often 
lifted  up,  my  daughter  Emilia  went  and  held  it  fast  on  the  inside,  but  it 
was  still  lifced  up,  and  the  door  pushed  violently  against  her,  though 
nothing  was  to  be  seen  on  the  outside. 

When  we  were  at  prayers,  and  came  to  the  prayers  for  King  George, 
and  the  Prince,  it  would  make  a  great  noise  over  our  heads  constantly, 
whence  some  of  the  family  called  it  a  Jacobite.  I  have  been  thrice 
pushed  by  an  invisible  power,  once  against  the  corner  of  my  desk  in  the 
study,  a  second  time  against  the  door  of  the  matted  chamber,  a  third 
time  against  the  right  side  of  the  frame  of  my  study  door,  as  1  was  go- 
ing in. 

I  followed  the  noise  into  almost  every  room  in  the  house,  both  by  day 
and  by  night,  with  lights  and  without,  and  have  sat  alone  for  some  time, 
and  when  I  heard  the  noise,  spoke  to  it  to  tell  me  what  it  was,  but  never 
heard  any  articulate  voice,  and  only  once  or  twice  two  or  three  feeble 
squeaks,  a  little  louder  than  the  chirping  of  a  bird,  but  not  like  the  noise 
of  rats,  which  I  have  often  heard. 

1  had  designed  on  Friday,  December  the  28th,  to  make  a  vjsit  to  a 
friend,  Mr.  Downs,  at  Normandy,  and  stay  some  days  with  him,  but  the 
noises  were  so  boisterous  on  Thursday  ni^ht.  that  1  did  not  care  to  leave 
my  family.  So  I  went  to  Jfr.  Hoole,  of'Haxsey,  apd  desirid  his  com- 
pany on  Friday  night.  He  came ;  and  it  began  after  ten.  ^  little  later 
VOL.  T.  47 


370 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


than  ordinary.  The  younger  children  were  gone  to  bed,  the  rest  of  the 
family  and  Mr.  Hoole  were  together  in  the  matted  chamber.  I  sent  the 
servants  down  to  fetch  in  some  fuel,  went  with  them,  and  staid  in  the 
kitchen  till  they  came  in.  When  they  were  gone,  I  heard  loud  noises 
against  the  doors  and  partition,  and  at  length  the  usual  signal,  though 
some'vhat  after  the  time.  I  had  never  heard  it  before,  but  knew  it  by 
the  description  my  daughter  had  given  me.  It  was  much  like  the  turn- 
ing about  of  a  windmill  when  the  wind  changes.  When  the  servants  re- 
turned, I  went  up  to  the  company,  who  had  heard  the  other  noises  be- 
low, but  not  the  signal.  We  heard  all  the  knocking  as  usual,  from  one 
chamber  to  another,  but  at  its  going  off,  like  the  rubbing  of  a  beast 
against  the  wall ;  but  from  that  time  till  January  the  24th,  we  were 
quiet. 

Having  received  a  letter  from  Samuel  the  day  before  relating  to  it,  I 
read  what  I  had  written  of  it  to  my  family;  and  this  day  at  morning 
prayer,  the  family  heard  the  usual  knocks  at  the  prayer  for  the  King. — 
At  night  they  were  more  distinct,  both  in  the  prayer  for  the  King,  and 
that  for  the  Prince  ;  and  one  very  loud  knock  at  the  amen  was 
heard  by  my  wife,  and  most  of  my  children,  at  the  inside  of  my  bed.  I 
heard  nothing  myself.  After  nine,  Robert  Brown  sitting  alone  by  the 
fire  in  the  back  kitchen,  something  came  out  of  the  copper  hole  like  a 
rabbit,  but  less,  and  turned  round  five  times  very  swiftly.  Its  ears  lay 
flat  upon  its  neck,  and  its  little  scut  stood  straight  up.  He  ran  after  it 
with  the  tongs  in  his  hands,  but  when  he  could  find  nothing,  he  was 
frighted,  and  went  to  the  maid  in  the  parlour. 

On  Friday,  the  SSth,  having  prayers  at  church,  I  shortened,  as  usual, 
those  in  the  family  at  morning,  omitting  the  confession,  absolution,  and 
prayers  for  the  King  and  Prince.  I  observed,  when  this  is  done,  there 
is  no  knocking.  I  therefore  used  them  one  morning  for  a  trial ;  at  the 
name  of  King  George,  it  began  to  knock,  and  did  the  same  when  I  pray- 
ed for  the  Prince.  Two  knocks  I  heard,  but  took  no  notice  after  pray- 
ers, till  after  all  who  were  in  the  room,  ten  persons  besides  me,  spoke  of 
it,  and  said  they  heard  it.    No  noise  at  all  the  rest  of  the  prayers. 

Sunday,  January  27.  Two  soft  strokes  at  the  morning  prayers  for 
King  George,  above  stairs. 

Addenda  to  and  from  my  Father^ s  Diary. 

Friday,  December  21.  Knocking  I  heard  first,  I  think,  this  night : 
to  which  disturbances,  I  hope,  God  will  in  his  good  lime  put  an  end, 

Sunday,  December  23.  Not  much  disturbed  with  the  noises  that  are 
now  grown  customary  to  me. 

Wednesday,  December  26.  Sat  up  to  hear  noises.  Strange  !  spoke 
to  it,  knocked  off. 

Friday,  28.    The  noises  vei-y  boisterous  and  disturbing  this  night. 

Saturday,  29.  Not  frighted,  with  the  continued  disturbance  of  my 
family. 

Tuesday,  January  1,  1717.  My  family  have  had  no  disturbance  since 
I  went. 

Memorandum  of  Jack^s. 

The  first  time  my  mother  ever  heard  any  unusual  noise  at  Epworth, 
was  long  before  the  disturbance  of  old  Jeffery.  My  brother,  lately  come 
from  London,  had  one  evening  a  sharp  quarrel  with  my  sister  Suky,  at 
which  time,  my  mother  happening  to  be  above  in  her  own  chamber,  the 
door  and  windows  rung  and  jarred  very  loud,  and  presently  several  dis- 
tinct strokes,  three  by  three,  were  struck.    From  that  night  it  never 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


failed  to  give  notice  in  much  the  same  manner,  against  any  signal  misfoi  • 
lune,  or  illness  of  any  belonging  to  the  family. 

Of  tht  general  Circumstances  which  follow,  most,  if  not  all,  the  Family 
were  frequent  Jf  'itnesses. 

I.  Presently  after  any  noise  was  heard,  the  wind  commonly  rose, 
and  whistled  very  loud  round  the  house,  and  increased  with  it. 

ii.  The  signal  was  given,  which  my  father  likens  to  the  turning  round 
of  a  wind-mill  when  the  wind  changes  ;  Mr.  Hoole  (Hector  of  Haxey) 
to  the  planing  of  deal  boards  ;  my  sister  to  the  swift  winding  up  of  a 
jack.    It  commonly  began  at  the  corner  of  the  top  of  the  nursery. 

3.  Before  it  came  into  any  room,  the  latches  were  frequently  lifted 
up,  the  windows  clattered,  and  w  hatever  iron  or  brass  was  about  the 
chamber,  rung  and  jarred  exceedingly. 

4.  When  it  was  in  any  room,  let  them  make  what  noise  they  would, 
as  they  sometimes  did  on  purpose,  its  dead  hollow  note  would  be  clearly 
heard  above  them  all. 

5.  It  constantly  knocked  while  the  prayei-s  for  the  King  and  Prince 
were  repeating,  and  was  plainly  heard  by  all  in  the  room,  but  my 
father,  and  sometimes  by  him,  as  were  also  the  thundering  knocks  at 
the  amen. 

6.  The  sound  very  often  seemed  in  the  air  in  the  middle  of  a  room, 
nor  could  they  ever  make  any  such  themselves,  by  any  contrivance. 

7.  Though  it  seemed  to  rattle  dow  n  the  pewter,  to  clap  the  doors, 
draw  the  curtains,  kick  the  man's  shoes  up  and  down,  he.  yet  it  never 
moved  any  thing  except  the  latches,  otherw  iso  than  making  it  tremble  ; 
unless  once,  when  it  threw  open  the  nursery  door. 

8.  The  mastiff,  though  he  barked  violently  at  it  the  first  day  he  came, 
yet  whenever  it  came  after  that,  nay,  sometimes  before  the  family  per- 
ceived it,  he  ran  whining,  or  quite  silent,  to  shelter  himself  behind  some 
of  the  company, 

9.  It  never  came  by  day,  till  my  mother  ordered  the  horn  to  be 
blown. 

10.  After  that  time,  scarce  any  one  could  go  from  one  room  into  ano- 
ther, but  the  latch  of  the  room  they  went  to  was  lifted  up  before  they 
touched  it. 

II.  It  never  came  once  into  my  father's  study,  till  he  talked  to  it 
sharply,  called  it  deaf  and  dumb  devil,  and  bid  it  cease  to  disturb  the 
innocent  children,  and  come  to  him  in  his  study,  if  it  had  any  thing  to 
say  to  him. 

12.  From  the  time  of  my  mother's  desiring  it  not  to  disturb  her 
from  five  to  six,  it  was  never  heard  in  her  chamber  from  five  till  she 
«  ame  down  stairs,  nor  at  any  other  time,  when  she  was  employed  in 
devotion. 

13.  Whether  our  clock  went  right  or  wrong,  it  always  came,  as  near 
•is  could  be  guessed,  when  by  the  night  it  wanted  a  quarter  of  ten. 

My  Mother's  Account  to  Jack: 

Aug.  27,  1726. 

About  ten  days  after  Nanny  Marshall  had  heard  unusual  groans  at 
the  dining  room  door,  Emily  came  and  told  me  that  the  servants  and 
children  had  been  several  times  frighted  with  strange  groans  and  knoek- 
ings  about  the  house.  I  answered,  that  the  rats  John  Maw  had  frightened 
from  his  house,  by  blowing  a  horn  there,  were  come  into  ours,  and 
ordered  that  one  should  be  sent  for.  Molly  was  much  displeased  at  it. 
and  said,  if  it  was  any  thing  supernatural,  it  certainly  would-be  very 


372 


KOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


angry,  and  more  troublesome;  However,  the  horn  was  blown  in  the 
garrets  ;  and  theefifect  was,  that  whereas  before  the  noises  were  always 
in  the  night,  from  this  time  they  were  heard  at  all  hours,  day  and  night. 

Soon  after,  about  seven  in  the  mOrning,  Emily  came  and  desired  me 
to  go  into  the  nursery,  where  I  should  be  convinced  they  were  not  star- 
tled at  nothing.  On  my  coming  thillier.  I  heard  a  knocking  at  the  feet, 
rind  quickly  after  at  the  head  of  the  bed.  I  desired  if  it  was  a  spirit  it 
would  answer  me,  and  ktjocking  several  tilnes  with  my  foot  on  thd 
ground,  with  several  pauses,  it  repeated  under  the  sole  of  my  feet  exactly 
the  same  number  of  strokes,  with  the  very  same  intervals.  Kezzy,then 
six  or  seten  years  old,  said,  let  it  answer  me  too,  if  it  can,  and  stamp- 
ing, the  same  sounds  were  returned  that  siie  made,  many  times,  suc- 
cessively. 

Upon  my  looking  under  the  bed,  something  ran  out  pretty  much  like 
a  badger,  and  seemed  to  run  directly  under  Emily's  petticoats,  who  sat 
opposite  to  me  on  the  other  side.  I  went  out,  and  one  or  two  nights 
after,  when  we  were  just  got  to  bed,  I  heard  nine  strokes,  three  by  three, 
on  the  other  side  the  bed,  as  if  one  had  struck  violently  on  a  chest  with 
a  large  stick.  Mr.  Wesley  leapt  up,  called  Hetty,  who  alone  was  up  in 
the  house,  and  searched  every  toolh  in  the  house,  but  to  no  purpose.  It 
continued  from  this  time  to  knock  arid  g|-ban  frequently  at  all  hours,  day 
and  night;  only  I  earnestlj'  desired  it  might  not  disturb  me  between  five 
and  six  in  the  evening,  and  there  never  was  any  noise  in  my  room  after 
during  that  time. 

At  other  times,  I  Iiavp  often  heard  it  over  my  mantle  tree,  and  once, 
coining  up  alter  dinner,  a  cradle  seemed  to  be  strongly  rocked  in 
chamber.  When  I  went  in,  the  sound  seemed  to  be  in  the  nursery. 
When  I  was  io  the  nursery,  it  seemed  in  my  chamber  again.  One  night 
Mr.  W.  and  I  were  waked  by  some  one  running  down  the  garret  stairs, 
then  dowii  tin'  brh;ui  stairs,  tlien  up  the  narrow  ones,  then  up  the  garret 
stairs,  then  dou  n  and  so  the  same  round.    The  rooms  trembled 

as  it  passed  aluiii,;;,  and  the  doors  shook  exceedingly,  so  that  the  clattering 
of  the  latches  was  very  hind. 

Mr.  W  proposing  lo  rise,  I  rose  with  him,  and  went  down  the  broad 
st;iirs,  hand  in  hand,  to  light  a  candle.  Near  the  foot  of  them  u  large 
pot  of  money  seemed  to  lie  pomcd  out  at  my  waist,  and  io  run  jingling 
down  my  night-gown  lo  niy  feet.  Presently  after  we  heard  the  noise 
as  of  a  vast  stone  thrown  among  several  dozen  of  bottles,  which  lay 
under  the  stairs  :  but  ujion  our  looking  no  hurt  was  done.  In  the  hall 
the  mastiff  met  us,  crying  and  striving  to  get  between  us.  We  returned 
up  into  the  nursery,  where  the  noise  was  very  great.  The  children  were 
all  asleep,  but  panting,  trembling,  and  sweating  extremely. 

Shortly  after,  on  Mr.  Wesley's  invitation,  Mr.  Hoole  staid  a  night  whh 
«s.  As  we  were  all  sitting  round  the  five  in  the  matted  chamber,  he 
asked  whether  that  gentle  knocking  was  il7  I  told  iiim  yes,  and  it  con^ 
tinned  the  soiind,  w  hich  ivas  much  lower  than  nsual.  'I'hi^  was  ohserv" 
able  that  while  We  were  t.ilMng  loud  in  the  same  room,  the  noise,  seem- 
ingly lower  than  any  of  our  voices,  was  distinctly  heard  above  them  all. 
These  were  the  most  remarkable  passages  I  remember,  exctpt  such  aS 
were  common  to  all  the  family. 

My  Sister  Ei«?/;/'s  Jlc'cotini  to  jack. 

About  a  fortnight  after  the  time  \vhen,as  I  tvas  told,  the  noises  werfe 
heard.  I  went  from  my  mother's  room,  who  was  just  gone  to  bed,  to  the 
best  chamber,  to  fetch  my  sister  Suky's  candle.  When  I  was  there,  the 
windows  and  doors  began  to  jar,  and  ring  exceedingly,  and  presently 
after  I  heard  a  sound  in  the  kitchen,  as  if  a  vast  stone  coal  had  been 


NOTES    AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


373 


thrown  down,  and  mashed  ttt  pieces.  I  went  down  ihither  with  my 
candle,  and  found  nothing  more  than  usual ;  but  as  1  was  going  by  the 
screen,  something  began  knocking  on  the  other  side,  just  even  with  my 
head.  When  I  looked  on  the  inside,  the  knocking  was  on  the  outside 
of  it ;  but  as  soon  as  I  could  get  round,  it  was  at  the  inside  again.  I  fol- 
lowed to  and  fro  several  times,  till  at  last,  finding  it  to  no  purpose,  and 
turning  about  to  go  away  before  I  was  out  of  the  room,  the  latch  of  the 
back  kitchen  door  was  lifted  up  many  times.  I  opened  the  door  and 
looked  out,  but  could  see  nobody.  I  tried  to  shut  the  door,  but  it  was 
thrust  against  me,  and  1  could  feel  the  latch,  which  I  held  in  my  hand, 
moving  upwards  at  the  same  time.  I  looked  out  again,  but  finding  it  was 
labour  lost,  clapped  the  door  to,  and  locked  it.  Immediately  the 
latch  was  moved  strongly  up  ai^  down,  but  I  left  it,  and  went  up 
the  worst  stairs  from  whence  I  heard,  as  if  a  great  stone  had  been 
thrown  among  the  bottles,  which  lay  under  the  best  stairs.  However  I 
went  to  bed. 

From  this  time,  I  heard  it  every  night,  for  two  or  three  weeks.  It  con- 
tinued a  month  in  its  full  majesty,  night  and  day.  Then  it  intermitted 
a  fortnight  or  more,  and  when  it  began  again,  it  knocked  only  on  nights, 
and  grew  less  and  less  troublesome,  till  at  last  it  went  quite  away.  To- 
wards the  latter  end  it  used  to  knock  on  the  outside  of  the  house,  and 
seemed  furtiier  and  further  oil,  till  it  ceased  to  be  heard  at  all, 

.Ml/  Sister  J^IoUy's  ^iccount  to  Jack. 

Aug.  £7. 

1  HAVE  always  thought  it  was  November,  the  rest  of  our  family  think 
it  was  the  1st  of  December,  1716,  when  Nanny  Marshall,  who  had  a 
bowl  of  butter  in  her  hand,  ran  to  me,  and  two  or  three  more  of  my 
sisters,  in  the  dining  room,  and  told  us  she  had  heard  several  groans  in 
the  hall,  as  of  a  dying  man.  We  thought  it  was  Mr.  Turpine,  w  ho  had 
the  stone,  and  used  sometimes  to  come  and  see  us.  About  a  fortnight 
after,  when  my  sister  Suky  and  I  were  going  to  bed,  she  told  me  how 
hIic  was  frightened  in  the  dining  room,  the  day  before,  by  a  noise,  first 
at  the  folding  doOr,  and  then  over  head.  I  Was  reading  at  the  table,  and 
had  scaice  told  hCr  I  believed  nothing  of  it,  when  several  knocks  were 
given  j'lst  under  tny  feet.  AVc  both  made  haste  into  bed,  and  just  as  we 
laid  down,  the  Warming  pan  by  the  bedsule  jarred  and  rung,  as  did  the 
latch  of  the  door,  which  was  lifted  swiftly  up  and  down  ;  presently  a  great 
chain  seemed  to  fall  on  the  outside  of  the  door  (We  were  in  the  best 
chamber),  the  door,  latch,  hinges,  the  warming  pan,  and  windows  jarred, 
and  the  house  shdnk  from  top  to  bottom. 

A  few  days  after,  between  five  and  six  in  the  evening,  I  was  by  mj'self 
in  the  dining  room.  The  door  seemed  to  open,  though  it  was  still  shut, 
and  somebody  walked  in  a  night-gown  trailing  upon  the  ground  (nothing 
ajjpearing),  and  seemed  to  go  leisurely  round  me.  I  started  up,  and  ran 
up  stairs  to  my  mother's  chamber,  and  told  the  story  to  her  and  my  sis- 
ter Emily.  A  few  nights  after,  my  father  ludered  me  to  light  him  to 
his  study.  Just  as  he  had  unlocked  it,  the  latch  was  lifted  up  for 
him.  The  same  (after  we  blew  the  horn)  was  often  done  to  me,  as 
well  by  day  as  by  night.  Of  many  other  things  all  the  family  as  well 
as  me  were  witnesses. 

My  father  went  into  the  nursery  from  the  matted  chamber,  where  we 
were,  by  himself  in  the  dark.  It  knocked  very  loud  on  the  press-bed 
head.  He  adjured  it  to  tell  him  why  it  came,  but  it  seemed  to  take  no 
notice;  at  which  he  was  very  angry,  spoke  sharply,  called  it  deaf  and 
dumb  devil,  and  repeated  his  adjuration.  My  sisters  were  terribly 
;jfraid  it  would  speak.    When  he  had  done,  it  knocked  his  knock 


374 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


on  the  bed's  head,  so  exceeding  violently,  as  if  it  would  break  it 
to  shivers,  and  from  that  time  we  heard  nothing  till  near  a  month 
after. 

My  Sister  Suky^s  Account  to  Jack. 

I  BELIEVED  nothing  of  it  till  about  a  fortnight  after  the  first  noises, 
then  one  night  I  sat  up  on  purpose  to  hear  it.  While  I  was  working  in 
the  best  chamber,  and  earnestly  desiring  to  hear  it,  a  knocking  began 
just  under  ray  feet.  As  I  knew  the  room  below  was  locked,  I  was 
frightened,  and  leapt  into  bed  with  all  my  clothes  on.  I  afterwards 
heard  as  it  were  a  great  chain  fall,  and  after  some  time,  the  usual  noises 
at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night.  One  night  hearing  it  was  most  violent 
in  the  nursery,  I  resolved  to  lie  there.  Late  at  night,  several  strong 
knociis  were  given  on  the  two  lowest  steps  of  the  garret  stairs,  which 
were  close  to  the  nursery  door.  The  latch  of  the  door  then  jarred,  and 
seemed  to  be  swiftly  moved  to  and  fro,  and  presently  began  knocking 
about  a  yai  d  within  the  room  on  the  floor.  It  then  came  gradually  to 
sister  Hetty's  bed,  who  trembled  strongly  in  her  sleep.  It  beat  very 
loud  thri;e  strokes  at  a  time,  on  the  bed's  head.  My  father  came,  and 
adjured  it  to  speak,  but  it  knocked  on  for  some  time,  and  then  removed 
to  the  room  over,  where  it  knocked  my  father's  knock  on  the  ground, 
as  if  it  would  beat  the  house  down.  I  had  no  mind  to  stay  longer,  but 
got  up,  and  went  to  sister  Em  and  my  mother,  «ho  were  in  her  room. 
From  thence  we  heard  the  noises  again  from  the  nursery.  I  proposed 
playing  a  game  at  cards,  but  we  had  scarce  begun,  when  a  knocking 
began  under  our  feet.  We  left  off  playing,  and  it  removed  back  again 
into  the  nursery,  where  it  continued  till  towards  morning. 

Sister  JVa7icy^s  Account  to  Jack. 

Sept.  10. 

The  first  noise  my  sister  Nancy  heard,  was  in  the  best  chamber,  with 
my  sister  Molly  and  my  sister  Suky  ;  soon  after  my  father  had  ordered 
her  to  blow  a  horn  in  the  garrets,  where  it  was  knocking  violently.  She 
was  terribly  afraid,  being  obliged  to  go  in  the  dark,  and  kneeling  down 
on  the  stairs,  desired  that,  as  she  acted  not  to  please  herself,  it  might 
have  no  power  over  her.  As  soon  as  she  came  into  the  room,  the  noise 
ceased,  nor  did  it  begin  again  till  near  ten;  but  then,  and  for  a  good 
while,  it  made  much  greater  and  more  frequent  noises  than  it  had  done 
before.  When  she  afterwards  came  into  the  chamber  in  the  day  time, 
it  commonly  walked  after  her  from  room  to  room.  It  followed  her  from 
one  side  of  the  bed  to  the  other,  and  back  again,  as  oftew  as  she  went 
back  ;  and  whatever  she  did  which  made  any  sort  of  noise,  the  same 
thinp;  seemed  just  to  be  done  behind  her. 

When  five  or  six  were  set  in  the  nursery  together,  a  cradle  would  seem 
to  be  strongly  rocked  in  the  room  over,  though  no  cradle  had  ever  been 
tliere.  One  nis^ht  she  was  sitting  on  the  press-bed,  playing  at  cards  with 
some  of  my  sitters,  when  my  sister  Molly,  Elty,  Patty,  and  Kezzy,  wei-e 
in  the  room,  and  Hobert  Brown.  The  bed  on  which  my  sister  Nancy 
sat,  was  lifted  up  with  her  on  it.  She  leapt  down  and  said,  "  surely  old 
Jcffcry  would  not  run  away  with  her."  However,  they  persuaded  her 
to  sit  down  again,  which  she  had  scarce  done,  when  it  was  again 
lifted  up  several  times  successively,  a  considerable  height,  upon  which 
she  left  her  seat,  and  would  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  sit  there  any 
mote. 

Whenever  they  began  to  mention  Mr.  S.  it  presently  began  to  knock, 
and  continued  to  do  so  till  they  changed  the  discourse.    All  the  time  my 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


375 


sister  Silky  was  writing  her  last  letter  to  him,  it  made  a  very  great  noise 
ail  round  the  room,  and  the  night  after  she  set  out  for  London,  it  knocked 
till  morning  with  scarce  any  intermission. 

Mr.  Hoole  read  prayers  once,  but  it  knocked  as  usual  at  the 
prayers  for  the  King  and  Prince.  The  knockings  at  those  prayers 
were  only  towards  the  beginning  of  the  disturbances,  for  a  week  or 
thereabouts. 

OThe  Rev.  Jlr.  Hookas  Account. 

Sept.  16. 

As  soon  as  I  came  to  Epworth,  Mr.  Wesley  telling  me,  he  sent  for 
me  to  conjure,  I  knew  not  what  he  meant,  till  some  of  your  sisters  told 
me  what  had  happened,  and  that  I  was  sent  for  to  sit  up.  I  expected 
every  hour,  it  being  then  about  noon,  to  hear  something  extraordinary, 
but  to  no  purpose.  At  supper  too,  and  at  prayers,  all  was  silent,  con- 
trary to  custom,  but  soon  after  one  of  the  maids,  who  went  up  to  sheet  a 
bed,  brought  the  alarm,  that  Jeflfery  was  come  above  stairs.  We  all 
went  up,  and  as  we  were  standing  round  the  fire  in  the  east  chamber, 
something  began  knocking  just  on  the  other  side  of  tlie  wall,  on  the 
chimney-piece,  as  with  a  key.  Presently  the  knocking  was  under  our 
feet,  Mr.  Wesley  and  I  went  down,  he  with  a  great  deal  of  hope,  aftd  I 
with  fear.  As  soon  as  we  W(>re  in  the  kitchen,  the  sound  was  above  us, 
in  the  room  we  had  left.  Wi'  returned  up  the  narrow  stairs,  and  heard 
at  the  broad  stairs  head,  some  one  slaring  with  their  feet  (all  the  family 
being  now  in  bed  beside  us)  and  then  trailing,  as  it  were,  and  rustling 
with  a  silk  night-gown.  Quickly  it  was  in  the  nursery,  at  the  bed's 
head,  knocking  as  it  had  done  at  first,  three  by  three.  Mr.  Wesley 
spoke  to  it,  and  said  he  believed  it  was  the  devil,  and  soon  after  it 
knocked  at  tlie  window,  and  changed  its  sound  into  one  like  the  planing 
of  boards.  From  thence  it  went  on  the  outward  south  side  of  the 
house,  sounding  fainter  and  fainter,  till  it  was  heard  no  more. 

I  was  at  no  other  time  than  this  during  the  noises  at  Epworth,  and  do 
not  now  remember  any  more  circumstances  than  these. 

Epworth,  Sept.  I. 

My  sister  Kezzy  says  she  remembers  nothing  else,  but  that  it 
knocked  iny  father's  knock,  ready  to  beat  the  house  down  in  tlie 
nursery  one  night. 

Rohin  Brown's  ,1ccount  to  Jack. 

The  first  time  Robin  Brown,  my  father's  man,  heard  it,  was  when  hr- 
was  fetching  down  some  corn  from  the  garrets.  Somewhat  knocked  ob 
a  door  just  by  him,  which  made  him  run  away  down  stairs.  From  that 
time  it  used  frequently  to  visit  him  in  bed,  walking  up  the  sarret  stairs, 
and  in  the  garrets,  like  a  man  in  jack-boots,  with  a  night-gown  trailing 
after  him,  then  lifting  up  his  latch  and  making  it  jar,  and  making  pre- 
sently a  noise  in  his  room  like  the  gobbling  of  a  turkey-cock,  then  stum- 
bling over  his  shoes  or  boots  by  the  bed  side.  He  was  resolved  once  to 
be  too  hard  for  it,  and  so  took  a  largi;  mastiff"  we  had  just  got  to  bod 
witli  him,  and  left  his  shoes  and  boots  below  stairs  ;  but  lie  might  as  well 
have  spared  his  labour,  for  it  was  exactly  the  same  thing,  whether  any 
were  there  or  no.  The  same  sound  was  heard  as  if  there  had  been  forty 
pairs.  The  dog  indeed  was  a  great  comfort  to  him,  for  as  soon  as  the 
lutch  began  to  jar,  he  crept  into  bed.  made  such  an  howling  and  barking; 


376 


NOTKS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


together,  in  spite  of  all  the  man  could  do,  that  he  alarmed  most  of  thr 
family. 

Soon  after,  being  grinding  corn  in  the  garrets,  and  happening  to  stop 
a  little,  the  handle  of  the  mill  was  turned  round  with  great  swiftness. 
He  said  nothing  vexed  him,  but  that  the  mill  was  empty.  If  corn  had 
been  in  it,  old  Jeffery  might  have  ground  his  heart  out  for  him  ;  he  would 
never  have  disturbed  him. 

One  night  being  ill,  he  was  leaning  his  head  upon  the  back  kitchen 
chimney  (the  jam  he  called  it)  with  the  tongs  in  his  hands,  when  from 
behind  the  oven-stop,  which  lay  by  the  fire,  somewhat  came  out  like  a 
white  rabbit.  It  turned  round  before  him  several  times,  and  then  ran  to 
the  same  place  again.  He  was  frighted,  started  up,  and  ran  with  the 
tongs  into  the  parlour  (dining  room.) 

D.  R.  Ep worth,  Aug.  31. 
Betty  Massy  one  day  came  to  me  in  the  parlour,  and  asked  me  if  I 
had  heard  old  Jeffery,  for  she  said  she  thought  there  was  no  such  thing. 
When  we  had  talked  a  little  about  it,  I  knocked  three  times  with  a  reel 
I  had  in  my  hand,  against  the  dining  room  ceiling,  and  the  same  were 
presently  repeated.  She  desired  me  to  knock  so  again,  which  I  did,  but 
they  were  answered  with  three  more  so  violently  as  shook  the  house, 
though  no  one  was  in  the  chamber  over  us.  She  prayed  me  to  knock 
1)0  more  for  fear  it  should  come  in  to  us. 

Epvvorth,  Aug.  SI,  1726. 
John  and  Kitty  Maw,  who  lived  over  against  us,  listened  several  nights 
in  the  time  of  the  disturbance,  but  could  never  hear  any  thing. 

JVARRATIFE  drawn  up  by  John  Wesley,  and  published  by  him  in  the 
Arminian  Magazine, 

When  I  was  very  young,  I  heard  several  letters  read,  wrote  to  my 
elder  brother  by  my  father,  giving  an  account  of  strange  disturbances, 
which  were  in  his  house  at  Epworth,  in  Lincolnshire. 

AVheu  I  went  down  thither,  in  the  year  1720,  I  carefully  inquired  into 
the  particulars.  I  spoke  to  each  of  the  persons  who  were  then  in  the 
house,  and  took  down  what  pach  could  testify  of  his  or  her  own  know- 
ledge.   The  sum  of  which  was  this. 

On  Dec.  2,  1716,  while  Robert  Brown,  my  father's  servant,  was  sitting 
with  one  of  the  maids  a  little  before  ten  at  night,  in  the  dinhig  room 
which  opened  into  the  garden,  they  both  heard  one  knocking  at  the 
door.  Robert  rose  and  opened  it,  but  could  see  nobody.  Quickly  it 
knocked  again  and  groaned.  It  is  Mr.  Turpine,"  said  Robert:  "  he 
has  the  stone  and  uses  to  groan  so."  He  opened  the  door  again  twice 
or  thrice,  the  knocking  being  twice  or  thrice  repeated.  But  still  seeing 
nothing,  and  being  a  little  startled,  they  rose  and  went  up  to  bed.  When 
Robert  came  to  the  top  of  the  garret  stairs,  he  saw  a  hand  mill,  which 
was  at  a  little  distance,  whirled  about  very  swiftly.  When  he  related 
this  he  said,  "Nought  vexed  me,  but  that  it  was  empty.  I  thought,  if 
it  had  but  been  full  of  malt  he  might  have  ground  his  heart  out  for  me." 
When  he  was  in  bed,  he  heard  as  it  were  the  gobbling  of  a  turkey-cock, 
close  to  the  bed  side; :  and  soon  after,  the  sound  of  one  stumbling  over 
his  shoes  and  boots,  but  there  were  none  there  :  he  had  left  them  below. 
The  next  day,  he  and  the  maid  related  these  tilings  to  the  other  maid, 
who  laughed  heartily,  and  said,  "What  a  couple  of  fools  are  you  !  I 
defy  any  thing  to  fright  me."  After  churning  in  the  evening,  she  put  the 
butter  in  a  tray,  and  had  no  sooner  carried  it  into  the  dairy,  thau  she 


NOTES    AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


377 


iicard  a  knocking  on  the  shelf  where  several  puncheons  of  milk  stood, 
first  above  the  shelf,  then  below  ;  she  took  the  candle  and  searched  both 
above  and  below  ;  but  being  able  to  fuid  nothing,  threw  down  butter, 
tray  and  all,  and  ran  away  for  life.  The  next  evening  between  five  and 
six  o'clock  my  sister  Molly,  then  about  twenty  years  of  age,  sitting  in 
tlie  dining  room,  reading,  heard  as  if  it  were  the  door  that  led  into  the 
hall  open,  and  a  person  walking  in,  that  seemed  to  have  on  a  silk  night- 
gown, rustling  and  trailing  along.  It  seemed  to  walk  round  her,  then 
to  the  door,  then  round  again  :  but  she  could  see  nothing.  She  thought, 
"  it  signifies  nothing  to  run  away :  for  whatever  it  is,  it  can  run  faster 
than  me."  So  she  rose,  put  her  book  under  her  arm,  and  walked  slowly 
away.  After  supper,  she  was  sitting  with  my  sister  Suky,  (about  a  year 
older  than  her,)  in  one  of  the  chambers,  and  telling  her  what  had  hap- 
pened, she  quite  made  light  of  it ;  telling  her,  "  I  wonder  you  are  so 
easily  friglited  ;  I  would  tain  see  w  hat  would  fright  me."  Presently  a 
knocking  began  under  the  table.  She  took  the  candle  and  looked,  but 
could  iind  nothing.  Then  llie  iron  casement  began  to  clatter,  and  the 
lid  of  a  warming  pan.  Next  the  latch  of  the  door  moved  up  and  down 
without  ceasing.  Slie  started  up,  leaped  into  the  bed  without  undressing, 
pulled  the  bed  clothes  over  her  head,  and  never  Vi?ntured  to  look  up  till 
next  morning.  A  night  or  two  after,  my  sister  Hetty,  a  year  younger 
than  my  sister  Molly,  was  waiting  as  usual,  between  nine  and  ten,  to 
take  away  my  father's  candle,  wlien  she  heard  one  coming  down  the 
garret  stairs,  walking  slowly  by  her,  then  going  down  the  best  stairs, 
then  up  the  back  stairs,  and  up  the  garret  stairs.  And  at  every  step,  it 
seemed  the  house  shook  from  top  to  bottom.  Just  then  my  father 
knocked.  She  went  in,  took  his  candle,  and  got  to  bed  as  fast  as  possi- 
ble. In  the  morning  she  told  this  to  my  eldest  sister,  who  told  her, 
"  You  know,  I  believe  none  of  these  things.  Pray  let  me  take  away  the 
candle  to  night  and  I  will  find  out  the  trick."  She  accordingly  took  my 
sister  Hetty  s  place,  and  had  no  sooner  taken  away  the  candle,  than  she 
heard  a  noise  below.  She  hastened  dow  n  stairs,  to  the  hall,  where  the 
noise  was.  But  it  was  then  in  the  kitchen.  She  ran  into  the  kitchenj 
where  it  was  drumming  on  the  inside  of  the  screen.  When  she  went 
round  it  was  drumming  on  the  outside,  and  so  always  on  the  side  oppo- 
site to  her.  Then  she  heard  a  knocking  at  the  back  kitchen  door.  She 
ran  to  it,  unlocked  it  softly,  and  when  the  knocking  was  repeated,  sud- 
denly opened  it :  but  nothing  was  to  be  seen.  As  soon  as  she  had  shut 
it,  the  knocking  began  again ;  she  opened  it  again,  but  could  see 
nothing  :  when  she  went  to  shut  the  door,  it  was  violently  thrust  against 
her ;  she  let  it  fly  open,  hut  nothing  appeared.  She  went  again  to  shut 
it,  and  it  was  again  thrust  against  her  :  but  she  set  her  knee  and  her 
shoulder  to  the  door,  forced  it  to,  and  turned  the  ke.y.  Then  the  knock- 
ing began  again  :  but  she  let  it  go  on,  and  went  up  to  bed.  However, 
from  that  time  she  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  there  %vas  no  impos- 
ture in  the  affair. 

The  next  morning,  my  sister  telling  my  mother  what  had  happened, 
she  said,  "  If  I  hear  any  thing  myself,  I  shall  know  how  to  judge."  Soon 
after,  she  begged  her  to  come  into  the  nursery.  She  did,  and  heard  in 
the  corner  of  one  room,  as  it  were  the  violent  rocking  of  a  cradle  ;  but 
no  cradle  had  been  there  for  some  years.  She  was  convinced  it  was 
preternatural,  and  earnestly  prayed  it  might  not  disturb  her  in  her  own 
chamber  at  the  hours  of  retirement :  and  it  never  did.  She  now  thought  it 
was  proper  to  tell  my  father.  But  he  was  extremely  angry,  and  said, 
"  Suky,  I  am  ashamed  of  you  :  these  boys  and  girls  fright  one  another  ; 
but  you  are  a  woman  of  sense,  and  should  know  better.  Let  me  hear 
of  it  no  more."  At  six  in  the  evening,  he  had  family  prayers  as  usual, 
When  he  began  the  prayer  for  the  King,  a  knocking  began  all  round  the 
VOL.  h  '48 


NOTES  AKD  ILLliStilATIOlN^. 


f ootri ;  and  a  thundering  knock  attended  the  Amen.  The  same  wafc 
leard  from  this  time  every  morning  and  evetjing,  while  the  prayer  for 
the  King  was  repeated.  As  hoth  niy  father  and  mother  are  now  at  rest^ 
and  incapable  of  l)eing  pained  thereby,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  furnish 
the  seribilS  reader  with  a  key  to  this  circumstance.  ' 

The  year  before  King  William  dit  u,  my  fatlier  obseri'ed  my  mother 
did  not  say,  Amen,  to  the  prnyer  for  the  King.  She  said  she  could  not ; 
for  she  did  not  believe  the  Prince  of  Orange  ivas  King.  He  vowed  he 
tie-ver  would  cohabit  with  her  till  she  did.  he  then  took  his  horse  and 
rode  aU'ay,  nor  did  shi;  hear  any  thing  of  him  fUr  a  twi  lviuiutnth.  Me 
then  tame  back,  and  lived  with  lier  as  befdre.  Biit  I  fear  his  vow  was 
hot  forgotten  before  God. 

fieing  informed  that  Mr.  Hoole,  the  vicar  of  Haxcy  f  an  eminently  pious 
and  sensible  man,)  could  give  me  sotne  further  information,  I  walked 
Over  to  lilih.  He  said,  "  Robei-t  Brown  came  over  to  me,  and  told  me, 
your  father  desired  mf  company.  When  I  came,  he  ^ave  me  an  account 
of  all  that  had  happened  ;  particularly  the  knocking  during  family 
jprayer.  But  that  evening  (to  my  great  satisfaction)  We  had  no  knocking 
»t  all.  But  betweien  nine  and  ten,  a  servant  came  in  and  said,  '  Old 
Jeffery  is  coming,'  (that  Was  the  name  of  One  that  died  in  the  house,) 
'  for  I  Heir  the  Signal.'  This  they  informed  ine  was  heard  every  night 
about  a  tjllarter  before  ten.  It  wkfe  toward  the  tOp  of  the  house  on  the 
outsidt>,  at  the  north-east  corner,  resembling  the  loud  creaking  of  a  saw: 
or  rather  that  of  a  wind-mill,  when  the  body  of  it  is  tuined  about,  in 
brder  td  shift  the  sails  to  the  w  ind.  We  then  heard  a  knocking  over  our 
heads,  ahd  Mr.  Wesley  catching  up  a  candle,  said,  '  Come,  Sir,  now  you 
shall  heal:  for  yo>n-self,'  We  went  up  stairs  ;  he  w  ith  much  hope,  and 
I  (to  say  the  truth)  With  Itiuch  feai-.  When  we  came  into  the  nursery, 
it  was  knocking  iil  the  next  roon) :  when  we  were  there,  it  was  knock- 
itig  in  the  nlilsery.  And  there  it  continued  to  knock,  though  we 
fcairie  in,  particulnrly  at  the  head  of  the  bed  (which  was  of  w'ood) 
in  which  Bliss  Iletly  and  two  of  her  younger  si-ters  lay.  Mr.  Wesley- 
observing  that  they  were  much  affected  though  asler]>.  sweating,  and 
trembling  exceedingly,  was  very  angry,  and  imlling  out  a  pihtol,  was 
going  to  fire  at  the  place  from  whence  the  sound  came,  liut  I  catched 
him  by  the  arm,  and  said,  'Sir,  you  are  torlvinced  this  is  something  pre- 
ternatural. If  so,  you  cannot  hurt  it :  but  you  give  it  ])ow  er  to  hurt  you.' 
tie  then  went  close  to  the  place  and  said  sternly,  '  Thou  deaf  and  dumb 
devil,  \vhy  dost  thou  fright  these  children,  that  cannot  answer  forthem- 
belves.'  Come  to  me  in  my  study  that  am  a  ilian  ?'  Instantly  it  knocked 
his  knock  (the  particular  knock  which  he  always  used  at  thb  gate)  as  if 
it  woiild  shiver  the  board  in  pieces,  and  we  heard  nothing  more  that 
night."  ,  *rill  this  time,  hiy  fathtr  had  never  heard  the  least  disturbances 
in  his  study.  But  the  next  everting,  as  he  attcrtipted  to  go  Into  his  study 
(of  which  none  had  any  key  but  himself)  when  he  opened  the  door,  it 
was  thrust  back  with  such  violence,  as  had  like  to  have  throivn  him 
down.  However,  he  thrust  the  door  open  and  went  in.  Presently 
there  was  knocking  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other ;  and  after  a  time, 
in  the  next  room,  wherein  my  sister  JVancy  was.  He  went  into  that 
room,  and  (the  noise  continuing)  adjured  it  to  speak  ;  but  in  vain.  He 
then  said,  '  These  spirits  love  darknfess  :  ))ut  out  the  candle,  and  perhaps 
it  will  speak  :'  she  did  so  ;  and  he  repieatcd  his  adjuration  ;  but  still  there 
Was  only  knocking,  and  no  articulate  sound.  Upon  this  he  said,'  Nanc)-, 
two  Christians  arie  an  overinatch  for  the  devil.  Go  all  of  you  down 
stairs  ;  it,  may  be,  when  I  am  alone,  he  will  have^  courage  to  speak.' — 
When  she  was  gone  a  thought  came  in,  and  he  Said,  "  If  thou  art  thfi 
spirit  of  rtiv  son  Samuel,  I  pray,  knock  thft  ee  knocks  and  no  more.'* 
Immcdiatefy  all  was  silence ;  and  there  was  no  more  kru)cking  at  all 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


319 


(hat  night.  I  asked  my  sister  Nancy  (then  about  fifteen  years  old) 
whether  she  was  not  afraid,  when  my  father  used  that  adjuration  ?  She 
answered,  she  was  sadly  afraid  it  would  speak,  when  she  put  out  the 
candle  ;  but  she  was  not  at  ail  afraid  in  the  day-time,  when  it  walked 
aller  her,  as  she  swept  the  chambers,  as  it  constantly  did,  and  seemed 
to  sweep  after  her.  Oaly  she  thought  he  might  have  done  it  for  her, 
and  saved  her  the  trouble.  By  this  time  all  my  sisters  were  so  accus- 
tomed to  these  noises,  that  they  gave  them  little  disturbance.  A  gentle 
tajiping  at  their  bed-head  usually  began  between  nine  and  ten  at  night. 
Tiiey  then  commonly  said  to  each  other,  "  Jeflery  is  coming:  it  is  time 
ti>  go  to  sleep."  And  if  they  heard  a  noise  in  the  day,  and  said  to  my 
youngest  sister,  "  Hark,  Kezzy,  Je.ffery  is  knocking  above,"  she  would 
run  up  stairs,  and  pursue  it  from  room  to  room,  saying,  she  desired  no 
better  diversion. 

A  few  nights  after,  my  father  and  mother  were  just  gone  to  bed,  and 
tlie  candle  was  not  taken  away,  when  they  heard  three  blows  and  a 
second,  and  a  third  three,  as  it  were  with  a  large  oaken  staff,  struck  upon 
a  chest  which  stood  by  the  bed-side.  My  father  immediately  arose,  put 
on  his  night-gown,  and  hearing  great  noises  below,  took  the  candle  and 
Avent  down  :  my  mother  walked  by  his  side.  As  they  went  dov/n  the 
broad  stairs,  they  heard  as  if  a  vessel  full  of  silver  was  poured  upon  my 
mother's  breast,  and  ran  jingling  down  to  her  feet.  Quickly  after  there 
ivas  a  sound,  as  if  a  large  iron  ball  was  thrown  among  many  bottles 
under  the  stairs  :  but  nothing  was  hurt.  Soon  after,  our  large  mastiff 
dog  came  and  ran  to  shelter  himself  between  them.  While  the  dis- 
turbances continued,  he  used  to  bark  and  leap,  and  snap  on  one  side  and 
the  other  ;  and  that  frequently  before  any  person  in  the  room  heard  any 
noise  at  all.  But  after  two  or  three  days,  he  used  to  tremble,  and  creep 
aw^ay  before  the  noise  began.  .\nd  by  this,  the  family  knew  it  was  at 
hand ;  nor  did  the  observation  ever  fail.  A  little  before  my  father  and 
mother  came  into  the  hall,  it  seemed  as  if  a  very  large  coal  was  violently 
thrown  upon  the  floor  and  dashed  all  in  pieces :  but  nothing  was  seen. 
My  father  then  cried  out.  "  Suky,  do  you  not  hear  ?  .\11  the  pewter  is 
thrown  about  the  kitchen."  But  when  they  looked,  all  the  pewter  stood 
in  its  place.  There  then  was  a  loud  knocking  at  the  back  door.  My 
father  opened  it,  but  saw  nothing.  It  was  then  at  the  fore  door.  He 
opened  that ;  but  it  was  still  lost  labour,  \fter  opening  first  the  one, 
then  the  other  several  times,  he  turned  and  went  up  to  bed.  But  the 
noises  were  so  violent  all  over  the  house,  that  he  could  not  sleep  till  four 
in  the  morning. 

Several  gentlemen  and  clergymen  now  eamestlj-  advised  my  father  to 
quit  the  house.  But  he  constantly  answered,  "No;  let  the  devil  flee 
from  me  :  I  will  never  flee  from  the  devil."  But  he  wrote  to  my 
eldest  brother  at  London  to  come  down.  He  was  preparing  so  to  do, 
when  another  letter  came,  informing  him  the  disturbances  were  over  ; 
after  they  had  continued  (the  latter  part  of  the  time  day  and  night)  from 
the  second  of  December  to  the  end  of  January. 

NOTE  VIII.    Page  67. 

Thomas  a  Kempis. 

Mr.  Butler  (in  whose  biographical  works  the  reader  may  find  a  well 
digested  account  of  the  life  and  writings  of  Thomas  a  Kempis)  says  that 
more  than  an  hundred  and  fifty  treatises  concerning  the  author  of  The 
Imitation  had  been  printed,  before  Du  Pin  wrote  his  dissertation  upon 
tlie  subject.  The  controversy  has  been  renewed  in  the  present  century. 
There  is  a  Dtssertazione  Epislolare  intorno  aW  Aiiioro.  dfl  Libro  De  Inci- 


iSOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


talione  C'Amii  annexed  to  a  dissertation  upon  the  birth  pliice  of  Colum- 
bus (Florence,  1808.)  A  treatise  upon  sixty  French  translations  of  Tht- 
Imitation  was  published  at  Paris,  April  14,  1813,  by  Ant.  Alex.  Barbier, 
Bibliolhecaire  de  sa  Majeste  VEmpereur  et  Rot.  Mr.  Butler  says,  "  the 
fear  of  the  Cossacks  suspended  the  controversy  ;  probably  it  will  now 
be  resumed." 

A  curious  anecdote  concerning  this  book  occurs  in  Hutchinson's  His- 
tory of  Massachusetts,  (vol.  i.  p.  236.)  "There  had  been  a  press  for 
printing  at  Cambridge  (in  New  England)  for  near  twenty  years.  The 
court  appointed  two  persons  in  October,  1CG2,  licensers  of  the  press,  and 
prohibited  the  publishing  any  books  or  papers  which  should  not  be  su- 
pervised by  them  ;  and  in  16C8  the  supervisors  having  allowed  of  the 
printing  Thomas  a  Kempis'  De  Imilalione  Christi,  the  court  interposed, 
•  it  being  wrote  by  a  popish  minister,  and  containing  some  things  less 
safe  to  be  infused  among  the  juiople  ;  and  therefore  they  commended  to 
the  licensers  a  more  full  rrvisal,  and  ordered  the  press  to  stop  in  the  mean 
time.  In  a  constitution  less  popular,  this  would  have  been  thought  t^jt* 
great  an  abridgment  of  the  subject's  liberty." 

NOTE  IX.    Page  69. 
Methodists  not  a  new  JVame. 

"  It  is  not  generally  known,"  says  Mr.  Crowther,  "  that  the  name  oC 
Methodist  had  been  given  long  before  the  dnj's  of  Mr.  Wesley  to  a  reli- 
gious party  in  England,  which  was  distinguished  by  some  of  those  marks 
which  are  supposed  to  characterize  the  present  Methodists.  A  person 
called  John  Spencer,  who  was  librarian  of  Sion  College,  1657,  during 
the  protectorate  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  in  a  book  which  he  published,  con- 
sisting of  extracts  from  various  authors,  speaks  of  the  eloquence  and  ele- 
gance of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  asks,  'where  are  now  our  Anabap- 
tists, and  plain  pack-staff  Methodists,  who  esteem  all  flowers  of  rhetoric 
in  sermons  no  better  than  stinking  weeds  ?" 

"  By  the  Anabaptists,  Ave  know  that  he  means  a  denomination  of 
Christians  which  is  still  in  existence  ;  and  though  we  have  not  at  thi* 
time  any  particular  account  of  the  Methodists  of  that  day,  it  seems  very 
probable  that  one  description  of  religionists,  during  that  fertile  period, 
was  denominated  Methodists.  These  it  would  seem  distinguished  them- 
selves by  plainness  of  speech,  despising  the  ornaments  of  literature  and 
the  charms  of  eloquence  in  their  public  discourses.  This  might  have 
been  known  to  the  Fellow  of  Merton  College,  who  gave  the  Oxonijm 
Pietists  the  name  of  Methodists,  though  it  seems  probable  Mr.  Wesley 
never  caught  the  idea.  Gale  also,  in  his  fourth  Part  of  the  Court  of 
the  Gentiles,  mentions  a  religious  sect,  whom  he  calls  '  The  New 
Methodists.'  " 

History  of  the  Wesley  an  Methodists,  p.  24. 

NOTE  X.    Page  73. 
Expenses  of  the  University. 

Upon  this  subject  I  transcribe  a  curious  note  from  Dr.  AVordworth's 
most  interesting  collection  of  Ecclesiastical  Biography. 

"We  may  learn  what  the  fare  of  the  Universities  was  from  a  de- 
scription of  the  state  of  Cambridge,  given  at  St.  Paul's  Cross  in  the 
year  1550,  by  Thomas  Lever,  soon  after  made  Master  of  St.  John'? 
College. 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


381 


"  There  be  clivers  there  at  Cambridj^e  which  rise  daily  betwixt  four 
and  five  of  the  clock  in  the  morning,  iind  from  five  nntil  six  of  the  clock 
use  common  prayer,  with  an  exhortation  of  God's  word  in  a  common 
chapel ;  and  from  six  unto  ten  of  the  clock  use  ever  cither  private  study 
or  common  lectures.  At  ten  of  the  clock  they  go  to  dimier ;  whereas 
they  be  content  with  a  penny  i)iece  of  beef  amongst  four,  having  a  few 
pottage  made  of  the  broth  of  the  same  beef  with  salt  and  oatmeal,  and 
nothing  else.  After  this  slender  dinner,  they  be  either  teaching  or  learn- 
ing until  five  of  the  clock  in  the  evening,  when  as  they  have  a  supper 
not  much  better  than  their  dinner.  Immediately  after  which  they  go 
either  to  reasoning  in  problems  or  unto  some  otiier  study,  until  it  be  nine 
or  ten  of  the  clock ;  and  then  being  without  fire,  are  fain  to  walk  or 
run  up  and  down  half  an  hour,  to  get  a  heat  on  their  feet,  when  they  go 
to  bed. 

"  These  be  men  not  weary  of  their  pains,  but  very  sorry  to  leave  their 
study ;  and  sure  they  be  not  able  some  of  them  to  continue  for  lack  of 
necessary  exhibition  and  relief." 

Sir  Henry  Wotlon,  writing  from  Vienna  in  1590,  says,  "  I  am  now  at 
two  florins  a  week,  chamber,  stove,  and  table  :  lights  he  finds  me ;  wood 
I  buy  myself;  in  which  respect  I  hold  Your  Honour  right  happy  that 
you  came  in  the  stmimer,  for  we  can  hardly  come  by  them  here  without 
two  dollars  the  dofkr,  though  we  border  u))on  Bohemia.  Wine  I  have 
as  much  as  it  pleaseth  me  for  my  friend  and  self,  and  not  at  a  stint,  as 
the  students  of  Altorph.  All  circumstances  considered,  I  make  my 
account  that  I  spend  more  at  this  reckoning  by  five  pounds  four 
shillings  yearly,  than  a  good  careful  scholar  in  the  Universities  of 
England." 

NOTE  XI.    Page  74. 
Scheme  of  Self- Examination. 

This  paper  is  too  curious  in  itself,  and  in  its  style  too  characteristic  of 
Wesley,  to  be  omitted  here.    It  is  entitled. 

Love  of  God  and  Simplicity ;  means  of  which  are  Prayer  and 
Meditation. 

liave  I  been  simple  and  recollected  in  every  thing  I  said  or  did  ?  Have 
I,  1.  Been  simple  in  every  thing,  i.  e.  looked  upon  God  as  my  good,  my 
pattern,  iny  one  desire,  my  disposer,  parent  of  good  ;  acted  wholly  for 
him  ;  bounded  my  views  with  the  present  action  or  hour  ?  2.  Recol- 
lected'} i.  e.  Has  this  simple  view  been  distinct  and  uninterrupted?  Have; 
I  done  any  thing  without  a  previous  perception  of  its  being  the  will  of 
txcd  ?  or  without  a  perception  of  its  being  an  exercise  or  a  means  of  IIhJ 
virtue  of  the  day  ?  Have  1  said  any  thing  without  it  ? 

2.  Have  I  prayed  with  fervour  ?  at  going  in  and  out  of  church  ?  in 
the  church  ?  morning  and  evening  in  private  .-  Monday,  Wednesday,  and 
Friday,  with  my  friends  ?  at  rising  ?  before  lying  down  ?  on  Saturday 
noon  ?  all  the  time  f  was  engaged  in  exterior  w<irk  ?  in  private  ?  before 
I  went  into  the  place  of  public  or  private  praj^er,  for  help  therein  ? 
Have  I,  wherever  I  was,  goiie  to  church  morning  and  evening,  unless  for 
necessary  mercy  ?  and  spent  from  one  hour  to  three  in  private  ?  Have 
I  in  private  prayer  frequently  stopt  short,  and  observed  what  fervour  ? 
Have  I  repeated  it  over  and  over,  till  I  adverted  to  every  word,?  Have  I  at 
the  beginning  of  every  prayer  or  paragraph  owned,  I  cannot  pray  ? 
Have  I  paused  before  I  concluded  in  his  name,  and  adverted  to  my 
Saviour  now  interceding  for  me  at  the  right  hand  of  God  and  offering 
up  tliese  prayers  ? 


382 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


3.  Have  I  daily  used  ejaculations  ?  i.  e.  Have  I  every  hour  prayed  Soi 
humility,  faith,  hope,  love,  and  the  particular  virtue  of  the  day  ?  Con- 
sidered with  whom  I  was  the  last  hour,  tvhat  I  did,  and  hoiv  ?  With  regard 
to  recollection,  love  of  man,  humility,  self-denial,  resignation,  and 
thankfulness  ?  Considered  the  next  hour  in  the  same  respects,  offered 
all  I  do  to  my  Redeemer,  begged  his  assistance  in  every  particular,  and 
commended  my  soul  to  his  keeping  ?  Have  I  done  this  deliberately,  (not 
in  haste,)  seriously,  (not  doing  any  thing  else  the  while,)  and  fervently  as 
I  could  ? 

4.  Have  I  duly  prayed  for  the  virtue  of  the  day  ?  i.  e.  Have  I 
prayed  for  it  at  going  out  and  coming  in  ?  Deliberately,  seriously, 
fervently  ? 

5.  Have  I  used  a  collect  at  nine,  twelve,  and  three  ;  and  grace  before 
and  after  eating  ?  Aloud  at  my  own  room,  deliberately,  seriously, 
fervently  ? 

6.  Have  I  duly  meditated  ?  Every  day,  unless  for  necessary  mercy  ? 
1.  From  six,  &,c.  to  prayers?  2.  From  four  to  five,  what  was  particular 
jn  the  providence  of  this  day  ?  How  ought  the  virtue  of  the  day  to 
have  been  exerted  upon  it  ?  How  did  it  fall  short  ?  (Here  faults.)  3. 
On  Sunday,  from  six  to  seven  with  Kempis  ?  from  three  to  four 
on  redemption,  or  God's  attributes  ?  Wednesday  and  Friday  from 
twelve  to  one  on  tl\e  Passion  ?  After  ending  a  book,  on  what  I  had 
marked  in  it  ? 

Love  of  Man. 

1st.  Have  I  been  zealous  to  do  and  active  in  doing  good  ?  i.  e.  1.  Have 
I  embraced  every  probable  opportunity  of  doing  good,  and  preventing, 
removing,  or  lessening  evil  ? 

2.  Have  I  pursued  it  with  my  might  ? 

3.  Have  I  thought  any  thing  too  dear  to  part  -with,  to  serve  my 
neighbour 

4.  Have  I  spent  an  hour  at  least  every  day  in  speaking  to  some  one 
or  other  ? 

5.  Have  I  given  any  one  up  till  he  expressly  renounced  me  ? 

6.  Have  I,  before  I  spoke  to  any,  learned,  as  far  as  I  could,  his  tepi- 
per,  way  of  thinking,  past  life,  and  peculiar  hindrances,  internal  and  ex- 
ternal ?    Fixed  the  point  to  be  aimed  at  ?    Then  the  means  to  it  ? 

7.  Have  I,  in  speaking,  proposed  the  motives,  then  the  difficulties,  then 
balanced  them,  then  exhorted  him  to  consider  both  calmly  and  deeply, 
and  to  pray  earnestly  for  help  ? 

8.  Have  I,  in  speaking  to  a  stranger,  explained  what  religion  is  not, 
(not  negative,  not  external,)  and  what  it  is  ;  (a  recovery  of  the  image  of 
God;)  searched  at  what  step  in  it  he  stops,  and  what  makes  him  stop 
there  ?    Exhorted  and  directed  him 

9.  Have  I  persuaded  all  I  could  to  attend  public  prayers,  sermons,  and 
sacraments  ?  And  in  general  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  Church  Univer- 
sal, the  Church  of  England,  the  State,  the  University,  and  their  respec- 
tive Colleges  ? 

10.  Have  I,  when  taxed  with  any  act  of  obedience,  avowed  it,  and 
turned  the  attack  with  sweetness  and  firmness  ? 

11.  Have  I  disputed  upon  any  practical  point,  unless  it  was  to  be  prac- 
tised just  then  ? 

12.  "  Have  I,  in  disputing,  (1.  desired  my  opponent  to  define  the  terms 
of  the  question:  to  limit  it:  what  he  grants,  what  denies:  (2.)  delayed 
speaking  my  0|)inion  ;  let  him  explain  and  prove  his :  then  insinuated 
and  pressed  objections  ? 

13.  Have  I,  after  every  visit,  asked  him  who  went  with  me  ?  Did  I  say 
any  thing  wrong  ? 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


383 


14.  Have  I,  when  any  One  asked  advice,  directed  and  exhorted  him 
with  all  my  power  ? 

2dly.  Have  I  rejoiced  with  and  for  my  neighbour  in  virtue  or  plea- 
•urer    Grieved  with  him  in  pain,  for  him  in  sin  ? 

3dly.  Have  I  received  his  infirmities  with  pity,  not  anger  ? 

4thiy.  Have  I  thought  or  spoke  unkindly  of  or  to  him  ?  Have  I  re- 
vealed any  evil  of  any  one,  unless  it  was  necessary  to  some  particular 
good  I  had  in  view  ?  Have  I  then  done  it  with  all  the  tenderness  of 
phrase  and  manner  consistenfwith  that  end  ?  Have  I  any  way  appeared 
to  approve  them  that  did  otherwise  ? 

Othly.  Has  good-will  been,  and  appeared  to  be,  the  spring  of  all  my 
actions  towards  others  ? 

ethly.  Have  I  duly  used  intercession?  1.  Before — 2.  after  speaking 
to  any  ?  3.  For  my  friends  on  Sunday  ?  4.  For  my  pupils  on  Monday  ? 
5.  For  those  who  have  particularly  desired  it,  on  Wednesday  and  Fri- 
day ?  6.  For  the  family  in  which  I  am  every  day  ? 

NOTE  Xn.    Page  77. 
Behmen. 

Jacob  Bkhme.v's  books  made  some  proselytes  in  England  during  the 
^reat  rebellion.  '■'  Dr.  Pordage  and  his  family  were  of  this  sect,  v.ho 
lived  together  in  community,  and  pretended  to  hold  visible  and  sensible 
communion  with  angels,  whom  they  sometimes  saw  and  sometimes 
smttt." — Calamy's Life  of  Baxter. 

NOTE  Xni.    Page  76. 
William  Laic. 

t  AM  obliged  to  my  bid  friend  Charles  Lloyd  (the  ti-arislater  of  Alfieri's 
Tragedies)  for  the  following  note  concerning  William  Law. 

The  peculiar  opinions  which  this  extraordinary  man  entertained  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  were  these  : — That  all  the  attributes  of  the  Almighty 
are  only  modifications  of  his  love  ;  and  that  when  in  Scripture  his  wrath, 
vengeance,  Sic.  are  spoken  of,  such  expressions  are  only  used  in  conde- 
scensibn  to  human  weakness,  by  way  of  adapting  the  subject  of  the 
mysterious  workings  of  God's  providence  to  human  capacities.  He  held 
therefore  that  God  |)unishes  no  one.  All  evil,  according  to  his  creed, 
originates  either  from  matter,  or  from  the  free-will  of  man  ;  and  if  there 
be  suffering,  it  is  not  that  God  wills  it,  but  that  he  permits  it,  (for  the 
sake  of  a  greater  overbalance  of  good  that  could  not  otherwise  possibly 
be  produced,)  as  the  necessary  conseipience  of  the  existence  of  an  inert 
instrument  like  matter^  and  the  itnperfcction  of  creatures  less  pure  than 
himself.  Upon  his  system,  all  beings  will  finally  be  happy.  He  utterly 
rejects  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  and  ridicules  the  supposition  that 
the  offended  justice  of  the  One  Perfect  Supreme  Being  requires  any 
Satisfaction.  His  theory  is  that  man,  by  withdrawing  himself  from  God, 
had  lost  the  divine  life  in  his  soul,  and  that  all  communication  between 
him  and  his  Maker  was  nearly  lost.  In  order  to  remedy  this,  in  order  in 
Some  mysterious  way  to  re-open  an  intercourse  between  the  Deity  and 
the  soul  of  man  ;  and  finally,  in  order  to  afford  the  soul  a  more  near 
and,  as  it  were,  sensible  perception  of  its  Maker,  the  Second  Person  in 
the  Trinity  became  man.  Law  alleges  that  St.  Patil,  when  he  speaks 
')f  Redem|)tion  says,  God  was  in  Vh>-ist,  reconciling  the  wo.idto  Himself. 
Nowj  he  adds,  had  the  Almighty  required  an  atonement,  the  converse  ot 


384 


NOTRS  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS. 


this  proposition  would  have  been  the  truth,  and  the  pi  irase  would  have 
been  reconciling  Himself  to  the  world.  . 

The  narration  of  the  Fall  of  Man  he  regards  as  an  allegorj'.  He  be- 
lieves that  the  first  human  being  was  a  creature  combining  both  sexes  in 
its  own  perfect  nature,  and  possessing  an  infinite  capacitj'  of  happiness  : 
the  Fall,  he  thinks,  consisted,  not  in  tasting  of  any  forbidden  fruit,  but 
in  turning  from  God  as  the  sole  source  of  joy,  and  in  a  sensual  desire 
for  a  second  self.  And  in  support  of  this  notion  he  adduces  the  text,  And 
God  made  man  of  the  dnst  of  the  earth — male  and  female  created  he  them, 
a  text  which  occurs  before  the  formation  of  the  woman  is  mentioned. 
Had  it  not  been  for  this  fault,  Law  supposes  that  the  human  race 
would  have  increased  in  number  as  much  as  it  has  done,  by  a  certain 
delegated  power  which  would  have  enabled  man  to  create  others  after 
his  own  image. 

These  whimsies,  which  Law  derived  from  Jacob  Behmen,  are  en- 
tirely confined  to  his  two  tracts  entitled  "  The  Spirit  of  Love,"  and 
"  The  Spirit  of  Prayer,  or  The  Soul  rising  out  of  Time  into  the  Riches 
of  Eternity."  Whatever  inference  may  be  drawn  from  them  with  re- 
gard to  his  judgment,  or  his  sanity,  as  a  practical  religious  writer  (in 
which  character  he  exclusively  appears  in  his  "  Serious  Call"  and  his 
"  Christian  Perfection,")  there  are  few  men  whose  writings  breathe  a 
more  genuine  spirit  of  gospel  love,  and  whose  sentiments  and  mode 
of  inculcating  them,  at  once  simple  and  manly,  appeal  more  forcibly 
to  the  heart. 

NOTE  Xiy.    Page  lOG. 
He  insisted  xipon  Baptizing  Children  hij  Immersion. 

Wesley  would  willingly  have  persuaded  himself  that  this  practice 
was  salutary,  as  well  as  regular.  His  Journal  contains  the  following  en- 
try at  this  time. 

"  Mary  Welch,  aged  eleven  days,  was  baptized  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  first  Church  and  the  rule  of  the  Church  of  England,  by  im- 
mersion.   The  child  was  ill  then,  but  recovered  from  that  hour." 

NOTE  XV.    Page  107. 

Members  of  the  JVew  Colony. 

The  following  curious  passages  are  extracted  from  tliat  part  of  Wes- 
ley's Journal  which  relates  to  his  abode  in  Georgia. 

"  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  John  Reinier,  the  son  of  a  gentleman, 
who  being  driven  out  of  France  on  account  of  his  religion,  settled  at 
Vevay  in  Switzerland,  and  practised  physic  there.  His  father  died  while 
he  was  a  child.  Some  years  after  he  told  his  mother  he  was  desn-ous  to 
leave  Switzerland,  and  to  retire  into  some  other  country,  where  he  might 
be  free  from  the  temptations  which  he  could  not  avoid  there.  When 
her  consent  was  at  length  obtjiiiied,  he  agreed  with  the  master  of  a  ves- 
sel, with  whom  he  went  to  Holland  by  land  ;  thence  to  England,  and 
from  England  to  Pennsylvania.  He  was  provided  with  money,  books, 
and  drugs,  intending  to  follow  his  father's  profession.  But  no  sooner 
was  he  come  to  Philadelphia,  than  the  captain,  who  had  borrowed  las 
money  before,  instead  of  repaying  it,  demanded  the  full  pay  for  his  pas- 
sage, and  under  that  pretence  seized  on  all  his  effects.  He  then  left  him 
in  a  strange  country,  where  he  could  not  speak  to  be  understood,  with- 
out necessaries,  money,  or  friends.  In  this  condition  he  thought  it  best 
to  sell  himself  for  a  servant,  which  he  accordingly  did,  for  seven  years. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


385 


^Vl1cn  about  five  were  expired,  he  fell  sick  of  a  lingering  illness,  which 
made  him  useless  to  his  master,  who  after  it  had  continued  half  a 
year,  would  not  keep  him  any  longer,  but  turned  him  out  to  shift  for 
liiraself.  He  first  tried  to  mend  shoes,  but  soon  joined  himself  to  some 
French  Protestants,  and  learned  to  make  buttons.  He  then  went  and 
lived  with  an  Anabaptist ;  but  soon  after  hearing  an  account  of  the  Mo- 
ravians in  Georgia,  walked  from  Pennsylvania  tKlth«r,  where  he  found 
the  rest  which  he  had  so  long  sought  in  vain." 


"In  1733,  David  Jones,  a  saddler,  a  middle-aged  man,  who  had  for 
some  time  before  lived  at  Nottingham,  being  at  Bristol,  met  a  person 
tiiere ;  who,  after  giving  him  some  account  of  Georgia,  asked  whether  he 
would  go  thither.'  adding,  his  trade  (that  of  a  saddler)  was  an  exceeding 
good  trade  there,  upon  which  he  might  live  creditably  and  comfortably, 
lie  objected  his  want  of  money  to  pay  his  passage,  and  buy  some  tools 
which  he  should  have  need  of.  The  gentleman  told  him,  he  would  sup- 
ply him  with  that,  and  hire  him  a  shop  when  he  came  to  Georgia, 
^vherein  he  might  follow  his  business,  and  so  repay  him  as  it  suited  his 
convenience.  Accordingly  to  Georgia  they  went;  where,  soon  after  his 
arrival,  his  master  (as  he  now  styled  himself)  sold  him  to  3Ir.  Lacy, 
who  set  him  to  work  with  the  rest  of  his  servants  in  clearing  land.  He 
commonly  appeared  much  more  thoughtful  than  the  rest,  often  stealing 
into  the  woods  alone.  He  was  now  sent  to  do  some  work  on  an  island, 
three  or  four  miles  from  Mr.  Lacy's  great  plantation.  Thence  he  de- 
sired the  other  servants  to  return  without  him,  saying,  he  would  stay  and 
kill  a  deer.  This  was  on  Saturday.  On  Monday  they  found  him  on  the 
shore,  with  his  gun  by  him,  and  the  fore-part  of  his  head  shot  to  pieces. 
In  his  pocket  was  a  paper  book,  all  the  leaves  were  fair,  except  one,  on 
which  ten  or  twelve  verses  were  written  :  two  of  which  were  these, 

liich  I  transcribed  thence  from  his  own  handwriting.) 

^  Death  could  not  a  more  sad  retinue  find, 
Sickness  and  Pain  before,  and  Darkness  all  behind!'  " 


Among  the  remarkable  persons  in  this  young  colony,  Dr.  Nunes,  .'i 
Jewish  physician,  ought  to  be  remembered ;  for  he  used  to  say  with 
great  earnestness,  "  That  Paul  of  Tarsus  was  one  of  the  finest  writers  I 
have  ever  read.  I  wish  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  his  first  letter  to  the 
Corinthians  were  written  in  letters  of  gold  :  and  I  wish  every  Jew  were 
to  carry  it  with  him  wherever  he  went." — "  He  judged."  says  Wesley, 
"(and  herein  he  certainly  judged  right,)  that  this  single  chapter  contain- 
ed the  whole  of  true  religion.  It  contains  'whatsoever  things  are  just, 
whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely :  if  there  be 
any  virtue,  if  there  be  any  praise,'  it  is  all  contained  in  this." — Vol.  X. 
p.  156. 


The  first  journal  contains  a  curious  story,  which  Wesley  relates  not 
upon  hearsay,  but  iVoni  his  own  knowledge.  "  A  servant  t)f  Mr.  Brad- 
ley's sent  to  desire  to  speak  with  me.  Going  to  him,  I  found  a  young 
in  .n  ill,  but  perfectly  sensible.  He  desired  the  rest  to  "go  out,  and  then 
said,  '  On  Thursday  night,  about  eleven  o'clock,  being  in  bed,  but  broad 
awake,  I  heard  one  calling  aloud, "  Peter !  Peter  Wright !"  and  looking 
VOL.  I.  49 


386 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


up,  the  room  was  as  light  as  day,  and  I  saw  a  man  in  very  bright  clothes 
stand  by  the  bed,  who  said,  "  Prepare  yourself ;  for  your  end  is  nigh  ;" 
and  then  immediately  all  was  as  dark  as  before.'  I  told  him,  '  the  advice 
was  good,  whencesoever  it  came.'  In  a  few  days  he  was  recovered  from 
his  illness :  his  whole  temper  was  changed  as  well  as  his  life ;  and  so 
continued  to  be,  till  after  three  or  four  weeks  he  relapsed  and  died  in 
peace." 

NOTE  XVI.    Page  159. 

The  Light  of  Christ  shining  in  different  Degrees  under  different  Dispen- 
salionsi 

Upon  this  point  there  is  a  curious  coincidence  of  opinion  between 
W-isley,  and  one  who  if  they  had  any  contemporaries  would  have  been  a 
far  more  formidable  antagonist  than  any  that  ever  grappled  with  him  in 
controversy.  "  I  have  often,"  says  South,  "  been  induced  to  think  that 
if  we  should  but  strip  things  of  mere  words  and  terms,  and  reduce  no- 
tiens  to  realities,  there  would  be  found  but  little  difference  (so  far  as  it  re- 
spects man's  understanding)  between  the  intelleclus  agens  asserted  by 
some  philosophers,  and  tlie  universal  grace,  or  comvion  assistances  of  the 
Spirit,  asserted  by  some  divines  (and  particularly  by  John  Goodwin, 
calling  it  the  Pagan's  debt  and  dowry):  and  that  the  assertcrs  of  both  of 
them  seem  to  found  tln  ir  several  assertions  upon  much  the  same  ground  ; 
namely,  upon  their  apprehension  of  the  natural  impotence  of  the  soul  of 
man,  immersed  in  matter,  to  raise  itself  to  such  spiritual  and  subhme 
operations,  as  we  find  it  does,  without  the  assistance  of  some  higher  and 
divine  principle." — Vol.  IV.  p.  3G2. 

NOTE  XVII.  Page  160. 
Wesley  dales  his  Conversion. 

Philip  Henry  "  would  blame  those  who  laid  so  much  stress  on  peo- 
ple's linowing  the  exact  time  of  their  conversion,  which  he  thought  was 
with  many  not  possible  to  do.  Who  can  so  soon  be  aware  of  the  day  - 
break, or  of  the  springing  up  of  the  seed  sown?  The  work  of  grace  is 
better  known  in  its  effects  than  in  its  causes. 

He  would  sometimes  illustrate  this  by  that  saying  of  the  blind  man  to 
the  Pliarisees,  who  were  so  critical  in  examining  the  recovery  of  his 
sight :  this  and  the  other  T  know  not  concerning  it,  but  "  this  one  thing  I 
know,  that  whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see." 

NOTE  XVIII.    Page  160. 
Comeimis. 

■•  That  brave  old  man  Johannes  Amos  Comenius,  the  fame  of  whose 
worth  hath  been  trumpeted  as  far  as  more  than  three  languages  (where- 
as evei  y  one  is  indebted  to  his  Janua)  could  carry  it,  was  agreed  withal 
by  our  Mr.  Winthropin  Ills  travels  through  the  Low  Countries,  to  come 
over  into  New-England  and  illuminate  tl)is  College  (Harvard)  and  coun- 
try in  the  quality  of  a  President:  but  the  solicitations  of  the  Svvedish 
ambassador  diverting  him  another  way,  that  incomparable  Moravian  be- 
came not  an  American." — Cotton  Mather's  JJagnalia,  F5.  IV,  p.  liC. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


387 


NOTE  XIX.   Page  185. 

Moravian  Marriages. 

iMarriage  is  enumerated  in  one  of  the  Moravian  Hymns  among  the 
services  of  danger  for  which  tlie  brethren  are  to  hold  themselves  pre- 
pared : — 

"  You  as  yet  single  and  but  little  tied, 
Invited  to  the  supper  with  the  bride, 
That  like  the  former  warriors  each  may  stand 
Ready  for  land,  sea,  marriage  at  command." 

NOTE  XX.    Page  188. 

Fanatical  Langxmge  of  the  Moravians. 

The  circumstance  which  gave  occasion  to  mucli  of  their  objectionable 
language  is  thus  stated  by  Crantz,as  having  been  "  evidently  directed  by 
Providence.  The  Count  having  thrown  some  papers,  which  were  of 
no  further  use,  into  the  fire,  they  were  all  consumed,  excepting  one 
small  billet,  on  which  was  written  the  daily  word  for  the  14th  of  Feb- 
ruary ; — '  He  chooses  us  to  be  his  inheritance,  the  excellency  of  Jacob 
whom  he  loveth.'  (Psal.  xlvii.  4.  according  to  Luther's  version.)  Un- 
der which  the  old  Lutheran  verse  stood : 

'  O  let  us  in  thy  nail-prints  see 
Our  pardon  and  election  free.' 

"  All  the  brethren  and  sisters  who  saw  this  billet,  the  only  one  which 
remained  unconsumed  among  the  cinders,  were  filled  with  a  child-like 
joy ;  and  it  gave  them  an  occasion  to  an  heart-felt  conversation  with 
each  other  upon  the  wounds  of  Jesus,  which  was  attended  with  such  a 
blessed  effect,  as  to  make  a  happy  alteration  in  their  way  of  thinking 
and  type  of  doctrine.  The  Count  composed  upon  this  verse  the  incom- 
parable hymn, 

'  Jesu,  our  glorious  Head  and  Chief, 
Sweet  object  of  our  heart's  belief! 
O  let  us  in  thy  nail-prints  see 
Our  pardon  and  election  free,'  "  &.C. 

History  of  the  Brethren,  p.  180. 

I  can  produce  but  one  sample  of  their  strains  upon  this  favourite  sub- 
ject, which  would  not  be  utterly  offensive  to  every  sane  mind  : 

"  How  bright  appeareth  the  Wounds-Star 
In  Heaven's  firmament  from  far ! 

And  round  the  happy  places 
Of  the  true  VA  ounds-Church  here  below, 
In  at  each  window  they  shine  so 
Directly  on  our  faces. 

Dear  race  of  grace, 

Sing  thou  hymns  on 

Four  Holes  crimson 

And  side  pierced. 
Bundle  this  of  ail  thu  Blessed." 


388 


NOILS  AND  lLLL'SrRATION&. 


Many  of  the  translations  in  the  volume  of  their  h3™ns  have  evidently 
been  made  by  Germans : — this  I  believe  to  have  been  one,  and  suppose 
that  the  German  by  help  of  his  dictionary  found  out  bundle  and  burden 
to  mean  the  same  thing,  and  tiierefore  happily  talks  of  the  bundle  of  a 
song- 

The  most  characteristic  parts  of  the  Moravian  hymns  are  too  shock- 
ing to  be  inserted  here:  even  in  the  humours  and  extravagancies  of  the 
Spanish  religious  poets,  there  is  nothing  which  approaches  to  the  mon- 
strous perversion  of  religious  feeling  in  these  astonishirjg  productions. 
The  Editor  says,  "  Our  Brethren  and  Sisters  who  have  made  these 
Hymns  are  mostly  simple  and  imlearned  people,  who  have  wrote  them 
down  at  the  iime  when  the  matters  therein  expressed  were  lively  to  their 
hearts  ;  and  therefore  they  are  without  art,  or  the  niceties  usually  ex- 
pected in  poetry :  yet  notwithstanding  to  every  heart  that  knows,  or  de- 
sires to  know  Christ,  we  doubt  not  but  they  will  aflbrd  some  satisfaction 
and  comfort  of  a  much  better  kind."  The  book  indeed  is  not  a  little 
curious  as  a  literary,  or  illiterary  composition.  The  copy  which  I  pos- 
sess is  of  the  third  edition,  printed  for  James  Hutton,  1746. 

Of  their  silliness  1  subjoin  only  such  a  specimen  as  may  be  read  with- 
out offence. 

"  What  is  now  to  children  the  dearest  thing  here  ? — 
To  be  tile  lamb's  lambkins  and  chickens  most  dear. 
Such  lambkins  are  nourish'd  with  food  which  is  best, 
Such  chickens  sit  safely  and  warm  in  the  nest." 


"  And  when  Satan  at  an  hour 

Comes  our  chickens  to  devour, 

Let  the  children's  angels  say, 

'  These  are  Christ's  chicks,-- go  thy  way.'  " 


The  following  pye-bald  composition  is  probably  unique  in  its  kind.  It 
is  intended  for  the  Jews. 

"  Isroel  to  thy  Husband  turn  again  ; 

He  will  deliver  thee  from  curse  and  ban. 

The  Sepher*  Crisus  he  abolish'd  hath, 

And  will  anew  himself  w  ith  thee  betroth. 

The  X/of  rucliamo  mercy  shall  receive. 

Because  the  \Mtliz  spoke  for  her  relief. 

He  for  Isrol  with  God  did  intercede, 

And  for  us  \Poschim  did  for  ||C'/ieseof  plead. 

For  our  HCappore  he  did  shed  his  blood. 

Which  from  the  **Kodesh  now  streams  like  a  flood, 

And  %vasheth  us  quite  clean  from  every  sin ; 

We  shall  Raphuej]  Schlema  find  therein. 

The  WTolah  is  indeed  Maschiach  ki\Zidkenu, 

Did  he  but  come  himhera  \\\\hejamanu. 

In  all  our  ^'iZoros  we'll  to  him  appeal, 

He  that  hath  wounded  can  us  also  heal. 

He  will  his  folk  Isroel  certainly 

Out  of  the  ***Golus  and  from  sin  set  free, 

*  The  letter  of  divorcement.  1  Hosea,  i.  6,  }  The  Mediator  {Sinners. — ;-||  Grace. 

 H  Atonement.  »»  Ttie  Sanctuary.  tt  A  PeTSect  TecoveTy  —nj^J^"^^^^^ 

})  McBsias  our  righteousuess.  Soon,  in  our  days. — tIFNeed,  distress.—***  Captivity. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


381) 


Then  shall  we  to  the  Tolah,  *Schevach  bring. 
And  Boruch  habbo  b'schem  \Monai  sing. 

Intran^crJbin;  this  mi  igle-miuigl?  of  English  and  HeUrdw,  I  perceive 
the  roots  of  two  English  words,  sorrow  in  zoros,  gaol  in  golus.  The  first 
we  derive  from  the  Saxon  and  Gothic  ;  the  second,  in  common  with  the 
French  and  Spaniards,  from  a  Keltic  origin  :  but  both  appear  to  have 
their  roots  in  the  Hebrew. 

One  of  the  strangest  of  these  strange  pieces  is  a  kind  of  Litany.  (No. 
S98.  ])p.  749—756.) 

Yet  even  the  Moravian  Hymns  are  equalled  by  a  poem  of  Manchester 
manufacture,  in  the  Gospel  Magazine  for  I0O8,  entitled  the  Believer's 
Marriage  to  Christ." 

"  Ye  virgins  &o  chaste, 

Ye  widows  indeed, 
From  bondage  releas'd, 

Bich  husbands  that  need ; 

Hear  how  I  was  wedded, 

And  miscarried  then ; 
Was  afterwards  widowed, 

And  married  again. 

"  My  first  husband  Sin, 

Though  of  a  fair  face, 
Was  ugly  within. 

Deceitful  and  base. 

"  Alarm'd  at  my  state, 

But  lost  what  to  do, 
A  divorce  to  get, 

To  Moses  I  flew. 
My  case  when  he  knew  it, 

He  said  with  a  curse, 
The  Law  could  not  do  it, 

It  must  have  its  course." 

The  Old  Man  is  crucified, — the  Prince  woos  and  wins  her,^ 

"  Then  married  we  were 

Witiiout  more  delay. 
Friend  Moses  was  there, 

And  gave  me  away." 

This  is  bad  enough : — the  more  loathsome  parts  I  leave  in  their  own 
dunghill. 

An  interesting  account  of  James  Hutton,  who  published  the  Moravian 
hymns,  and  is  more  than  once  mentioned  in  this  volume,  may  be  seen 
in  the  great  collection  of  Literary  Anecdotes  by  Mr,  Nichols.  (Vol.  iii. 
p.  435.) 

•  Praise.— t  Blessed  is  he  that  cometb  in  the  oame  of  the  Lord 


390 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  XXI.    Page  189. 

Certain  whimsical  Opinions  which  might  entitle.  Count  Zinzendorf  to  a 
conspictiovs  Place  in  the  History  of  Heresy. 

These  opinions  are  expressed  in  one  of  their  Hymns  from  the  Ger- 
man. 

"  Here  I  on  matters  come  indeed : 
O  God  assist  me  to  proceed 

My  noble  architect ! 
The  holy  marriage  state  to  sing, 
Among  the  chiefest  points  a  thing 

Which  thou  th  yself  didst  e'er  project. 


"  Oh  yes !  ye  dear  souls  mark  it  well 
Who  now  within  your  bodies'  cell 

The  name  of  husbands  bear. 
Till  we  in  worlds  that  ever  last, 
Of  Lamb's  brides  and  of  Lamb's  wives  chaste 

Alone  the  song  and  speech  shall  hear. 


"  The  Saviour  by  eternal  choice 
Is  of  the  souls  ere  sex  did  rise, 

The  Lord  and  husband  known ; 
They  for  this  end  were  surely  made, 
To  sleep  in  his  arms  undismay'd ; 

Stiictly  the  souls  arc  his  alone. 

"  And  in  the  Spirit's  realm  and  land 
As  all  lies  in  one  master's  hand, 

One  husband  too's  confest ; 
The  souls  be  there  as  Queene  doth  see, 
And  they  as  sisters  mutually. 

Far  as  of  spirits  can  be  traced. 


"  Indeed  the  sovereign  good  and  love 
Could  not  such  solitude  approve 

For  his  weak  bride,  that  she 
Alone  till  her  high  nuptial  day 
Should  tire  and  pine  herself  away, 

And  but  in  faith  betrothed  be. 

*'  So  he  divided  her  in  two, 

The  weaker  forth  detached  must  go ; 

While  the  superior  mind 
And  also  greater  strength  and  might 
For  tastes  of  God's  vicegerent  fit 

On  the  one  side  remain'd  behind. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


391 


Yet  even  the  weaker  part  was  seen 
A  Princess  in  her  air  and  mien  ; 

And  that  she  like  might  be, 
She  was  permitted  to  possess, 
As  her  peculiar  gift  of  grace, 

Love  and  resign'd  fidelity." 

Hymn  288. 

Thus  much  may  be  quoted  without  offence  to  decency. 

NOTE  XXII.    Page  226. 
Assurance. 

Baxter  had  none  of  this  asssurance.  Good  man,  as  he  was,  he  knew 
Jhimself  far  from  perfection,  and  had  his  doubts  and  his  fears.  But  "  it 
much  increased  his  peace/'  says  Calamy, ''  to  find  others  in  the  like  con- 
dition. He  found  his  case  had  nothing  singular,  being  called  by  the  pi-o- 
vidence  of  God  to  the  comforting  of  others  who  had  the  same  com- 
plaints. While  he  answered  their  doubts,  he  answered  his  own,  and 
the  charity  ho  was  constrained  to  exercise  towards  them  redounded  to 
himself,  and  insensibly  abated  his  disturbance.  And  yet  after  all  hew  as 
glad  of  probability  instead  of  undoubted  certainty." 

The  Franciscans  have  produced  one  of  their  revelations  against  this 
notion  of  assurance  :  it  occurs  in  the  life  of  the  Bcnta  Margarita  de  Cor- 
tona,  written  with  Franciscan  fidelity  by  her  confessor  F.  Juncta  de  Be- 
vagna.  The  passage  is  part  of  a  dialogue.  "  Et  Dominus  ad  earn  ;  Tu 
credis  fmniler,  et  fateris,  quod  unus  Deus  in  substantia  sit,  Paler  et  Filius, 
et  Spiritus  Sanctus'}  Et  Margarita  respondil;  Sicut  ego  credo  te  unum 
in  essentia  et  Irinumin  personis,  ita  donares  mihi  de promissis  plenam  se- 
curitatem.  Et  Dominus  ad  earn :  Filia  tu  non  es  habitura  dum  vixeris, 
illani  plenam,  quam  requiris  cum  lacrtjmis,  securifatem,  quousque  locavero 
te  in  gloria  regni  mei.  Et  Margarita  respondit ;  Tcnuistisne,  Domine, 
sanctos  viros  in  his  dubiis.  in  quibus  tenetis  me  ?  Et  Dominus 
ad  earn;  Sanctis  meis  in  tormentis  dedi  fortitudinem,  securitatem  vera 
plenam  non  habuerunt,  nisi  in  palria.^^ — Acta  Sanctorum.  22d  Feb. 
p.  S21. 

NOTE  XXIII.    Page  229. 

Thomas  Haliburton. 

Mr.  Wesley  was  perhaps  induced  to  pronounce  so  high  and  extra- 
vagant an  eulogium  upon  the  memoirs  of  this  excellent  man,  by  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  deliverance  from  temptation,"'  which  accorded  perfectly 
with  one  of  the  leading  doctrines  of  Methodism.  "  After  describing  a 
state  of  extreme  mental  anguish,  Mr.  Haliburton  says,  "  I  was  quite 
overcome,  neither  able  to  fight  nor  flee,  when  the  Lord  passed  by  me, 
and  made  this  tyiie  a  time  of  love.  I  was,  as  I  remember,  at  secret 
prayer  when  He  discovered  Himself  to  me  ;  when  He  let  me  see  that 
there  are  "  forgiveness  with  Him,  and  mercy,  and  plenteous  redemp- 
tion.'"— Before  this  I  knew  the  letter  only,  but  now  the  words  were  spi- 
rit and  life :  a  burning  light  by  them  shone  into  my  mind,  and  gave  mc 
not  merely  some  notional  knowledge,  but  an  experimental  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  vastly  difl'erent  this 
was  from  all  the  notions  I  had  before  had  of  the  same  truths.  It  shone 
from  heaven:  it  was  not  a  spark  kindled  by  my  own  endeavours,  but  it 


392 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


shone  suddenly  about  me:  it  came  by  a  heavenly  means,  the  Word  :  it 
opened  heaven  and  dist:overed  heavenly  things  ;  and  its  whole  tendency 
was  heaven-ward.  It  was  a  true  ligiit,  giving  true  manifestations  of  the 
one  God,  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  and  a  true  view  of 
my  state  with  respect  to  God,  not  according  to  my  foolish  imaginations. 
It  was  a  distinct  and  clear  light,  not  only  representing  spiritual  things,  but 
manifesting  them  in  their  glory,  and  in  their  comely  order.  It  set  all 
things  in  their  due  line  of  subordination  to  God,  and  gave  distinct  views 
of  their  genuine  tendency.  It  wasa  satisfying  light :  the  soul  absolutely 
rested  upon  the  discovery  it  made  ;  it  was  assured  of  them  ;  it  could  not 
doubt  if  it  saw,  or  if  the  things  were  so  as  it  represented  them.  It  was 
a  quickening,  refreshing,  healing  light :  it  arose  with  healing  in  its  wings. 
It  was  a  powerful  light :  it  dissipated  that  thick  darkness  which  over- 
spread my  mind,  and  made  all  those  frightful  temptations  that  before 
tormented  me,  instantly  flee  before  it.  Lastly,  it  was  a  composing  light : 
it  did  not,  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  fill  the  soul  with  fear  and  amazement, 
but  it  quieted  my  mind,  and  gave  me  the  full  and  free  use  of  all  my  fa- 
culties. I  need  not  give  a  larger  account  of  this  light,  for  no  words  can 
give  a  notion  of  light  to  the  blind :  and  he  that  has  eyes  (at  least  while  he 
sees  it)  will  need  no  words  to  describe  it." 

This  is  a  high  mystic  strain.  But  in  the  account  of  his  death  there  are 
passages  of  the  truest  and  finest  feeling.  When  a  long  illness  had  well 
nigh  done  its  work,  he  said,  "  I  could  not  believe  that  I  could  have  borne, 
and  borne  cheerfully,  this  rod  so  long.  This  is  a  miracle,  pain  without 
pain  !  Blessed  be  God  that  ever  I  was  born.  I  have  a  father,  a  mother, 
and  ten  brothers  and  sisters  in  Heaven,  and  I  shall  be  the  eleventh  !  O 
blessed  be  the  day  that  ever  I  was  born  !" — A  few  hours  before  he  breathed 
his  last,  he  said,  "  I  was  just  thinking  on  the  pleasant  spot  of  earth  I  shall 
get  to  lie  in  beside  Mr.  Rutherford,  Mr.  Forrester,  and  Mr.  Anderson. 
I  shall  come  in  as  the  little  one  among  them,  and  I  shall  get  my  pleasant 
George  in  my  hand,  (a  child  who  was  gone  before  him,)  and  oh !  wc 
shall  bo  a  knot  of  bonny  dust !"  I  hope  there  are  but  few  readers  whose 
hearts  are  in  so  diseased  a  state  as  not  to  feel  and  understand  the  beauty 
and  the  value  of  these  extracts. 

NOTE  XXIV.    Page  243. 

Ravings  of  the  persecuted  Hugonots- 

One  of  the  Camisards  is  said  to  have  "declared  that  God  had  reveal- 
ed to  him  that  a  temple  of  white  marble,  adorned  with  gold  fillets,  and 
the  tables  of  the  law  written  on  it,  would  drop  down  from  Heaven  in  the 
midst  of  the  valley  of  St.  Privet,  for  the  comfort  of  the  faithful  inhabit- 
ants of  the  Upper  Cevenncs."—//ts<.o/</ie  Camisards,  1709. 

Burnet  says  (vol,  iv.  p.  1.5.)  they  had  many  among  them  who  seemed 
qualified  in  a  very  singular  manner  to  be  teachers  o^the  rest.  They  had 
a  great  measure  of  zeal,  without  any  learning;  they  scarce  had  any  edu- 
cation at  all.  I  spoke  with  the  person  w  ho  by  the  Queen's  order  sent 
one  among  tliem  to  know  the  state  of  their  affairs.  I  read  some  of  the 
letters  which  he  brought  from  them,  full  of  a  sublime  zeal  and  piety, 
expressing  a  courage  and  confidence  that  could  not  be  daunted.  One 
instance  of  this  was,  that  they  all  agreed  that  if  any  of  them  was  so 
w  ounded  in  an  engagement  w  ith  the  enemy  that  he  could  not  be  brought 
off",  he  should  be  shot  dead  rather  than  be  left  alive  to  fall  into  the  ene- 
my's hands. 

He  says  also  that  a  connivance  at  their  own  way  of  worship  was  offered 
them,  but  "  they  seemed  resolved  to  accept  of  nothing  less  than  the  re- 
storing their  edicts  to  them." 


^OTES    AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


393 


NOTE  XXV.    Page  26G. 

TTie  Dnndical  Superstitio)i  cherished  in  a  later  age. 

The  Druids  are  spoken  of  in  Irish  hagiology  as  possessing  great  influ- 
■■iice  in  Ireland  in  St.  Patrick's  time.  Bad  as  this  authority  is,  it  may  be 
trusted  here  : — but  the  reader  may  find  proofs,  as  convincing  as  they  are 
curious,  of  the  long  continuance  of  the  superstition  in  AVales,  in  Mr.  Da- 
vies's  ftlythology  of  the  Druids. 

NOTE  XXVI.    Page  260. 

Preaching  at  a  Cross. 

— Mos  est  Saxonicw  geniis.  quod  in  nonnullis  nolilium  bo7io7-umque  ho- 
minum  pradiis,  non  ecclesiam  sed  sanctce  crucis  signitm,  Domino  dicatum, 
cum  magna  honore  almum,  in  alto  crectuvi,  ad  commodani  diurna  ora- 
tionis  sedulitatem,  solent  habere. 

Hodoe.poricon  S.  Willibaldi,  apud  Caniiium.  t.  2.  p.  107. 

"  The  ancient  course  of  the  clergy's  officiating  only  pro  tempore  in  pa- 
rochial churches,  whilst  they  received  maintenance  from  the  cathedral 
church,  continued  in  England  till  about  the  year  700.  For  Bede  plainly 
intimates  that  at  that  time  the  Bishop  and  his  clergy  lived  together  and 
had  all  things  common,  as  they  had  in  the  primitive  church  in  the  days  of 
the  apostles."  Bingham,  book  5.  ch.  6.  5. 

NOTE  XXVIT.    Page  269. 

The  Papal  Si/sttm. 

There  is  a  most  fantastic  passage  upon  this  subject  in  Hobbe's  Levia- 
than, one  of  the  last  books  in  which  any  thing  so  whimsical  might  be 
expected. 

''From  the  time  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  had  gotten  to  be  acknow- 
ledged for  Bishop  Universal,  by  pretence  of  succession  to  St.  Peter,  their 
whole  liierarchy,  or  kingdome  of  darkness,  maybe  compared  not  unfitly 
to  the  kingdome  of  fairies;  that  is,  to  the  old  ivives'  fables  in  England, 
concerning  ghosts  and  spirits,  and  the  feats  they  play  in  the  night;  and 
if  a  man  consider  the  originall  of  this  great  ecclesiastical  dominion,  he 
will  easily  perceive,  that  the  Papacy  is  no  other  than  the  ghost  of  (he 
deceased  Romane  empire,  sitting  crowned  upon  the  grave  thereof;  for 
so  did  the  Papacy  start  up  on  a  sudden  out  of  the  ruines  of  that  heathen 
power. 

"The  language,  also,  which  they  use,  both  in  the  churches,  and  in 
their  publique  acts,  being  Latine,  which  is  not  commonly  used  by  any 
nation  now  in  the  world,  what  is  it  but  the  ghost  of  the  old  Romane  lan- 
guage ? 

"  The  fairies,  in  what  nation  soever  they  converse,  have  but  one  uni- 
versal king,  which  some  poets  of  ours  call  King  Oberou  ;  but  the  Scrip- 
ture calls  Heelzebub,  Prince  of  djemons.  The  ecclesiastiques,  likewise 
in  whose  dominions  soever  they  be  found,  acknowledge  but  one  univer- 
sal! king,  the  Pope. 

"  The  ecclesiastiques  arc  spirituall  men,  and  ghostly  fathers.  The 
fairies  are  spirits  and  ghosts.  Fairies  and  ghosts  inhabitc  darkness,  soli- 
tudes, and  graves.  The  ecclesiastiques  walke  in  obscurity  of  doctrine 
in  monasteries,  churclics  and  church-yard=.  '  ' 

VOL.  I.  r)0 


KOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATION'S. 


"The  ccclesiastiqucs  have  their  cathedral!  churches  ;  whicli,  in  wliat 
town  soever  they  be  erected,  by  virtue  of  holy  water,  and  certain 
charmcs  called  exorcismes,  have  the  power  to  make  these  townes  and 
cities,  that  is  to  say,  scats  of  empire.  The  fairies  also  have  their  en- 
chanted castles,  and  certain  gigantique  ghosts,  that  domineer  over  tlie 
regions  round  about  them. 

"  The  fairies  arc  not  to  be  seized  on,  and  brouglit  to  answer  for  the 
hurt  they  do  ;  so  also  the  ccclesiastiqucs  vanish  away  from  the  tribunals 
of  civill  justice. 

"  The  ecclesiasliques  take  from  young  men,  the  use  of  reason,  by  cer- 
tain charmes  com|)oi!ndcd  of  metnphysiques,  and  miracles,  and  traditions, 
and  abused  Sci  iptuip,  a\  hen -by  tliey  are  good  for  nothing  else,  but  to 
execute  wimt  thoy  coninvuHl  ilicni.  Th<!  fairies  likewise  are  said  to 
take  young  cliildn  n  (»i;t  of  tli'-ir  cradles,  and  to  change  them  into  natu- 
ral fools,  which  common  people  do  therefore  call  elves,  and  are  apt  to 
misc!ii<;f. 

"  In  what  shop,  or  opcratory,  the  fairies  make  their  enchantment,  the 
old  wives  have  not  determmed.  But  the  operatories  of  the  clergy  are 
well  enough  known  to  be  the  universities,  that  received  their  discipliiif 
from  authority  pontifical. 

"  V\  hen  the  fairies  arc  displeased  with  any  body,  they  are  said  to  send 
their  elves,  to  jiincli  tlirsn.  The  ecck'siasliquns,  when  ihcy  are  displeased 
with  any  civil  state,  make  also  their  elves,  that  is,  superstitious,  enchanted 
subjects,  to  pinch  their  pri  ires,  by  preaching  sedition:  or  one  prince, 
enchanted  with  promises,  to  pinch  another. 

"  1  ho  fairies  marry  n<it ;  but  there  be  amongst  them  incubi,  that  have 
copulation  with  llcsh  and  blood.    The  priests  also  marry  not. 

"The  ecclesiasti(pies  take  the  cream  of  the  land,  by  donations  of  ig- 
norant men,  that  stand  in  awe  of  them,  and  by  tythes:  so  also  it  is  in  th(^ 
fable  of  fairies,  that,  they  enter  into  the  dairies  and  feast  upon  the  cream, 
which  th(^yskim  from  the  milk. 

"  What  kind  of  money  is  currant  in  the  kingdome  of  fairies,  is  not 
recorded  in  the  story.  But  the  ccclesiastiqucs  in  their  receipts  accept 
of  the  same  money  that  we  doe ;  though  when  they  are  to  make  anj 
payment,  it  is  in  canonizations,  indulgencies,  and  masses. 

"  To  this,  and  such  like  resemblances  between  the  Papacy  and  the 
k-ingdome  of  fairies,  may  be  added  this ;  that  as  the  fairies  have  no  exis- 
tence, but  in  the  fancies  of  ignorant  people,  rising  from  the  traditions  of 
odd  wives  or  old  poets,  so  the  spiritual  power  of  the  Pope  without  the 
bounds  of  his  own  civil  dominion,  consisteth  onely  in  the  fear  that 
seduced  people  stand  in,  of  their  excommunications  upon  hearinj; 
of  false  miracles,  false  traditions,  and  false  interpretations  of  the 
Scripture. 

"  It  was  not,  therefore,  a  very  difficult  matter  for  Henry  VIII.  by  hi- 
Exorcisme  ;  nor  for  Queen  Elizabeth,  by  her?^  to  cast  them  out.  But 
who  knows  that  this  spirit  of  Home,  now  gone  out,  and  walking  by  mis- 
sions through  the  dry  places  of  China,  Japan,  and  the  Indies,  that  yeild 
him  little  fruit,  may  not  return,  or  rather  an  asrembly  of  spirits  worse 
than  he  enter,  and  inhabite  this  cleati  swept  house,  and  make  the  end 
thereof  ivorse  than  the  beginning  ?" 

NOTE  XXVIII.    Page  271. 
Plunder  of  the  Church  at  (he  Reformation. 

"  My  Lords  and  Masters,  (says  Latimer,  in  one  of  his  sermon*,)  I  say 
that  all  such  proceedings,  as  far  as  I  can  perceive,  do  intend  plainly  to 
make  the  yeoniamy  slavery,  and  the  clergy  shavcry,    Wc  of  the  clergy 


NOTES   AND  1LLU6 TKATIONS.  395 

:iad  too  much,  but  this  is  taken  away,  and  now  we  have  too  little.  But 
!br  mine  own  |)ai  t  I  have  no  cause  to  complain,  for  I  thank  God  and  the 
Kiaj5 1  have  sullicient,  and  God  is  my  judge,  I  came  not  to  crave  of  any 
man  any  thing;  but  I  know  them  that  have  too  little.  There  lyeth  a 
!;i  .-at  matter  by  these  appropriations, — great  reformation  is  lo  be  had  in 
"J;cm.  I  know  where  is  a  great  market  town,  willi  divers  hamlets  and 
itiliabitants,  where  do  rise  yearly  of  their  labours  to  the  value  of  fifty 
pound  ;  and  the  vicar  that  servelh  (being  so  great  a  cure)  hath  biit  VZ  or 
14  marks  by  year ;  so  that  of  this  pension  he  is  not  able  to  buy  him 
books,  nor  give  his  neighbours  drink  ;  and  all  the  great  gain  gocth  ano- 
ther waj'." 

"  There  are  three  Pets  in  a  line  of  relation, — Patrons,  Priests,  Peo- 
ple. Two  of  these  Pees  are  made  lean  to  make  one  P  fat.  Priests 
nave  lean  livings,  People  lean  souls,  to  make  Patrons  have  fat  purses." 

Adams'' s  Heaven  and  Earth  reconciled,  p.  17. 

Thomas  Adams  had  as  honest  a  love  of  quips,  quirks,  puns,  pun- 
nets, and  pundigrions,  as  Fuller  the  Worthy  himself.  As  the  old 
ballad  says, 

No  matter  for  that, — 

I  like  him  the  better  therefore  : — 

he  resembles  Fuller  also  in  the  felicitj'  of  his  language,  and  the  lively 
feeling  with  which  he  frequently  starts,  as  it  were,  upon  the  reader. — 
Upon  this  subject  he  often  gives  vent  to  his  indignation. 

"As  for  the  ministers  that  have  livings,"* he  says,  "thej^are  scarce  litemis, 
or  enough  to  keep  themselves  and  their  families  living  ;  and  for  those 
that  have  none,  they  may  make  themselves  men  y  with  their  learning  if 
they  have  no  money,  for  they  that  bought  the  patronages  must  needs 
sell  the  presentations  ;  vtndere  jure  potest,  emerat  ille  prius  :  and  then,  if 
Balaam's  ass  hatli  but  an  audible  voice,  and  a  soluble  purse,  he  shall  be 
preferred  before  his  master,  were  he  ten  prophets.  If  this  weather  hold, 
Julian  need  not  send  learning  into  exile,  for  no  parent  will  be  so  irreh- 
gious  as  with  great  expenses  to  bring  up  his  child  at  once  to  misery  and 
sin.  Oh  think  of  this,  if  your  impudence  have  left  any  blood  of  shame 
in  your  faces :  cannot  you  spare  out  of  all  your  riot  some  crumme  of 
liberality  to  the  poor  needy  and  neglected  gospel  ?  Shall  the  Papists  so 
outbid  us,  and  in  the  view  of  their  prodigality  laugh  our  miserableness 
to  scorn  ?  Shall  they  twit  us  that  our  Our  Father  hath  taken  from  the 
Chin  ch  what  their  Paler  AWer  bestowed  on  it Shall  they  bid  us  bate 
of  our  faith,  and  better  our  charity  ?" 

Mams^s  Heaven  and  Earth  reconciled,  p.  22. 

, In  another  of  his  works  he  says,  "They  have  raised  church  livings  to 
four  and  five  years'  purchase  ;  and  it  is  to  be  feared  they  will  shortly 
ra*k  up  presentative  livings  to  as  high  a  rate  as  tliej'  d/d  their  impropria- 
tions, when  they  would  sell  them.  For  they  say  few  will  give  above 
sixteen  years'  purchase  for  an  impropriate  parsonage  ;  and  I  have  heard 
sfi»0ie  rate  the  donation  of  a  benefice  they  must  gite  at  ten  years  i  what 
with  the  present  money  they  must  have,  and  with  reservation  of  tythes, 
and  such  unconscionable  tricks  ;  as  if  there  wasno  God  in  Heaven  to  see 
or  punish  it !  Perhaps  some  will  not  take  so  much  :  but  most  will  take 
some  :  enough  to  impoverish  the  Church  :  to  enrich  their  own  purses,, 
lo  damn  their  souls. 

"  One  would  think  it  was  sacrilege  enough  to  rob  God  of  his  main 
tythes ;  must  they  also  trimme  away  the  shreds ?  Must  they  needs 
shrink  the  old  cloth  (enough  to  apparel  the  Clmrch)  as  the  clreating 


*  leaving!  ro  liiii-.gi,  saystlic  marjiral  note. 


396 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


laylor  did  to  a  dozen  buttons  ?  Having  full  gorged  tlioinselves  with 
the  parsonages,  must  they  pick  the  bones  of  the  vicarages  too  ? — 
Well  saith  St.  Augustine,  mrdti  in  hac  vita  manducanf,  quod  postea 
apud  inferos  digerunt :  many  devour  that  in  this  life,  which  they  shall 
digest  in  Hell. 

"  These  are  the  Church  briars,  which  (let  alone)  will  at  last  bring  as 
famous  a  Church  as  any  Christendom  hath  to  beggary.  Politic  men 
begin  apace  already  to  wilhhold  their  children  from  schools  and  univer- 
sities. Any  profession  else  better  lilcos  them,  as  knowing  they  may  live 
well  in  whatsoever  calling  save  in  th;'  )ainistry.  The  time  was  that  Christ 
threw  the  buyers  and  sellers  out  of  the  Temple  :  but  now  the  buyers  and 
sellers  have  thrown  him  out  of  the  Temple.  Yea,  they  will  throw  the 
Church  out  of  the  Church,  if  they  be  not  stayed." 

Mams^s  Divine  Herball,  p.  135. 

"  The  Rob-Altar  is  a  huge  drinker.  He  loves,  like  Belshazzar,  to 
drink  only  in  the  goi)lets  of  the  Temple.  Woe  unto  him  ;  he  carouses 
the  wine  he  never  sweat  for,  and  keeps  the  poor  minister  thirsty.  The 
tentli  sheep  is  his  diet:  the  tenth  fleece  (O'tis  a  golden  fleece,  he  thinks) 
is  his  drink  -.  but  the  wool  shall  choke  him.  Some  drink  down  whole 
churches  and  steeples  ;  but  the  bells  shall  ring  in  their  bellies." 

Mams^s  Divine  Herball,  p.  2.7. 

"  What  an  unreasonable  Devil  is  this  !"  says  Latimer.  "  He  provides 
a  great  while  before  hand  for  the  time  that  is  to  come  ;  he  hath  brought 
up  now  of  late  the  most  monstrous  kind  of  covetousness  that  ever  was 
heard  of;  he  hath  invented  a  fee-farming  of  benefices,  and  all  to  delay 
the  offices  of  preaching :  insomuch  that  when  any  man  hereafter  shall 
have  a  benefice,  he  may  go  where  he  will  for  any  house  he  shall  have  to 
dwell  upon,  or  any  glebe  land  to  keep  hospitality  withall ;  but  he  must 
take  up  a  chamber  in  an  alehouse,  and  there  sit  and  play  at  the  tables  all 
day." — Latimer. 

NOTE  XXIX.    Page  272. 

Cares  given  to  any  Person  who  could  he  found  miserahle  enough  to 
accept  them. 

"  I  will  not  speak  now  of  tbem,  that  being  not  content  with  lands  and 
rents,  do  catch  into  their  hands  spiritual  lixings,  as  parsonages  and  such 
like,  and  that  under  the  pretence  to  make  provision  for  their  houses. 
What  hurt  aiid  damage  this  realm  of  England  doth  sustain  by  that  de- 
vilish kind  of  provision  for  gentlemen's  houses,  knights'  and  lords'  houses, 
they  can  tell  best,  that  do  travel  in  the  countries,  and  sec  with  their  eyes 
great  parishes  and  market  towns,  with  innumerable  others,  to  be  utterly 
destitute  of  God's  word,  and  tliat  l)ecause  that  these  greedy  men  have 
spoiled  the  livings,  and  gotten  them  into  their  hands :  and  instead  of  a 
faithful  and  painful  teacher,  they  hire  a  Sir  John,  who  hath  better  skill  at 
playing  at  tables,  or  in  keeping  of  a  garden,  than  in  God's  word  ;  and  he 
for  a  trifle  doth  serve  the  cure,  and  so  help  to  bring  the  people  of  God 
in  danger  of  their  souls.  And  all  those  serve  to  accomplish  the  abo- 
minable pride  of  such  gentlemen,  which  consume  the  goods  of  the 
people  (which  ought  to  have  been  bestowed  upon  a  learned  minister) 
in  costly  apparel,  belly  cheer,  or  in  building  of  gorgeous  houses." 

Augustin  Bernher's  EpisUe  Dedicatory,  prefixed  to  Latimer  s  Sermons. 

"  It  is  a  great  charge,"  says  Latimer,  "  a  great  burthen  before  God  to 
be  a  patron.  For  every  patron,  when  he  doth  not  diligently  endeavour 
himself  to  place  a  good  and  godly  man  in  his  benefice  which  is  in  hi? 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


397 


hands,  but  is  slothful,  and  carethnot  what  manner  of  man  he  taketh,  or 
else  is  covetous  and  will  have  it  himself,  and  hire  a  Sir  John  Lack-Latin, 
which  shall  say  service  so  that  the  people  shall  be  nothing  edified  ; — no 
doubt  that  patroh  shall  make  answer  before  God  for  not  doing  of  his 
duty." — Latimer. 

The  poets,  too,  of  that  and  the  succeeding  age,  touched  frequently 
upon  this  evil. 

'  The  pedant  minister  and  serving  clarke, 

The  ten-pound,  base,  frize-jerkin  hireling, 
The  farmer's  chaplain  with  his  qa.uter-marke, 
The  twenty-noble  curate,  and  the  thing 
Call'd  cider  ;  all  these  gallants  needs  will  bring 
All  reverend  tith-s  into  deadly  hate, 
Their  godly  calling,  and  my  high  estate." 

Storer's  TVolsey,  p.  6C>. 


Thus  also  George  Wither  in  his  prosing  strains  : 

'•  We  rob  thfi  church. — 

Men  seek  not  to  impropriate  a  part 

Unto  themselves,  but  they  can  find  in  heart 

To  engross  up  all ;  which  vile  presumption 

Hath  brought  church  livings  to  a  strange  consumption. 

And  if  this  strong  disease  do  not  abate, 

'Twill  be  the  poorest  member  in  the  state. 

"  No  marvel,  though,  in'^teadof  learned  preachers, 
Wc  have  been  pestered  with  such  simple  teachers, 
Such  poor,  mute,  tongue-lied  readers,  as  scarce  know 
Whether  that  God  made  Adam  first  or  no  : 
Thence  it  proceeds,  and  there's  the  cause  that  place 
And  office  at  this  time  incurs  disgrace  ; 
For  men  of  judgments  or  good  dispositions 
Scorn  to  be  tied  to  any  base  conditions. 
Like  to  our  hungrj-  pedants,  who'll  engage 
Their  souls  for  any  curtailed  vic;?r:!ge. 
I  say  there's  none  of  knowledge,  wit  or  merit, 
But  such  as  are  of  a  most  servile  spirit. 
That  will  so  wrong  the  Church  as  to  presume 
Some  poor  half-demi-parsonage  to  assume 
In  name  of  all  ; — no,  they  had  rather  quite 
Be  put  beside  the  same  than  wrong  God's  right. 

*'  Well,  they  must  entertain  such  pedants  then. 
Fitter  to  feed  swine  than  the  souls  of  men ; 
But  patrons  think  such  best ;  for  there's  no  fear 
They  will  speak  any  thing  they  loath  to  hear  ; 
They  may  run  foolishly  to  their  damnation 
Without  reproof  or  any  disturbation  ; 
To  let  them  see  their  vice  they  maybe  bold, 
And  yet  not  stand  in  doubt  to  be  controll'd. 
Those  in  their  houses  may  keep  private  schools, 
And  either  serve  for  jesters  or  for  fools  : 
And  will  suppose  that  they  are  highly  graced 
Be  they  but  at  their  patron's  table  placed  ; 
And  there  if  they  be  call'd  but  priests  in  scoff, 
Straightly  they  duck  down,  and  all  their  caps  come  off." 

Wither' s  Presumption. 


398 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  XXX.    Page  274. 

Means  for  assisting  poor  Scholars  diminished. 

"  It  would  pity  a  man's  heart  to  hear  that  I  hear  of  the  state  of  Cam- 
bridge ;  ^vhat  it  is  in  Oxford  1  cannot  tell.  There  be  few  that  study 
divinily,  but  so  many  as  of  neeessity  imibt  furnish  the  Colleges  ;  for 
their  livings  be  so  small,  and  victuals  so  dear,  that  they  tarry  not  there, 
hut  go  every  where  to  seek  livings,  and  so  they  go  about.  JVow  there 
be  a  few  gentlemen,  and  they  study  a  little  divinity.  Alas,  what  is  that? 
It  will  come  to  pass  that  we  shall  have  nothing  but  a  little  English  di- 
vinity, that  will  bring  the  realm  into  a  very  barbarousness,  and  utter  de- 
cay of  learning.  It  is  not  that,  I  wis,  that  will  keep  out  the  supremacy 
of  the  Pope  at  I^ome.  There  be  none  now  but  great  men's  sons  in  Col- 
leges, and  their  fathicrs  look  not  to  have  them  preachers ;  so  every  way 
this  office  of  preaching  is  pinched  at." — Latimer. 

"The  Devil  hath  caused  also,  through  this  monstrous  kind  of  covet- 
ousness,  patrons  to  sell  their  benefices ;  yea  more,  he  gets  him  to  the 
University,  and  causeth  great  men  and  esquires  to  send  their  sons  thi- 
ther, a:id  put  out  poor  scholars  that  should  be  divines  ;  for  their  parents 
intend  not  that  they  should  be  iireachers,  but  that  they  may  have  a  show 
of  learning." — Lnliiiitr. 


NOTE  XXXI.    Page  273, 

Conforming  Clergy  at  the  Reformation. 

"  Here  were  u  goodly  place  to  speak  against  our  clergymen  which  go 
so  gallant  now  a-days.  I  hear  say  that  some  of  them  wear  velvet  shoes 
and  slippers ;  such  fellows  arc  more  meet  to  dance  the  monis-dance 
than  to  be  admitted  to  preach.  I  pray  God  mend  such  worldly  fellows ; 
for  else  they  be  not  meet  to  be  preachers." — Latimer. 

Sir  AVilliam  Barlowe  has  a  remarkable  passage  upon  this  subject  in 
his  "  Dialoge  describing  the  originall  Ground  of  these  Lutheran  Faccions 
and  many  of  their  Abuses  ,-"  perhaps  the  most  sensible  treatise  which 
was  written  on  that  side  of  the  question,  and  certainly  one  of  the  most 
curious.  <- 

"  Among  a  thousand  freers  none  go  better  appareled  then  an  other. 
But  now  U'lto  the  other  syde,  these  that  runne  away  from  them  unto 
these  Lutherans,  they  go,  I  say,  disguysed  strangelye  from  that  they 
were  before,  in  gaye  jagged  cotes,  and  cut  and  scotched  hosen,  verye 
syghtly  forsothe,  but  yet  not  very  semelye  for  such  folke  as  they  were 
and  siioulde  be :  and  thys  apparell  change  they  dayly,  from  fashion 
to  fashion,  every  day  worse  then  other,  their  new-fangled  foly  and  theyr 
wanton  pryde  never  content  nor  satisl'yed. — I  demautided  ones  of  a  cer- 
tayn  companion  of  these  sectes  which  had  bene  of  a  strayt  religion  be- 
fore, why  his  garments  were  novve  so  sumptuoiise,  all  to  poiniced  with 
gardes  and  jngges  lyke  a  rutter  of  the  launcc  knyghtes.  He  answered 
to  me  that  he  dyd  it  in  contempt  of  hypocrisy.  '  ^V'hy,'  quoth  I,  '  doth 
not  God  hate  pryde,  the  mother  of  hypocrisye,  as  well  as  hypocrys}'e  it 
selfe  ?'  Whert  >  he  made  no  dyi  ect  answer  agayne  :  but  in  excusynge  hys 
taut  he  sayd'  that  God  pryncypully  accepted  the  mekeness  of  the  hart, 
and  inward  Christen  manors,  which  I  bcleve  were  so  inward  in  hym 
that  seldome  he  shewed  any  of  them  outwardly." 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


399 


NOTE  XXXII.    P.  275. 

Ignorance  of  the  Country  Clergy. 

"  Sad  the  times  in  the  beginning  of  Queen  Elizabeth,"  says  FiBicr, 
"when  the  clergy  were  commanded  to  read  the  chapters  over  once  or 
twice  by  themselves,  that  so  they  might  be  the  better  enabled  to  read 
them  distinctly  in  the  congregation." — FuUer^s  Triple  Reconciler,  p.  82. 

NOTE  XXXIII.    P.  27C. 

Clergy  of  Charles  the  FirsVs  Age. 

"Let  me  say,"  (says  Mossom,  in  his  Apology  on  the  Behalf  of  the  Se- 
questered Clergy,) — '  and  'tis  beyond  any  man's  gainsaying — the  learn- 
edst  clergj'  that  ever  England  Irad,  was  that  sequestered  ;  their  works  do 
witness  it  to  the  w  hole  world.  And  as  for  their  godliness,  if  the  tree 
may  be  known  by  its  fruits,  these  here  pleaded  for  have  given  testimo- 
ny beyond  exception." 

"There  were  men  of  great  piety  and  great  learning  among  the  Puri- 
tan clergy  also.  But  it  is  not  less  certain  that  in  the  necessary  conse- 
quences of  such  a  revolution,  some  of  the  men  who  rose  into  notice  and 
power  were  such  as  are  thus,  with  his  wonted  felicity,  described  by 
South : 

"  Amongst  those  of  the  late  reforming  age,  all  learning  was  utterly 
cried  down.  So  that  with  them  the  best  preachers  were  such  as  could 
not  read,  and  the  ablest  divines  such  as  could  not  write.  In  all  their 
preachments  they  so  highly  pretended  to  the  spirit,  that  they  could 
hardly  so  much  as  spell  the  letter.  To  be  blind  was  with  them  the  pro- 
per qualification  of  a  spiritual  guide;  and  to  be  book-learned,  as  they 
called  it,  and  to  be  irreligious,  ivere  almost  terms  convertible.  None 
were  thought  fit  for  the  ministry  but  tradesmen  and  mechanics,  because 
none  else  were  allowed  to  have  the  spirit.  Those  only  were  accounted 
like  St.  Paul,  who  could  work  with  their  hands,  and  in  a  literal  sense 
drive  the  nail  hx>vie,  and  be  able  to  make  a  pulpit  before  they  preached  in 
it." — South^s  Sermons,  Vol.  iii.  p.  449. 

NOTE  XXXIV.    P.  276. 

The  Sequestered  Clergy. 

"  In  these  times,"  says  Lilly,  "  many  worthy  ministers  lost  their  liv- 
ings, or  benefices,  for  not  complying  with  the  Directory.  Had  you  seen 
(O  noble  Esquire)  what  pitiful  idiots  were  preferred  into  sequestrated 
church  benefices,  you  would  have  been  grieved  in  your  soul ;  but  Avhcn 
they  came  before  the  classes  of  divines,  could  those  simpletons  but  only 
say  they  were  converted  by  hearing  such  a  sermon  of  that  godly  man 
Hugh  Peters,  Stephen  Marshall,  or  any  of  that  gang,  he  was  presently 
admitted." — History  of  his  own  Life,  quoted  in  Mr.  Gifford's  notes  to 
Ben  Jonson. 

"The  rector  of  Fittleworth,  in  Sussex,  was  dispossessed  of  his  hving 
for  Sabbath  breaking  ;— the  fact  which  was  proved  against  him  being, 
that  as  he  was  stepping  over  a  stile  one  Sunday,  the  button  of  bis  breeches 
came  off,  and  he  got  a  tailor  in  the  neighbourhood  presently  to  sew  it 
on  again."— ;rcri/rcr'«  Siiffenngsofihe  Clergy,  part  ii.  p.  275, 


400 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


NOTE  XXXV,   Page  278. 
Many  ivlio  sacrificed  their  scruples  to  their  Convenience. 

"  Let  me,"  says  South,  "  utter  a  great,  but  sad  truth  ;  a  truth  not  so  fit 
to  be  spoke,  as  to  be  sighed  out  by  every  true  sou  and  lover  of  the  church, 
viz.  that  the  wounds,  which  the  church  of  England  now  bleeds  by,  she 
received  in  the  house  of  her  friends,  (if  they  may  be  called  so,)  viz.  her 
treacherous  undermining  friends,  and  that  most  of  the  nonconformity  to 
her, and  separation  from  her,  together  with  a  contempt  of  her  excellent 
constitutions,  have  proceeded  from  nothing  more,  than  from  the  false, 
partial,  half-conformity  of  too  many  of  her  ministers.  The  surplice 
sometimes  worn,  and  oftener  laid  aside  ;  the  liturgy  so  read,  and  mangled 
in  the  reading,  asif  they  were  ashamed  of  it;  the  divine  service  so  cur- 
tailed, as  if  the  people  were  to  have  but  the  tenths  of  it  from  the  priest, 
for  the  tenths  he  had  received  from  them.  The  clerical  habit  neglected 
by  such  in  orders  as  frequently  travel  the  road  clothed  like  farmers  or  gra- 
ziers, to  the  unspeakable  shame  and  scandal  of  their  profession  ;  the  holy 
sacrament  indecently  and  slovenly  administered  ;  the  furniture  of  the 
altar  abused  and  embezzelled  ;  and  the  Table  of  the  Lord  profaned. 
These,  and  the  like  vile  passages,  have  made  some  schismaticks.  and 
confirmed  others  ;  and  in  a  word,  have  made  so  many  nonconformists  to 
the  church,  by  their  conforming  to  their  minister. 

"It  was  an  observation  and  sayi;ig  of  a  judicious  prelate,  that  of  all 
the  sorts  of  enemies  which  our  church  had,  there  was  none  so  deadly,  so 
pernicious, and  likely  to  prove  so  fatal  to  it,  as  the  conforming  Puritan. 
It  was  a  great  truth,  and  not  very  many  years  after  ratified  by  direful  ex- 
perience. For  if  yo\i  would  have  the  conforming  Puritan  described  to 
you,  as  to  what  he  is  : 

"  He  is  one  who  lives  by  the  altar,  .T.nd  turns  his  back  upon  it ;  one, 
who  catches  at  the  preferments  of  the  church,  but  hates  the  discii)line 
and  orders  of  it;  one,  who  practices  conformity,  as  Papists  take  oaths 
and  tests,  that  is,  Avith  an  inward  abhorrence  of  what  he  does  for  the 
present,  and  a  resolution  to  act  ([uite  contrary,  when  occasion  serves : 
one  who,  during  his  conformity,  will  be  sure  to  be  known  by  such  a  dis- 
tinguishing badge,  as  shall  point  him  out  to,  and  secm-e  his  credit  with, 
the  dissenting  brotherhood  ;  one  who  still  declines  reading  the  church- 
service,  himself,  leaving  that  work  to  curates  or  read(TS,  thereby  to  keep 
up  a  profitable  interest  with  thriving  seditious  tradesmen,  and  groaning, 
ignorant,  but  rich  widows ;  one  who,  in  the  midst  of  his  conformity, 
thinks  of  a  turn  of  state,  which  may  draw  on  one  in  the  church  too  ;  and 
accordingly  is  very  careful  to  behave  himself  so  as  not  to  over-shoot  his 
game,  but  to  stand  right  and  fair  in  case  a  wished  for  change  should 
bring  fanaticism  again  into  fashion  ;  which  it  is  more  than  possible  that 
he  secretly  desires,  and  does  the  utmost  he  can  to  promote  and  bring 
about. 

"  Tl)ese,  and  tlie  like,  are  the  principles  xvhich  act  and  govern  the 
conforming  Puritan;  who  in  a  word  is  nothing  else  but  ambition,  ava- 
rice, and  hypocrisy,  serving  all  the  real  interests  of  schism  and  faction  in 
the  church's  livery.  And  therefore  if  there  be  any  one  who  has  the  front 
to  own  himself  a  minister  of  our  church,  to  whom  the  foregoing  charac- 
ter may  be  justly  applied,  (as  I  fear  there  are  but  too  many,)  howsoever 
such  an  one' may  for  some  time  sooth  up  and  flatter  himself  in  his  detes- 
table dissimulation  ;  yet  when  he  shall  hear  of  such  and  such  of  his 
neighbours,  his  parishioners,  or  acquaintance,  gone  over  from  tlie  church 
to  conventicles,  of  several  tiu'ned  Quakers,  and  of  others  fallen  off  to 
Popery:  and  lastly  when  the  noise  of  those  national  dangers  and  dis- 
turbances, ivhich  are  every  day  threatening  us,  shall  ring  about  his  ears, 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


401 


,01  him  then  lay  his  hand  upon  his  false  heart,  and  with  all  seriousness 
of  remorse  accusing  himself  to  God  and  his  own  conscience,  say,  I  am 
the  person,  who  by  my  conforming  by  halves,  and  by  my  treacherous 
prevaricating  with  the  duty  of  my  profession,  so  sacredly  promised,  and 
so  solemnly  sworn  to,  have  brought  a  reproach  upon  the  purest  and  best 
constituted  church  in  the  Christian  world ;  it  is  I,  who  by  slighting  and 
slumbering  over  holy  service  and  sacraments,  have  scandalized  and  cast 
T  stumbling-block  before  all  the  neighbourhood,  to  the  great  danger  of 
I  heir  souls;  I  who  have  been  the  occasion  of  this  man's  faction,  that 
man's  Quakerism,  and  another's  Poperj- ;  and  thereby,  to  the  utmost  of 
ray  power,  contributed  to  those  dismal  convulsions  which  have  so  terribly 
'hook  and  weakened  both  church  and  state.  Let  such  a  mocker  of  God 
and  man,  I  say,  take  his  share  of  all  this  horrid  guilt;  for  both  heaven 
and  earth  will  lay  it  at  his  door,  as  the  general  result  of  his  actions ;  it  is 
all  absolutely  his  own,  and  will  stick  faster  and  closer  to  him,  than  to  be 
thrown  off  and  laid  aside  by  him  as  easily  as  his  surplice." — Vol,  v. 
p.  486. 

NOTE  XXXVI.    Page  296. 

These  effects  were  public  and  undeniable. 

O!''  says  good  old  Thomas  Adams,  "  how  hard  and  obdurate  is  the 
heart  of  man,  till  the  rain  of  the  Gospel  falls  on  it !  Is  the  heart  covet- 
ous ?  no  tears  from  distressed  eyes  can  melt  a  penny  out  of  it.  Is  it  ma- 
licious ?  no  supplications  can  beg  forbearance  of  the  least  wrong.  Is  it 
given  to  drunkenness  ?  you  may  melt  his  body  into  a  dropsy,  before  his 
heart  into  sobriety.  Is  it  ambitious?  you  may  as  well  treat  with  Luci- 
fer about  humiliation.  Is  it  factious?  a  quire  of  angels  cannot  sing  him 
into  peace.  No  means  on  earth  can  soften  the  heart ;  whether  you 
anoint  it  with  the  supple  balms  of  entreaties  ;  or  thunder  against  it  the 
bolts  of  menaces ;  or  beat  it  with  the  hammer  of  mortal  blows.  Behold 
God  showers  this  rain  of  the  Gospel  from  Heaven,  and  it  is  suddenly 
softened.  One  sermon  may  prick  him  to  the  heart.  One  drop  of  a 
Saviour's  blood,  distilled  on  it  by  the  Spirit,  in  the  preaching  of  the 
word,  melts  him  like  wax.  The  drunkard  is  made  sober,  the  adulterer 
chaste;  Zaccheus  merciful,  and  raging  Paui  as  tame  as  a  lamb." 

Mams's  Divine  Herball,p.  16. 

NOTE  XXXVII.   Page  S02. 

Dialogue  between  Wesley  and  Zinzendorf. 

This  curious  dialogue  must  be  given  in  the  original. 
Z.    Cur  religionem  tuara  mut&sti? 

W.  Nescio  me  religionera  raeam  mutasse.  Cur  id  sentis?  Quis  hoc  tibi 
retuUt? 

Z.    Plane  tu.   Id  fix  epistoia  tu^  ad  nos  video.    Ibi,  religione,  quam  apud 
DOS  professus  es,  relicta,  novam  profiteris. 
W.    Qui  sic?  Nonintelligo. 

Z.  Imo,  istic  dicis,  vere  Chiistianos  non  esse  miseros  peccatores.  Falsissi- 
mum.  Optimi  hominum  ad  mortem  usque  miserabilissimi  sunt  peccatores.  Si- 
qui  aliud  dicunt,  vel  penitus  impostores  sunt,  vel  riiabolice  seducti.  Nostios 
fratres  meliora  docentes  impugn&sti.    Et  pacem  volentibus,  eam  deneg^sti. 

W.    Nondura  intelligo  quid  velis. 

Z.    Ego,  cum  ex  Georgia  ad  rae  scripsisti,  te  dilexi  plurimum.    Tum  corde 
simplicem,  te  agnovi.    Iterum  scripsisti.    Agnovi  corde  simplicem,  sed  turbatis 
>deis.    Ad  nos  venisti.    Ideas  tux  tum  magis  turbatae  etant  et  confusae.    In  An* 
VOL.  I.  &l 


402 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


gliam  rsdiisli.  Aliqandiu  post,  audivi  fiaties  nostros  tecum  pugnare.  Spao^- 
?;enl)ergium  misi  ad  pacem  inter  vos  conciliandam.  Scripsit  mil'i,  iratres  libi  in- 
juiiam  intulisse.  Rescripsi,  ne  pergeient,  sed  ct  veniam  a  te  peterent.  Span- 
geiiberg  scripsit  iterum,  eos  petiissc  :  sed  te,  gloriari  de  iis,  pacem  nolle.  Jam 
adveniens,  idem  audio. 

W.  Res  in  eo  cardine  miniine  vertitur.  Fratres  tui  (verum  hoc)  me  male 
tractilrunt.  Postea  veniam  petievunt.  Respondi,  id  supervacaneum  ;  me  nun- 
([uam  iis,  succeiisuisse  ;  sed  vereri,  1.  Ne  falsa  docerent,  2.  Ne  prave  riverent. 

Ista  imica,  est,  et  fuit,  inter  nos  qusestio. 

Z.    Apertius  loquaris. 

IV.  Voritus  sum,  ne  falsa  docerent,  1.  De  fine  fidei  nos'roe  (in  hkc  vita)  scil. 
Cliristiana  perfectione,  2.  De  Mediis  gralise,  sic  ab  Erclesia  nostr&  dictis. 

Z.  Nullam  inliserentem  perfectionem  in  li&c  vhk  agnosco.  Est  hie  error 
errorum.  Earn  per  totum  oibem  igne  et  gladio  persequor,  conculco,  ad  inter- 
necionem  do.  Christus  est  sola  perfectio  nostra.  Qui  perfectionem  inh^ren- 
tem  scquitur,  Christum  deiicgat. 

jr.  Ego  vero  credo,  Spiritum  Christi  operari  perfectionem  in  vere  Chris- 
tianis. 

Z.  Nullimodo.  Oninis  nostra  perfertio  est  in  Christo.  Omnis  Christiana 
perfectio  est,  fides  in  sanguine  Christi.  Est  tota  Christiana  perfectio,  imputata, 
non  inhccrens.    Perfccti  sumus  in  Christo,  in  nobismet  nunquam  perfccti. 

W.    Pugnainuf,  opinor  de  verbis.    Nonnc  oninis  vere  credcns  sanctus  est? 

Z.    Maxime.    Sed  sanctus  in  Christo,  non  in  se. 

TV.    Sed,  noiine  sanctt  vivit.'' 

Z.    Inio,  sanct^  in  omnibus  vivrt. 

W.    Nonne  et  cor  sanctum  habet.' 

Z.  Certissime. 

}V.    Nonne  ex  cohsequputi,  sanctus  est  in  se 

Z.  Non,  non.  In  Christo  tnntfim.  Non  sanctus  in  se.  Nullam  omnino 
habct  sanctitatem  in  se. 

IV.    Nonne  habet  in  corde  suo  amorem  Dei  et  proximi,  quin  et  totam  imagi- 

nem  Dei  ? 

Z.    Halipt.    Sed  lisEc  sunt  sanctitas  legalis,  non  evangelica.    Sanctitas  evan- 

gelica  est  fid(  s. 

IV.  Omnino  lis  est  de  verbis.  Concedis,  credentis  cor  totum  esse  sanctum 
et  vitam  totam;  eum  amare  Deum  toto  corde,  eiqiie  servire  totis  viribus.  Nihil 
ultra  peto.    Nil  aliud  volo  per  perfectio  vel  sanctitas  Christiana. 

Z.  Sed  base  non  est  sarictitas  ejus.  Non  magis  sanctus  est,  si  magis  amat, 
neqne  miniis  sanctus,  si  minus  amat. 

JV.  Quid  ?  Nonne  crcdensj  dum  crescit  in  amore,  crescit  pariter  in  sanc- 
titate 

Z.  Ner^uaquam.  Ex  momento  quojustificatur,  sanctificatur  penitus.  Exin, 
iicque  mngis  sanctus  est,  neque  minus  sanctus,  ad  mortem  usque. 

fV.    Nonne  igitur  pater  in  Christo  sanctior  est  infante  recens  nato? 

Z.  Non.  Sanctificatio  totalis  ac  justificatin  in  eodum  sunt  instanli ;  et 
neutra  recipit  magis  aut  miniiS. 

iV.  Nonne  vero  credcns  crescit  indies  amore  Dei.  Num  perfectus  est  amore 
simulac  justifioatur  ? 

Z.  Est.  Non  unquam  crescit  in  amore  Dei.  Totaliter  amat  eo  momento, 
sicut  totaliter  sanctificatur. 

W.    Quid  itaqije  vult  Apostolus  Paulus,  per  "  renovamur  de  die  in  diem.'" 

Z.  Dicam.  Pkiinhum  si  in  auruni  mutetur,  pst  aurutti-primo  die  et  secundo 
et  tertio.  Et  sic  renovatur  de  die  in  diem.  Sed  nunquam  est  magis  aurunij 
quam  prinio  die. 

fV.    Puiavi,  crescendum  esse  in  gratis ! 

Z.  Certe.  Sed  non  in  sanctitate.  Simulac  justificatur  quis.  Pater,  Filius 
et  Spiritus  sanctus  habitant  in  ipsius  corde.  Et  cor  ejus  eo  momei.to  jeque  pu- 
rum  est  ac  unquam  erit.  Infans  in  Christo  tam  purus  corde  est  quam  pater  in 
Christo.    Nulla  est  discrepantia. 

IV.    Nonne  justificati  erant  Apostoli  ante  Christi  mortem.' 

Z.  lErant. 

fV.  Nonne  vero  sanctiores  erant  post  diem  Pentecostes,  quam  ante  Christi 
fijortem?  . 

Zi  Neutiquani> 


• 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


403 


fV.    IVonne  eo  die  impleti  sunt  Spiritu  Sancto? 

Z.  Sunt.  Sed  istud  donum  spiritQs,  sanctitatem  ipsorum  non  respexit.  Fuit 
donuni  miraculnruin  tanturei. 

fV.  Fortasse  te  non  capio.  Nonne  nos  ipsos  abnegantes,  mays  maysqu» 
mundo  moriniur,  ac  Deo  vivimus? 

Z.  Abtiegationem  omnem  respuimus,  conculcamus.  Facimuscredentesomne 
quod  Toluinus  et  nihil  ultia.  Mortificationem  ouinem  ridemus.  fCulla  purifi- 
catio  praecedit  perfsctum  amorera. 

ff^.    Quae  disisti  Deo  adjuvaute  perpendam. 

NOTE  XXXVIII.  Page  306. 
Charges  against  the  Moravians, 

Upon  this  subject  I  transcribe  a  passage  from  Mr.  Latrobe's  late  tra- 
vels in  South  Africa,  in  justice  to  tliis  calumniated  community. 

"  Concessions  are  the  best  defence,  where  we  are,  or  have  formerly 
been,  to  blame,  in  expressions,  or  proceedings,  founded  on  mistaken  no- 
tions. Such  concessions  have  been  repeatedly  made,  but  in  general  to 
little  purpose  ;  and  we  must  be  satisfied  to  hear  the  old,  wretched,  and 
contradictory  accusations,  repeated  in  "  Accounts  of  all  Jleligions," 
"  Encyclopedias,"  "  Notes  on  Church  History,"  and  other  compilations. 
Be  it  so,  since  it  cannot  be  otherwise  expected ;  let  us  live  them  down, 
since  we  have  not  been  able  to  write  them  down.  To  some,  however, 
who  wilfully  continue  to  deal  in  that  species  of  slander  against  the 
Brethren,  or  other  religious  communities,  the  answer  of  a  friend  of  mine, 
a  nobleman  in  Saxony,  to  his  brethren,  the  States  of  Upper  Lusatia, 
assembled  at  the  Diet  at  Bautzen,  may  be  given,  consistently  with  truth. 
With  a  view  to  irritate  his  feelings,  or,  as  the  vulgar  phrase  is,  to  quiz 
him,  they  pretended  to  believe  all  the  infamous  stories,  related  by  cer- 
tain authors  concerning  the  practices  of  the  Brethren  at  Herrnhut,  re- 

E resenting  them  as  a  very  profligate  and  licentious  sect ;  and  challenged 
im  to  deny  them.  "  Pray,  gentlemen,"  he  replied,  "  do  not  assert, 
that  you  believe  these  things,  for  I  know  you  all  so  well,  that  if  you 
really  did  believe,  that  ail  manner  of  licentiousness  might  be  prac- 
tised at  Herrnhut  with  impunity,  there  is  not  one  of  you,  who  would 
not  long  ago  have  requested  to  be  received  as  a  member  of  such  a 
community." 

NOTE  XXXIX.   Page  31S. 

Such  large  Incomes  from  above. 

SoDTH  appears  to  stigmatize  Owen  as  the  person  who  introduced 
language  of  this  kind.  He  says,  "  As  I  shew  before  that  the  oti^s  and 
the  <f*sT('s  the  Deus  dixit  and  the  Deus  benedixit,  could  not  be  accounted 
wit ;  so  neither  can  the  whimsical  cant  of  Issues,  Products,  Tendencies, 
Breathings,  Indwellings,  Rollings,  Recumbencies,  and  Scriptures  misap- 
plied, be  accounted  divinity."  A  marginal  note  says,  "  Terms  often  and 
much  used  by  one  J.  O.  a  great  leader  and  oracle  in  those  times." 


NOTE  XI..    Page  318. 
Cennick  employed  at  Kingswood. 

Tins  person  has  left  on  record  a  striking  example  of  the  extravagan- 
cies which  were  encouraged  at  Kingswood  at  this  time,  it  is  related  in 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Wesk  y. 


404 


-NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"  Far  be  it  from  me,  to  attribute  the  convictions  of  sin  (the  work  oi 
the  Holy  Ghost)  to  Beelzebub  !  No  ;  neither  do  I  say  that  those  strong 
wrestlings  are  of  God  only.  I  thought,  you  had  understood  my  opinion 
better,  touching  this  matter.  I  believe,  that  before  a  soul  is  converted 
to  God,  the  spirit  of  rebellion  is  in  every  one,  that  is  born  into  the  world ; 
and  while  Satan  armed  keepeth  his  hold,  the  man  enjoys  a  kind  of 
peace,  mean  time,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  offering  a  better  peace,  according 
to  that  Scripture,  '  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock,'  fee.  Now, 
after  the  word  of  the  Most  High  has  touched  the  heart,  i  think  the  ser- 
pent is  seeking  to  root  it  up,  or  choke  the  seed  ;  but  as  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  gained  entrance,  he  rageth  with  all  his  might ;  and  as  far  as  he  hath 
power,  troubleth  the  soul  with  the  justice  of  God;  with  fear  of  having 
passed  the  day  of  grace,  or  having  sinned  too  greatly  to  be  forgiven,  in 
order  to  make  them  despair. — Hence  ariseth  a  fierce  combat  in  the  in- 
ward purls,  so  that  the  weaker  part  of  man,  the  body,  is  overcome, 
and  those  cries  and  convulsions  follow. 

"  On  Monday  evening,  I  was  preaching  at  the  school  on  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins,  when  two  persons  who,  the  night  before,  had  laughed  at 
others,  cried  out  with  a  loud  and  bitter  cry.  So  did  many  more,  in  a 
little  time.  Indeed,  it  seemed,  that  the  Devil,  and  much  of  the  powers 
of  darkness,  were  come  among  us.  My  mouth  was  stopped,  and  my 
ears  heard  scarce  any  thing,  but  such  terrifying  cries,  as  would  have 
made  any  one's  knees  tremble !  Only  judge.  It  was  pitch  dark  ; 
it  rained  much  ;  and  the  wind  blew  vehemently.  Large  flashes  of  light- 
ning, and  loud  claps  of  thunder,  mixt  with  the  screams  of  frightened 
parents  and  the  exclamations  of  nine  distressed  souls  I  The  hurry  and 
confusion  caused  hereby  cannot  be  expressed.  The  whole  place  seemed 
to  me  to  resemble  nothing  but  the  habitation  of  apostate  spirits  ;  many 
raving  up  and  down,  crying,  'The  Devil  will  have  me  !  1  am  his  ser- 
vant; I  am  damned!' — 'My  sins  can  never  be  pardoned  !  I  am  gone, 
gone  for  ever  !'  A  young  man  (in  such  horrors,  that  seven  or  eight  could 
not  hold  him)  still  roared,  like  a  dragon,  '  Ten  thousand  devils,  millions, 
millions  of  devils  are  about  me  !'  This  continued  three  hours.  One 
cried  out,  '  That  fearful  thunder  is  raised  by  the  Devil :  in  this  storm  he 
will  bear  me  to  hell !'  O  what  a  power  reigned  amongst  us  !  Some 
cried  out  with  a  hollow  voice,  '  Mr.  Cennick  !  Bring  Mr.  Cennick  !'  I 
came  to  all  that  desired  me.  They  then  spurned  with  all  their  strength, 
grinding  their  teeth,  and  expressing  all  the  fury  that  heart  can  conceive. 
Indeed,  their  staring  eyes,  and  swelled  faces,  so  amazed  others,  that  they 
cried  out  almost  as  loud  as  they  who  were  tormented.  I  have  visited 
several  since,  who  told  me,  their  senses  were  taken  away ;  but  %vhen  I 
drew  near,  they  said,  they  felt  fresh  rage,  longing  to  tear  me  to  pieces  I 
I  never  saw  the  like,  nor  even  the  shadow  of  it  before  !  Yet,  I  can  say,  I 
was  not  in  the  least  afraid,  as  I  knew  God  was  on  our  side." 

NOTE  XLI.    Page  335. 

System  of  Itinerancy  proposed  as  a  Substitute  for  the  Establishment. 

DcRiNG  the  Little  Parliament,  "Harrison,  being  authorized  thereto, 
hnd  at  once  put  down  all  the  parish  ministers  of  Wales,  because  that 
most  of  them  were  ignorant  and  scandalous,  and  had  set  up  a  few  itine- 
rant preachers  in  their  stead,  who  were  for  number  incompetent  for  so 
great  a  charge,  there  being  but  one  for  many  of  those  wide  parishes  ;  so 
that  the  people,  having  a  sermon  but  once  in  many  weeks,  and  nothing 
else  in  the  mean  time,  were  ready  to  turn  Papists,  or  any  thing  else. 
And  this  is  the  plight  which  the  Anabaptists  and  other  sectaries  would 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


405 


have  brought  the  whole  land  to.  And  all  was,  that  the  people  might  not 
be  tempted  to  think  the  parish  churches  to  be  true  churches,  or  infant 
baptism  true  baptism,  or  themselves  true  Christians  ;  but  might  be  con- 
vinced, that  tliey  must  be  made  Christians  and  churches  in  the  Anabap- 
tists' and  Separatists'  way.  Hereupon  it  was  put  to  the  vote  in  this  par- 
liament, whether  all  the  parish  ministers  in  England  should  at  once  be 
put  down  or  no  ?  and  it  was  but  accidentally  carried  in  the  negative  by 
two  voices." — Baxter's  Life  and  Times,  p.  70. 

Hugh  Peter's  advice  was,  that  "they  must  sequester  all  ministers 
witliout  exception,  and  bring  the  revenues  of  the  church  into  one  public 
treasury  ;  out  of  wliich  must  be  allowed  a  hundred  a  year  to  six  itine- 
rant ministers  to  preach  in  every  county  "  And  this  scheme  was  in 
great  measure  cirried  into  efFect.  "  Whether  these  itinerants,"  says 
Walicer,  "  were  confined  to  a  certain  district,  and  to  a  settled  and  stated 
order  of  appearing  at  each  church  so  many  times  in  a  quarter,  (for  the 
number  of  churches  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  itinerants  in  some  of  the 
counties  would  not  permit  them  to  preach  so  much  as  one  sermon  in  a 
month,)  I  cannot  tell :  but  I  do  not  remember  to  have  met  with  any  thing 
that  should  incline  me  to  think  they  were  under  any  directions  of  this 
kind,  besides  that  of  their  own  roving  humours  ;  or  put  under  any  con- 
finement more  straight  than  that  of  a  whole  county  ;  nor  always  even 
that,  (such  was  the  greatness  of  their  abilities  and  capacities,)  for  I  find 
some  of  them  in  the  same  years  in  two  several  counties,  and  receiving 
their  salaries  in  both  of  them." — Walker's  Sufferings  of  the  Chrgif,  pp. 
147,  158. 

This  author  affirms,  that  the  amount  of  the  church  revenue  in  Wales, 
"some  way  or  other  in  the  possession  of  the  Committees,  or  Propaga- 
tors, or  those  whom  they  appointed  to  possess  or  collect  them,  for  the 
whole  time  of  the  usurpation,  appears  on  the  most  modest  computation 
to  have  been  above  £345,000,  an  immense  heap  of  sacrilege  and  plunder. 
Almost  all  was  torn  from  particular  churchmen,  who  were  in  the  legal 
possession  of  it ;  and  no  small  part  converted  to  the  private  uses  of  the 
plunderers." 

NOTE  XLH.    Page  340. 

Thomas  Maxfeld. 

At  the  Conference  of  1766  Wesley  speaks  of  Maxfield  as  the  first 
layman  who  "  desired  to  help  him  as  a  son  in  the  Gospel ;  soon  after 
came  a  second,  Thomas  Richards;  and  a  third,  Thomas  Westall."  But 
in  his  last  journal  he  has  the  following  curious  notice : — "  I  read  over  the 
experience  of  Joseph  Humphrys,  the  first  lay  preacher  that  assisted  me 
in  England  in  the  year  1738.  From  his  own  mouth  I  learn  that  he  was 
perfected  in  love,  and  so  continued  for  at  least  a  twelvemonth.  Afterwards 
be  turned  Calvinist,  and  joined  Mr.  Whitetield,  and  published  an  invective 
against  my  brother  and  me  in  the  newspaper.  In  a  while  he  renounced 
Mr.  Whitefield,  and  was  ordained  a  Presbyterian  minister.  At  last  he 
received  Episcopal  ordination.  He  then  scoffed  at  inward  religion,  and 
whin  reminded  of  his  own  experience,  replied,  'that  was  one  of  the  fool- 
ish things  which  I  wrote  in  the  time  of  my  madness.'  " 


rND  OF  THE  FIRST  VOLCMF 


THE 

AND  THE 

RISE  AND  PROGRESS 

OF 


BY  ROBERT  SOUTHfiY,  £sq. 

POET  LAUREATE, 

MEM«ER    OF    TBE  ROYAL  SPANISH  ACADEMY,    OF  THE  BOTAl,  SPANISH  ACADEMY  OK 
HISTORY,  AND  OF  THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTE  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS,  SiO. 


Bead  not  to  contradict  and  confute ;  nor  to  believe  and  take  for  granted ;  nor  to  find  talk  and 
discourse  :  but  to  weigh  and  consider.  Lord  Bacon. 


UV  TWO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  II. 


NEW-YORK: 

rUBlISHED  BY  WM.  B.  GILLEY,  NO.  92  BROADWAY. 

J.  Seymour,  print. 


1820. 


THE 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DEATH  OF  MRS.  WESLEY.  WESLEY^S  SISTERS.  WESLEY 

AT  EPWORTH. 

Methodism  had  now  taken  root  in  the  land.  Meet- 
ing-houses had  been  erected  in  various  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  settled,  not  upon  trustees,  (which 
would  have  destroyed  the  unity  of  SVesley's  scheme, 
by  making  the  preachers  dependent  upon  the  people, 
as  among  the  Dissenters,)  but  upon  himself,  the  ac- 
knowledged head  and  sole  director  of  the  society 
which  he  had  raised  and  organized.  Funds  were 
provided  by  a  financial  regulation  so  well  devised, 
that  the  revenues  would  increase  in  exact  proportion 
to  the  increase  of  the  members.  Assistant  preachers 
were  ready,  in  any  number  that  might  be  required, 
whose  zeal  and  activity  compensated,  in  no  slight 
degree,  for  their  want  of  learning;  and  whose  in- 
feriority of  rank  and  education  disposed  them  to 
look  up  to  Mr.  Wesley  with  deference  as  well  as  re- 
spect, and  fitted  them  for  the  privations  which  they 
were  to  endure,  and  the  company  with  which  they 
were  to  associate.  A  system  of  mirmte  iuspection 
had  been  established,  which  was  at  once  so  con- 


4 


DEATH  OF  MRS.  WESLEY. 


[1742. 


trlvecl  as  to  gratify  every  individual,  by  giving  him  a 
sense  of  his  own  importance,  and  to  give  the  preacher 
the  most  perfect  knowledge  of  those  who  were  under 
his  charge.  No  confession  of  faith  was  required 
from  any  person  who  desired  to  become  a  member : 
in  this  Wesley  displayed  that  consummate  prudence 
which  distinguished  him  whenever  he  was  not  led 
astray  by  some  darling  opinion.  The  door  was  thus 
left  open  to  the  orthodox  of  all  descriptions,  Church- 
men or  Dissenters,  Baptists  or  Paedobaptists,  Pres- 
byterians or  Independents,  Calvinists  or  Arminians  ; 
no  profession,  no  sacrifice  of  any  kind  was  exacted. 
The  person  who  joined  the  new  society  was  not  ex- 
pected to  separate  himself  from  the  community  to 
which  he  previously  belonged.  He  was  only  called 
upon  to  renounce  his  vices,  and  follies  which  are 
near  a-kin  to  them.  Like  the  Free-mason,  he  ac- 
quired by  his  initiation  new  connexions  and  imaginary 
consequence  ;  but,  unlike  the  Free-mason,  he  derived 
a  real  and  direct  benefit  from  the  change  which  in 
most  instances  was  operated  in  the  habits  and  moral 
nature  of  the  proselytes. 

To  this  stage  Methodism  had  advanced  when 
Wesley  lost  his  mother,  in  a  good  old  age,  ready 
and  willing  to  depart.  Arriving  in  London  from  one 
of  his  circuits,  he  found  her  "  on  the  borders  of  eter- 
nity ;  but  she  had  no  doubt  or  fear,  nor  any  desire 
but,  as  soon  as  God  should  call,  to  depart  and  to  be 
with  Christ."  On  the  third  day  after  his  arrival,  he 
perceived  that  her  change  Avas  near.  "  I  sate  down,'" 
he  says,  "  on  the  bed-side.  She  was  in  her  last 
conflict,  unable  to  speak,  but  I  believe  quite  sensible. 
Her  look  was  calm  and  serene,  and  her  eyes  fixed 
upward,  while  we  commended  her  soul  to  God. 
From  three  to  four  the  silver  cord  was  loosing,  and 
the  wheel  breaking  at  tlie  cistern ;  and  then,  with- 
out any  struggle,  or  sigh,  or  groan,  the  soul  was  set 
at  liberty.  We  stood  round  the  bed,  and  fulfilled 
her  last  request,  uttered  a  little  before  she  lost  her 
speech  :  '  Cliildren,  as  soon  as  I  am  released,  sing  a 
psalm  of  praise  to  God.'  "  He  performed  the  fune- 
ral service  himself,  and  thus  feelingly  describes  it 


1742.] 


DEATH  OF  MRS.  WESLEY. 


5 


«  Almost  an  Innumerable  company  of  people  being 
gathered  together,  about  five  in  ttie  afternoon  I  com- 
mitted to  the  earth  the  body  of  my  mother  to  sleep 
with  her  fathers.  The  portion  of  Scripture  from 
which  1  afterwards  spoke  was,  /  saw  a  great  white 
throne,  and  Him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth 
and  the  heaven  fed  away,  and  there  was  found  no  place  for 
them.  And  1  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before 
God  ;  and  the  books  ivcre  opened,  and  the  dead  tvere  judged 
out  of  those  things  which  were  ivritten  in  the  books,  ac- 
cording to  their  works.  It  was  one  of  the  most  solemn 
assemblies  I  ever  saw,  or  expect  to  see,  on  this  side 
eternity."* 

Mrs.  Wesley  had  had  her  share  of  sorrow.  During 
her  husband's  life  she  had  struggled  with  narrow 
circumstances,  and  at  his  death  she  was  left  depend- 
ent upon  her  children.  Of  nineteen  children  she 
had  wept  over  the  early  graves  of  far  the  greater 

*  The  epitaph  which  her  sons  placed  upon  her  tomb-stone,  is  remark- 
.able.  Instead  of  noticing  the  virtues  of  so  extraordinary  and  exemplary 
a  %voman,  they  chose  to  record  what  they  were  pleased  to  call  her  con- 
version, aiMi  to  represent  her  as  if  she  had  lived  in  ignorance  of  reiil 
Phristianity  during  the  life  of  her  excellent  husband. 

This  is  the  inscription : — 

Here  lies  the  body  of  Mrs.  Susannah  Wesley,  the  youngest  and  last 
surviving  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  Annesley. 

In  sure  and  steadfast  hope  to  rise 
And  claim  her  mansion  in  the  skies, 
A  Christian  here  her  flesh  laid  down. 
The  cross  exchanging  for  a  crown. 

True  daughter  of  affliction  she. 
Inured  to  pain  and  misery, 
Mourn'd  a  long  night  of  griefs  and  fears. 
>  ■  A  legal  night  of  seventy  years. 

•  The  Father  then  reveal'd  his  Son, 

Him  in  the  broken  bread  made  known. 
She  knew  and  felt  her  sins  forgiven, 
And  found  the  earnest  of  her  Heaven. 

Meet  for  the  fellowship  above, 
She  heard  the  call,  "  Arise,  my  Love 
I  come,  her  dying  looks  replied. 
And  lamb-like  as  her  liord  slip  died. 

The  third  stanza  alludes  to  her  persuasion  that  she  had  received  ai 
assurance  of  the  forgiveness  of  her  sins  at  the  moment  when  her  son-in 
law  Hall  was  adiiiinistering  the  sarramont  of  the  T.,oid*s  Supper  u 
her. — See  vol.  i.  p.  t'j'i. 


6 


Wesley's  sisters. 


number :  she  had  survived  her  son  Samuel,  and  she 
had  the  keener  anguish  of  seeing  two  of  her  daugh- 
ters unhappy,  and  perhaps  of  foreseeing  the  unhap- 
piness  of  the  third  ;  an  unhappiness  the  more  to  be 
deplored,  because  it  was  not  altogether  undeserved. 

Among  Wesley's  pupils  at  Lincoln  was  a  young 
man,  by  name  Hall,  of  good  person,  considerable 
talents,  and  manners  which  were  in  a  high  degree 
prepossessing,  to  those  who  did  not  see  beneath  the 
surface  of  such  things.  Wesley  was  much  attached 
to  him  ;  he  thought  him  humble  and  teachable,  and 
in  all  manner  of  conversation  holy  and  unblameable. 
There  were  indeed  parts  of  his  conduct  which  might 
have  led  a  wary  man  to  suspect  either  his  sanity  or 
his  sincerity ;  but  the  tutor  was  too  sincere  himself, 
and  too  enthusiastic,  to  entertain  the  suspicion  which 
some  of  his  extravagancies  might  justly  have  excited. 
He  considered  them  as  "  starts  of  thought  which 
were  not  of  God,  though  they  at  first  appeared  to 
be and  was  satisfied,  because  the  young  man 
"  was  easily  convinced,  and  his  imaginations  died 
away."  Samuel  formed  a  truer  judgment.  "  I  never 
liked  the  man,"  says  he,  from  the  first  time  I  saw 
him.  His  smoothness  never  suited  my  roughness. 
He  appeared  always  to  dread  me  as  a  wit  and  a 
jester:  this  with  me  is  a  sure  sign  of  guilt  and  hypo- 
crisy. He  never  could  meet  my  eye  in  full  light. 
Conscious  that  there  was  something  foul  at  bottom, 
he  was  afraid  I  should  see  it,  if  I  looked  keenly  into 
his  eye."  John,  however,  took  him  to  his  bosom. 
He  became  a  visiter  at  Epworth,  won  the  affections 
of  the  youngest  sister  Kczia,  obtained  her  promise 
to  marry  him,  fixed  the  day,  and  then,  and  not  till 
then,  communicated  the  matter  to  her  brother  and 
her  parents,  affirming  vehemently  that  "  the  thing 
was  of  God ;  that  he  was  certain  it  was  God's  will ; 
God  had  revealed  to  him  that  he  must  marry,  and 
that  Kezia  was  the  very  person."  Enthusiastic  as 
Wesley  himself  was,  the  declaration  startled  him, 
and  the  more  so,  because  nothing  could  be  more  op- 
posite to  some  of  Hall's  former  extravagancies. 
Writing  to  him  many  years  afterwards,  when  he 


Wesley's  sisters. 


7 


had  thrown  off  all  restraints  of  outward  decency,  he 
says,  "  Hence  I  date  your  fall.  Here  were  several 
faults  in  one.  You  leaned  altogether  to  your  own 
understanding,  not  consulting  either  me,  who  was 
then  the  guide  of  your  soul,  or  the  parents  of  your 
intended  wife,  till  you  had  settled  the  whole  affair. 
And  while  you  followed  the  voice  of  Nature,  you  said 
it  was  the  voice  of  God." 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  ominous  fanaticism  or  im- 
pudent hypocrisy  which  Mr.  Hall  had  manifested, 
neither  Wesley  nor  the  parents  attempted  to  oppose 
the  match ;  it  was  an  advantageous  one,  and  the  girl's 
affections  were  too  deeply  engaged.  But  to  the  utter 
astonishment  of  all  parties,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days,  Mr.  Hall  changed  his  mind,  and  pretending, 
with  blasphemous  effrontery,  that  the  Almighty  had 
changed  His,  declared  that  a  second  revelation  had 
countermanded  the  first,  and  instructed  him  to  mar- 
ry not  her,  but  her  sister  Martha.  The  family,  and 
especially  the  brothers,  opposed  this  infamous  pro- 
posal with  proper  indignation  ;  and  Charles  address- 
ed a  poem*  to  the  new  object  of  his  choice,  which 

*  TO  MISS  MARTHA  WESLEY. 

TV  hen  want,  and  pain,  and  death,  besiege  our  gate. 
And  every  solemn  moment  teems  with  fate, 
While  clouds  and  darkness  fill  the  space  between, 
Perplex  th'  event,  and  shade  the  folded  scene, 
In  humble  silence  wait  th'  unuttered  voice. 
Suspend  thy  will,  and  check  thy  forward  choice  ; 
Yet,  wisely  fearful,  for  th'  event  prepare, 
And  learn  the  dictates  of  a  brother's  care. 
How  fierce  thy  conflict,  how  severe  thy  flight ! 
When  hell  assails  the  foremost  sons  of  light! 
When  he,  M'ho  long  in  virtue's  paths  had  trod, 
Deaf  to  the  voice  of  conscience  and  of  God, 
Drops  the  fair  mask,  proves  traitor  to  his  vow, 
And  thou  the  temptress,  and  the  tempted  thou  ! 
Prepare  thee  then  to  meet  th'  infernal  war. 
And  dare  beyond  what  woman  knows  to  dare  ; 
Guard  each  avenue  to  thy  flutt'ring  heart. 
And  act  the  sister's  and  the  Christian's  part. 
Heav'n  is  the  guard  of  virtue  ;  scorn  to  yield, 
When  scrcen'd  by  Heav'n's  impenetrable  shield : 
Secure  in  this,  defy  th'  impending  storm, 
Tho'  Satan  tempt  thee  in  an  angel's  form. 
And  oh  I  I  see  the  fiery  trial  near : 
I  see  the  saint,  ia  all  his  forms,  appear ! 


Wesley's  sisters. 


must  havfe  stung  her  like  a  scorpion  whenever  the 
recollection  of  its  just  severity  recurred  to  her  in 
after-life.  But  these  remonstrances  were  of  no 
avail,  for  Hall  had  won  her  affections  also.  "  This 
last  error,"  says  Wesley,  "  was  far  worse  than  the 
first.  But  you  was  now  quite  above  conviction.  So, 
in  spite  of  her  poor  astonished  parent,  of  her  bro- 
thers, of  all  your  vows  and  promises,  you  jilted  the 
younger  and  married  the  elder  sister.  The  other, 
who  had  honoured  you  as  an  angel  from  heaven,  and 


By  nature,  by  religion  taught  to  please, 

AVith  conquest  flush'd,  and  obstinate  to  press, 

He  lists  his  virtues  in  the  cause  of  hell, 

Hcav'n,\vith  celestial  arnns,  presumes  t' assail, 

To  veil,  with  semblance  fair,  the  fiend  within, 

And  make  his  God  subservient  to  his  sin  ! 

Trembling,  I  hear  his  horrid  vows  renew'd, 

1  see  him  come,  by  Delia's  groans  pursued  ; 

Poor  injur'd  Delia  !  all  her  groans  are  vain  ! 

Or  he  denies,  or  list'ning,  mocks  her  pain, 

What  tho'  her  eyes  with  ceaseless  tears  o'erflow. 

Her  bosom  heave  with  agonizing  wo  ! 

What  tho'  the  horror  of  his  falsehood  near. 

Tear  up  her  faithj  and  plunge  her  in  despair! 

Yet,  can  he  think  (so  blind  to  Heav'n's  decree, 

And  the  sure  fate  of  cursed  apostacy) 

Soon  as  he  tells  the  secret  of  his  breast, 

And  puts  the  angel  off,  and  stands  confess'd  ; 

When  love,  and  grief,  and  shame,  and  anguish  meet, 

To  make  his  crimes  and  Delia's  wrongs  complete, 

That  then  the  injured  maid  will  cease  to  grieve, 

Behold  him  in  a  sister's  arms— and  live  ? 

Mistaken  wretch !  by  thy  unkindncss  hurl'd 

From  ease,  from  love,  from  thee,  and  from  the  world, 

Soon  must  she  land  on  that  immortal  shore. 

Where  falsehood  never  can  torment  her  more ; 

There  all  her  suff'rings,  all  her  sorrows  cease. 

Nor  saints  turn  devils  there  to  vex  her  peace. 

Yet  hope  not  then,  all  specious  as  thou  art, 

To  taint,  with  impious  vows,  her  sister's  heart ; 

With  proffer'd  worlds  her  honest  soul  to  move. 

Or  tempt  her  virtue  to  incestuous  love. 

No  !  wert  thou  as  thou  wast!  did  Heav'n's  first  rays 

Beam  on  thy  soul,  and  all  the  godhead  blaze ! 

Sooner  shall  sweet  oblivion  set  us  free 

From  friendship,  love,  thy  perfidy  and  thee : 

Sooner  shall  light  in  league  with  darkness  jom 

Virtue  and  vice,  and  heav'n  and  hell  combine, 

Than  her  pure  soul  consent  to  mix  with  thine ; 

To  share  thy  sin,  adopt  thy  perjury. 

And  damn  herSelf  to  be  reveng'd  on  thee  ; 

To  load  her  conscience  with  a  sister's  blood, 

The  guilt  of  incest,  and  the  curse  of  God ! ' 


Wesley's  sisters. 


9 


still  loved  you  much  too  well,  (for  you  had  stolen 
her  heart  from  the  God  of  her  youth,)  refused  to  be 
comforted :  she  fell  into  a  lingering  illness,  which 
terminated  in  her  death.  And  doth  not  her  blood 
still  cry  unto  God  from  the  earth Surely  it  is  upon 
your  head." 

Mr.  Wesley  died  before  the  marriage  :  it  is  not  to 
be  believed  that,  under  such  circumstances,  he  would 
ever  have  consented  to  it ;  and  it  is  possible  that  his 
stVong  and  solemn  prohibition  might  have  deterred 
his  daughter  from  so  criminal  an  union.  Samue!  ob- 
served bitterly  of  this  fatal  connexion  :  "  I  am  sure  I 
may  well  say  of  that  marriage,  it  will  not,  cannot 
come  to  good."'  And  he  proposed  thatKezia  should 
live  with  him,  in  the  hope  that  it  might  save  her 
from  "discontent  perhaps,  or  Irom  a  worse  passion." 
But,  like  most  of  her  family,  this  injured  girl  possess- 
ed a  lofty  spirit.  She  subdued  her  resentment,  and 
submitted  with  so  much  apparent  resignation  to  the 
wrong  which  she  had  received,  that  she  accompani- 
ed the  foul  hypocrite  and  his  wife  to  his  curacy. 
But  it  consumed  her  by  the  slow  operation  of  a  set- 
tled grief  Charles  thus  describes  her  welcome  re- 
lease in  a  letter  to  John:  "  Yesterday  morning  sister 
Kezzy  died  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  finished  his  work, 
and  cut  it  short  in  mercy.  Full  of  thankfulness,  re- 
signation, and  love,  without  pain  or  trouble,  she  com- 
mended her  spirit  into  the  hands  of  Jesus,  and  fell 
asleep." 

Till  this  time  John  Wesley  believed  that  Mr.  Hall 
was,  "  without  all  question,  filled  with  faith  and  the 
love  of  God,  so  that  in  all  England,"  he  said,  "he 
knew  not  his  fellow."  He  thought  him  a  pattern  of 
lowliness,  meekness,  seriousness,  and  continual  ad- 
vertence to  the  presence  of  God,  and,  above  all,  of 
self-denial  in  every  kind,  and  of  sufTering  all  things 
with  joy  fulness.  "  But  now,"  he  says,  "  there  was  a 
worm  at  the  root  of  the  gourd."  For  about  two 
years  after  his  marriage  there  was  no  apparent  change 
in  his  conduct;  his  wife  then  began  to  receive  her 
proper  punishment  from  the  caprice  and  asperity  of 
his  temper.    After  a  while  he  seemed  to  recover  his 

VOL.  II.  2 


]0 


Wesley's  sisters. 


self-command,  but  soon  again  he  betrayed  a  hasty 
and  contemptuous  disposition ;  from  having  been  the 
humble  and  devoted  disciple  of  the  Wesleys,  he  con- 
tracted gradually  a  dislike  towards  them,  and  at 
length  broke  off  a  11  intercourse  with  them,  public  or 
private,  because  they  would  not,  in  conformity  to  his 
advice,  renounce  their  connexion  with  the  Church  of 
England.  He  had  now  his  own  followers,  whom  he 
taught  first  to  disregard  the  ordinances  of  religion, 
then  to  despise  them,  and  speak  of  them  with  con- 
tempt. He  began  to  teach  that  there  was  "  no  re- 
fiurrection  of  the  body,  no  general  judgment,  no  Hell, 
no  worm  that  never  dieth,  no  fire  that  never  shall  be 
quenched."  His  conduct  was  now  conformable  to 
his  principles,  if  indeed  the  principles  had  tiot  grown 
out  of  a  determined  propensity  for  vice  and  profliga- 
cy. Wesley  addressed  an  expostulatory  letter  to 
him,  in  which  he  recapitulated,  step  by  step,  his  pro- 
gress in  degradation.  After  stating  to  him  certain 
facts,  which  proved  the  licentiousness  of  his  life,  he 
concluded  thus  :  "  And  now  you  know  not  that  you 
have  done  any  thing  amiss  !  You  can  eat,  and  drink, 
and  be  merry  !  You  are  every  day  engaged  with  va- 
riety of  company,  and  frequent  the  cofTee-houses  I 
Alas,  my  brother,  what  is  this  !  How  are  you  above 
measure  hardened  by  the  deceitfulness  of-  sin  !  Do 
you  remember  the  story  of  Santon  Barsisa  ?  I  pray 
God  your  last  end  may  not  be  like  his!  Oh  how 
have  you  grieved  the  Spirit  of  God  !  Return  to  him 
with  weeping,  fasting,  and  mourning  !  You  are  in  the 
very  belly  of  Hell ;  only  the  pit  hath  not  yet  shut  its 
mouth  upon  you.  Arise,  thou  sleeper,  and  call  upon 
thy  God  !  Perhaps  He  may  yet  be  found.  Because 
He  yet  bears  with  me,  I  cannot  despair  for  you.  But 
you  have  not  a  moment  to  lose.  May  God  this  in- 
stant strike  you  to  the  heart,  that  you  may  feel  His 
wrath  abiding  on  you,  and  have  no  rest  in  your  bones 
by  reason  of  your  sin,  till  all  your  iniquities  are  done 
away." 

Soon  after  he  had  written  this  letter,  Avhich  was 
done  more  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  his  own  souh 
as  he  says,  than  with  any  reasonable  hope  of  impress- 


Wesley's  sisters'. 


11 


ing  a  man  so  far  gone  in  depravity,  Wesley,  in  the 
course  of  his  travelhng,  came  to  Mr.  Hall's  house,  at 
Salisbury,  and  was  let  in,  though  orders  had  been  gi- 
ven that  he  should  not  be  admitted.  Hall  left  the 
room  as  soon  as  he  entered,  sent  a  message  to  him 
that  he  should  quit  the  house,  and  presently  turned 
his  wife  out  of  doors  also.  Having  now  thrown  off 
all  restraint  and  all  regard  to  decency,  he  publicly 
and  privately  recommended  polygamy  as  conforma- 
ble to  nature,  preached  in  its  defence,  and  practised 
as  he  preached.  Soon  he  laid  aside  all  pretensions 
to  religion,  professed  himself  an  infidel,  and  led  for 
many  years  the  life  of  an  adventurer  and  a  profligate, 
at  home  and  abroad;  acting  sometimes  as  a  physi- 
cian, sometimes  as  a  priest,  and  assuming  any  cha- 
racter according  to  the  humour  or  the  convenience 
of  the  day.  Wesley  thought  that  this  unhappy  man 
would  never  have  thus  wholly  abandoned  himself  to 
these  flagitious  propensities,  if  the  Moravians  had  not 
withdrawn  him  from  his  influence,  and  therefore  he 
judged  them  to  be  accountable  for  his  perdition.  He 
seems  to  have  felt  no  misgiving  that  he  himself  might 
have  bet^a  the  cause:  that  Hall  might  have  continu- 
ed to  walk  uprightly  if  he  had  kept  the  common  path ; 
and  that  nothing  could  be  more  dangerous  to  a  vain 
and  headstrong  man  of  a  heated  fancy,  than  the  no- 
lion  that  he  had  attained  to  Christian  perfection,  and 
li  lt  in  himself  the  manifestations  of  the  Spirit.  Wea- 
ry of  this  life  at  last,  after  many  years,  and  awakened 
to  asenseof  its  guiit  as  well  a*  its  vanity,  he  return- 
ed to  England  in  his  old  age,  resumed'his  clerical 
functions,  and  appears  to  have  been  received  by  his 
wife.  Wesley  was  satisfied  that  his  contrition  was 
real,  and  hastened  to  visit  him  upon  his  death-bed  ^ 
but  it  was  too  late.  I  came,"  he  says,  ''just  time 
enough  not  to  see,  but  to  bury  poor  Mr.  Hall,  my 
brother-in-law,  who  died,  I  trust,  in  peace,  for  God 
had  given  him  deep  repentance.  Such  another  rao 
rinment  of  divine  mercy,  considering  how  low  he  had 
fallen,  and  from  what  height  of  holiness.  I  have  not 
seen,  no,  not  in  seventy  years  !  I  had  designed  to  vi- 
eit  him  in  the  morning,  but  he  did  not  stay  for  my 


12 


Wesley's  bisiEUb. 


coming.  It  is  enough  if,  after  all  his  wanderings,  wr 
meet  again  in  Abraham's  bosom."  Mrs.  Hall  bor<* 
her  fate  with  resignation,  and  with  an  inward  con- 
sciousness that  her  punishment  was  not  heavier  than 
her  fault : — that  fault  excepted,  the  course  of  her  life 
was  exemplary,  and  she  lived  to  be  the  last  survivor 
ofa  family  whose  years  were  protracted  far  beyond 
the  ordinary  age  of  man. 

Mehetabel,  her  si&ter,  had  a  life  of  more  unmingled 
affliction.  In  the  spring  freshness  of  youth  and  hope, 
her  affections  were  engaged  by  one  who,  in  point  oi 
abilities  and  situation,  might  have  been  a  suitable 
husband  ;  some  circumstances,  however,  occasioned 
a  disagreement  Avith  her  father,  the  match  was  bro- 
ken off^  and  Hetty  committed  a  fatal  error,  which 
many  women  have  committed  in  theirjust  but  blind 
resentment — she  married  the  first  person  who  offer- 
ed. This  was  a  man  in  no  desirable  rank  of  life,  of 
coarse  mind  and  manners,  inferior  to  herself  in  edu- 
cation and  in  intellect,  and  every  way  unworthy  ofa 
woman  whose  equal  in  all  things  it  would  hav  e  been 
difficult  to  find.  For  her  person  was  more  than  com- 
monly pleasing,  her  disposition  gentle  and  affection- 
ate, her  principles  those  which  arm  the  heart  either 
for  prosperous  or  adverse  fortune,  her  talents  re- 
markable, and  her  attainments  beyond  what  are  or- 
dinarily permitted  to  women,  even  those  who  are  the 
most  highly  educated.  Duty  in  her  had  produced 
so  much  affection  toward  the  miserable  creature 
whom  she  had  made  her  husband,  that  the  brutal 
profligacy  of  his  conduct  almost  broke  her  heart, 
tinder  such  feelings,  and  at  a  time  when  she  believ- 
ed and  hoped  that  she  should  soon  be  at  peace  in  the 
grave,  she  composed  this  Epitaph  for  herself: — 

Destined  while  living  to  sustain 
An  equal  share  of  grief  find  pain, 
All  various  ills  of  human  race 
Within  this  breast  had  once  a  place. 
Without  complaint  she  learn'd  to  bear 
A  living  death,  a  long  despair  ; 
Till  hard  oppressed  by  adverse  fate, 
O'ercharged,  she  sank  beneath  the  weight, 


Wesley's  -  sisters. 


13 


And  to  this  peaceful  tomb  retired, 
So  much  esteem'd,  so  long  desired. 
The  painful  mortal  conflict's  o'er  ; 
A  broken  heart  can  bleed  no  more. 

From  that  illness,  however,  she  recovered,  so  far 
as  to  linger  on  for  many  years,  living  to  find  in  reli- 
gion the  consolation  which  she  needed,  and  which 
nothing  else  can  bestow.  The  state  of  her  mind  is 
beautifully  expressed  in  the  first  letter  which  she  ever 
addressed  to  John  upon  the  subject.  "  Some  years 
ago,"  she  says,  "  I  told  my  brother  Charles  I  could 
not  be  of  his  way  of  thinking  then,  but  that  if  ever  I 
was,  I  would  as  freely  own  it.  After  I  was  convinced 
of  sin,  and  of  your  opinion,  as  far  as  I  had  examined 
your  principles,  I  still  forebore  declaring  my  senti- 
ments so  openly  as  I  liad  inclination  to  do,  fearing  I 
should  relapse  into  my  former  state.  When  I  was 
delivered  from  this  fear,  and  had  a  blessed  hope  that 
he  who  had  begun  would  finish  his  work,  I  never  con- 
fessed, so  fully  as  I  ought,  how  entirely  I  was  of your 
mind  ;  because  I  was  taxed  with  insincerity  and  hy- 
pocrisy whenever  I  opened  my  mouth  in  favour  of  re- 
ligion, or  owned  how  great  things  God  had  done  for 
me.  This  discouraged  me  utterly,  and  prevented 
me  from  making  my  change  as  public  as  my  folly  and 
vanity  had  formerly  been.  But  now  my  health  is 
gone,  i  cannot  be  easy  without  declaring  that  I  have 
long  desired  to  know  but  one  thing,  that  is  Jesus 
Clirist,  and  him  crucified ;  and  this  desire  prevails 
above  all  others.  And  thougli  I  am  cut  off  from  all 
human  help  or  ministry,  1  am  not  without  assistance ; 
though  I  have  no  spiritual  friend,  nor  ever  had  one 
yet,  except  perhaps  once  in  a  year  or  two,  when  1 
have  seen  one  of  my  brothers,  or  some  oilier  religious 
person,  by  stealth  ;  yr-t,  (no  thanks  to  me,)  I  am  en- 
abled to  seek  him  still,  and  to  be  satisfied  with  no- 
thing less  than  God,  in  whose  piesence  I  affirm  this 
truth. — I  dare  not  desire  health,  only  patience,  resig- 
nation, and  the  spirit  of  an  healthful  mind.  I  have 
been  so  long  weak,  that  I  know  not  how  long  my  trial 
may  last;  but  I  have  a  firm  persuasion,  and  blessed 
hope,  (though  no  full  assurance,")  that  in  the  country  I 


14 


WESLEY  AT  EPWORTH. 


[1742. 


am  going  to,  I  shall  not  sing  hallelujah,  and  holy,  ho- 
ly, holy,  without  company,  as  I  have  done  in  this. 
Dear  brother,  I  am  unused  to  speak  or  write  on 
these  things :  I  only  speak  my  plain  thoughts  as  they 
occur.  Adieu!  If  you  have  time  from  better  busi- 
ness to  send  a  line  to  Stanmore,  so  great  a  comfort 
would  be  as  welcome  as  it  is  wanted." 

She  lived  eight  years  after  this  letter  was  written, 
bearing  her  sufferings  with  patience  and  pious  hope. 
Charles  was  with  her  in  her  last  illness.  He  says  in 
his  journal,  "Prayed  by  my  sister  Wright,  a  gracious, 
tender,  trembling  soul;  a  bruised  reed,  which  the 
Lord  will  not  break."  "  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go 
down,  neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself,  for  the 
Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of 
thy  mourning  shall  be  ended."  From  these  words  he 
preached  her  funeral  sermon,  with  a  feeling  which 
brought  him  into  "  sweet  fellowship  with  the  depart- 
ed;" and  he  says,  that  all  who  were  present  seemed 
to  partake  both  of  his  sorrow  and  his  joy. 

Another  of  the  sisters  married  a  clergyman  by 
name  Whitelamb,  who  had  been  John's  pupil  at  Ox- 
ford, was  beholden  to  the  family*  during  his  stay  at 
college,  and  obtained  the  living  of  Wroote  after  his 
father-in-law's  death.  John,  in  the  beginning  of  his 
regular  itinerancy,  on  his  way  back  from  Newcastle, 
after  his  tirst  appearance  in  that  town,  came  to  £p- 
worth.  Matiy  years  had  elapsed  since  he  had  hcei\ 
ill  his  native  place,  and  not  knowing  whether  there 
were  any  persons  left  in  it  who  would  not  be  asham- 
ed of  his  acquaintance,  he  went  to  an  inn,  where, 
however,  he  was  soon  found  out  by  an  old  servant  of 
his  father's.  The  next  day  being  Sunday,  he  called 
upon  the  curate,  Mr.  Romley,  and  offered  to  assist 
him  either  by  preaching  or  reading  prayers ;  but  his 
assistance  was  refused,  and  the  use  of  the  pulpit  was 
denied  him.    A  rumour,  however,  prevailed,  that  he 

*  Writing;  to  his  brother  Samuel  in  nui,  Wesley  says,  "John  White- 
lamb  wants  a  gown  much :  I  am  not  rich  enough  to  buy  him  one  at 
j)resent.  If  you  are  willing,  my  twenty  shillings  (that  were)  should  go 
towards  that,  I  will  add  ten  to  them,  and  let  it  lie  till  I  have  tried  my  ut- 
most with  my  friends  to  make  up  the  price  of  a  new  one." 


1742.] 


WESLEY  AT  EPWORTH. 


15 


was  to  preach  in  the  afternoon ;  the  church  was  till- 
ed in  consequence,  and  a  sermon  was  delivered  upon 
the  evils  of  enthusiasm,  to  which  Wesley  listened 
with  his  characteristic  composure.  But  when  the 
sermon  was  over,  his  companion  gave  notice,  as  the 
people  were  coming  out,  that  Mr.  Wesley,  not  being 
permitted  to  preach  in  the  church,  would  preach  in 
the  church-yard  at  six  o'clock.  Accordingly," 
says  he,  *•  at  six  I  came,  and  found  such  a  congrega- 
tion as  I  believe  Epworth  never  saw  before.  I  stood 
near  the  east  end  of  the  church,  upon  my  father's 
tomb-stone,  and  cried,  '  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness,  and  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.'  " 

SVesley  has  been  accused  harshly  and  hastily  of 
want  of  feeling,  because  he  pl'eached  upon  his  fa- 
ther's grave.  But  it  was  from  feeling,  as  much  as 
enthusiasm,  that  he  acted,  knowing  that  he  should 
derive  a  deeper  passion  from  the  ground  upon  which 
he  stood ;  like  the  Greek  tragedian,  who,  when  he 
peri'ormed  Electra,  brought  into  the  theatre  the  urn 
containing  the  ashes  of  his  ov.n  child.  Nor  was 
there  any  danger  that  the  act  should  be  misconstrued 
by  those  who  heard  him:  mad  they  might  think  him. 
but  they  knew  his  domestic  character,  and  were  as- 
sured that  he  had  not  stood  with  a  holier  or  more 
reverential  feeling  beside  that  grave  when  his  father's 
body  was  consigned  to  it,  earth  to  earth.  Seven  suc- 
cessive evenings  he  preached  upon  that  tomb-stone, 
and  in  no  place  did  he  ever  preach  with  greater  ef- 
fect. Lamentations,"  he  says,  "and  great  groan- 
ings,  were  heard,  God  bowing  their  hearts  so,  and  on 
every  side,  as,  with  one  accord,  they  lifted  up  their 
voices  and  wept  aloud:  several  dropped  down  as 
dead  ;  and,  among  the  rest,  such  a  cry  was  heard  of 
sinners  groaning  for  the  righteousness  of  fiith,  as  al- 
most drowned  my  voice.  But  many  of  these  soon 
lifted  up  their  heads  with  joy,  and  broke  out  into 
thanksgiving,  being  assured  they  now  had  the  desire 
of  their  soul,  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins."  White- 
lamb  was  one  of  his  auditors,  and  wrote  to  him  aller- 
wards  in  terms  which,  while  they  show  a  just  sense 
of  the  rash  doctrine  that  he  preached,  niid  the  extra- 


It)  WESLEY  AT  EPWORTH.  [1742, 

vagance  that  he  encouraged,  show  also  the  powerful 
ascendancy  which  Wesley  had  obtained  over  him  by 
his  talents  and  his  virtues.  "  Dear  brother,"  he 
says,  "  I  saw  you  at  Epworth  on  Tuesday  evening. 
Fain  would  I  have  spoken  to  you,  but  that  I  am  quite 
at  a  loss  how  to  address  or  behave.  Your  way  of 
thinking  is  so  extraordinary,  that  your  presence  cre- 
ates an  awe,  as  if  you  were  an  inhabitant  of  another 
world.  God  grant  you  and  your  followers  may  al- 
ways have  entire  liberty  of  conscience:  will  you  not 
allow  others  the  same  ?  Indeed  I  cannot  think  as 
you  do,  any  more  than  I  can  help  honouring  and  lov- 
ing you.  Dear  Sir,  will  you  credit  me  ?  I  retain 
the  highest  veneration  and  affection  for  you. 
The  sight  of  you  moves  me  strangely.  I  feel,  in 
a  higher  degree,  all  that  tenderness  and  yearning 
of  bowels  with  which  1  am  affected  toward  every 
branch  of  Mr.  Wesley's  family.  I  cannot  fefrain 
from  tears,  when  I  reflect,  this  is  the  man  who  at  Ox* 
ford  was  more  than  a  father  to  me !  this  is  he  whom 
I  have  there  heard  expound  or  dispute  publicly,  or 
preach  at  St.  Mary's  with  such  applause !  and,  oh 
that  I  should  ever  add,  whom  I  have  lately  heard 
preach  at  Epworth!  Dear  Sir,  is  it  in  my  power  to 
serve  or  oblige  you  in  any  way  .'^  Glad  I  should  be 
that  you  would  make  use  of  me.  God  open  all  our 
eyes,  and  lead  us  into  truth,  whatever  it  be." 

Wesley  lias  said  that  Whitelamb  did  not  at  this 
time  believe  in  Christianity,  nor  for  many  years  af- 
terwards. If  it  were  so,  the  error  was  not  improba- 
bly occasioned  by  a  strong  perception  of  the  excesses 
into  which  the  Methodists  had  been  betrayed;  just 
as  monkery  and  Romish  fables  produce  irreligion  in 
Catholic  countries.  But  it  is  most  likely  a  hasty,  or 
a  loose  expression,  for  Whitelamb  was  a  man  of  ex- 
cellent character  :  no  tendency  to  unbelief  appears 
in  such  of  his  letters  as  have  been  published;  and 
the  contrary  inference  may  be  drawn  from  what  he 
says  to  Charles  :  "  I  cannot  but  look  upon  your  doc- 
trines as  of  ill  consequence; — consequence,  I  say; 
for,  take  them  nakedly  in  themselves,  and  nothing 
seems  more  innocent ;  nay,  good  and  holy.  Suppose 
we  grant  that  in  you  and  the  rest  of  the  leaders. 


1742.] 


WESLEY  AT  EPVTORTH. 


17 


who  are  men  of  sense  and  discernment,  what  is  call- 
ed the  seal  and  testimony  of  the  Spirit  is  something 
real,  yet  I  have  great  reason  to  think  that,  in  the  ge- 
nerahty  of  your  followers,  it  is  merely  the  effect  of  a 
heated  fancy."  This  is  judicious  language,  and  cer- 
tainly betrays  no  mark  of  irreligion.  He  offered  his 
pulpit  to  Wesley,  and  incurred  much  censure  for  so 
doing,  from  those  who  neither  considered  the  rela- 
tion in  whicii  he  stood  to  him,  nor  did  justice  to  hi^ 
principles  and  feelings. 

Some  remarkable  circumstances  attended  Wes- 
ley's preaching  in  these  parts.  Some  of  his  oppo- 
nents, in  the  excess  of  their  zeal  against  enthusiasm, 
took  up  a  whole  wagon  load  of  Methodists,  and  car- 
ried them  before  a  justice.  When  they  were  asked 
what  these  persons  had  done,  there  was  an  awkward 
silence ;  at  last  one  of  the  accusers  said,  "  Why,  they 
pretended  to  be  better  than  other  people;  and,  be- 
sides, they  prayed  from  morning  till  night."  Tbc 
magistrate  asked  if  they  had  done  nothing  else. — 
"  Yes,  Sir,"  said  an  old  man,  "  an't please  your  wor- 
ship, they  have  converted  my  wife.  Till  she  went 
among  them,  she  had  such  a  tongue !  and  now  she  is 
as  quiet  as  a  lamb  !" — "  Carry  them  back,  carry  them 
back,"  said  the  magistrate,  "  and  let  them  convert  all 
the  scolds  in  the  town."  Among  the  hearers  in  the 
church-yard  was  a  gentleman  remarkable  for  pro- 
fessing that  he  was  of  no  religion  :  for  more  than  thir- 
ty years  he  had  not  attended  at  public  worship  of 
any  kind;  and,  perhaps,  if  Wesley  had  preached 
from  the  pulpit  instead  of  the  tomb-stone,  he  might 
not  have  been  induced  to  gratify  his  curiosity  by 
hearing  him.  But  when  the  sei  mon  was  ended,  Wes- 
ley perceived  that  it  had  reached  him,  and  that  he 
stood  like  a  statue ;  so  he  asked  him  abruptly,  "  Sir, 
are  you  a  sinner  .'^" — "Sinner  enough,"  was  the  re- 
ply, which  was  uttered  in  a  deep  and  broken  voice; 
and  he  continued  staring  upwards,  till  his  wife  and 
servants,  who  were  all  in  tears,  put  him  into  hif? 
chaise  and  took  him  home.  Ten  years  afterwards, 
Wesley  says  in  his  journal,  "  I  called  on  the  gentle- 
man who  told  me  he  was  '  siiukcr  enough,'  when  I 

VOL.  H. 


18 


WESLEY  AT  EPWORTH. 


[1742. 


preached  first  at  Epworth  on  my  father's  tomb,  and 
was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  him  strong  in  faith, 
though  exceeding  weak  in  body.  For  some  years, 
he  told  me,  he  had  been  rejoicing  in  God  without 
either  doubt  or  fear,  and  was  now  waiting  for  the 
welcome  hour  when  he  should  depart  and  be  with 
Christ." 

There  were  indeed  few  places  where  his  preach- 
ing was  attended  with  greater  or  more  permanent 
effect  than  at  Epworth,  upon  this  first  visit.  "Oh," 
he  exclaims,  "  let  none  thiiik  his  labour  of  love  is 
lost,  because  the  fruit  does  not  immediately  appear! 
Near  forty  years  did  my  father  labour  here,  but  he 
saw  little  fruit  of  all  his  labour.  I  took  some  pains 
among  this  people  too  ;  and  my  strength  also  seemed 
spent  in  vain.  But  now  the  fruit  appeared.  There 
w^ere  scarce  any  in  the  town  on  whom  either  my 
father  or  I  had  taken  any  pains  formerly,  but  the 
seed  so  long  sown  now  sprung  up  bringing  forth  re- 
pentance and  remission  of  sins,"  The  intemperate 
and  indecent  cortduct  of  the  curate  must  undoubted- 
ly have  provoked  a  feeling  in  favour  of  Wesley ;  for 
this  person,  who  was  under  the  greatest  obligations 
to  the  Wesley  family,  behaved  toward  him  with  the 
most  offensive  brutality.  In  a  state  of  beastly  intoxi- 
cation himself,  he  set  upon  him  with  abuse  and  vio- 
lence in  the  presence  of  a  thousand  people;  and 
when  some  persons,  who  liad  come  from  the  neigh- 
bouring towns  to  attend  upon  the  new  preacher,  by 
his  direction,  waited  upon  Mr.  Romley  to  inform  him 
that  they  meant  to  communicate  on  the  following 
Sunday,  he  said  to  them  in  reply,  Tell  Mr.  Wesley 
I  shall  not  give  /iwn  the  sacrament,  for  he  is  not  /t7." 
This  insult  called  forth  from  Wesley  a  strong  expres- 
sion of  feeling  in  his  journal:  "How  wise  a  God," 
says  he,  "  is  our  God  !  There  could  not  have  been 
so  fit  a  place  under  Heaven  where  This  should  befal 
me  :  first,  as  my  father's  house,  the  place  of  my  nati- 
vity, and  the  very  place  where,  according  to  the  strictest 
sect  of  our  religion^  1  had  so  long  lived  a  Pharisee.  It 
was  also      in  the  highest  degree,  that  he  who  re- 


J 742.]  OUTCRY  AGAINST  METHODISM. 


19 


pelled  me  from  that  very  table,  where  I  had  myself 
■30  often  distributed  the  bread  of  life,  should  be  one 
who  owed  his  all  in  this  world  to  the  tender  love 

Nhich  my  father  had  shown  to  his^  as  well  as  person- 

lly  to  himself-* 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OUTCRV   AGAINST  METHODISM.  VIOLENCE    OF  MOBS  AND 

MISCONDLTT   OF  MAGIS MiATES. 

Methodism  had  now  assumed  some  form  and  con- 
sistence. Meeting-houses  had  been  built,  societies 
formed  and  disciplined,  funds  raised,  rules  enacted, 
lay  preachers  admitted,  and  a  regular  system  of  itine- 
rancy begun.  Its  furious  symptoms  had  subsided, 
the  affection  had  reached  a  calmer  stage  of  its 
course,  and  there  were  no  longer  any  of  those  out- 
rageous exhibitions  which  excited  scandal  and  com- 
passion, as  well  as  astonishment.  But  Wesley  con- 
tinned,  with  his  constitutional  fervour,  to  preach  the 
doctrines  of  instantanteous  regeneration,  assurance, 
and  sinless  perfection.  These  doctrines  gave  just 
offence,  and  became  still  more  offensive  when  they 
were  promulgated  by  unlettered  men,  with  all  the 
vehemence  and  self-sutficiency  of  fancied  inspiration. 
Wesley  himself  added  to  the  offence  by  the  loftiness 
of  his  pretensions.  In  the  preface  to  his  third  jour- 
nal he  says,  "It  is  not  the  work  of  man  which  hath 
lately  appeared :  all  who  calmly  observe  it  must 
say, '  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in 
our  eyes.'  The  manner  wherein  God  hath  wrought 
is  as  strange  as  the  work  itself  These  extraordina- 
ry circumstances  seem  to  have  been  designed  by 
God  for  the  further  manifestation  of  his  work,^o  cause 
his  power  to  be  known,  and  to  awaken  the  attention 
of  a  drowsy  world."  He  related  cures  wrought  by 
his  faith  and  his  prayers,  which  he  considered  and 


20 


OUTCRY  AGAINST  METHODISM. 


[1742. 


represented  as  positively  miraculous.  By  thinking 
strongly  on  a  text  of  Scripture  which  promised  that 
these  signs  should  I'ollovv  those  that  believe,  and  by 
calling  on  Christ  to  increase  his  faith  and  confirm 
the  word  of  his  grace,  he  shook  off  instantaneously, 
he  says,  a  fever  whicli  had  hung  upon  him  for  some 
days,  and  was  in  a  moment  freed  from  all  pain,  and 
restored  to  his  former  strength.  He  visited  a  be- 
liever at  night  who  was  not  expected  to  live  till  the 
morning:  the  man  was  speechless  and  senseless,  and 
his  pulse  gone.  "  A  few  of  us."  says  Wesley,  "  im- 
mediately joined  in  prayers.  I  relate  the  naked  fact. 
Before  we  had  done,  his  senses  and  his  speech  re- 
turned. Now,  he  that  will  account  for  this  by  natu- 
ral causes  has  my  free  leave.  But  I  choose  to  say, 
this  is  the  power  of  God."  So,  too,  when  his  own 
teeth  ached,  he  prayed,  and  the  pain  left  him.  And 
this  faith  was  so  strong,  that  it  sufficed  sometimes  to 
cure  not  only  himself  but  his  horse  also.  "  My  horse," 
he  says,  "was  so  exceedingly  lame,  that  I  was  afraid 
I  must  have  lain  by.  We  could  not  discern  what  it 
was  that  was  amiss,  and  yet  he  would  scarce  set  his 
foot  to  the  ground.  By  riding  thus  seven  miles  I  was 
thoroughly  tired,  and  my  head  ached  more  than  it 
had  done  for  some  months.  What  1  here  aver  is 
the  naked  fact :  let  every  man  account  for  it  as  he 
sees  good.  I  then  thought  '  Cannot  God  heal  either 
man  or  beast,  by  any  means,  or  without  any 
Immediately  my  weariness  and  headach  ceased,  and 
my  horse's  lameness  in  the  same  instant.  Nor  did 
he  halt  any  more  either  that  day  or  the  next.  A 
very  odd  accident  this  also." 

Even  those  persons  who  might  have  judged  fa- 
vourably of  W  esley's  intentions,  could  not  but  consi- 
der representations  like  these  as  discreditable  to  iiis 
judgment.  But  those  who  were  less  charitable  im- 
peached his  veracity,  and  loudly  accused  him  of  hy- 
pocrisy and  imposture.  The  strangest  suspicions 
and  calumnies  were  circulated ;  and  men  will  be- 
lieve any  calumnies,  however  preposterously  absurd, 
against  those  of  whom  they  are  disposed  to  think  ill. 
He  had  hanged  himself,  and  been  cut  down  just  ia 


1742.]  OUTCRY  AGAINST  METHODISM. 


21 


time ; — he  had  been  fined  for  selling  gin  ; — he  was 
not  the  real  John  Wesley,  for  every  body  knew  that 
Mr.  Wesley  was  dead.  Some  said  he  was  a  Quaker, 
others  an  Anabaptist:  a  more  sapient  censor  pro- 
nounced him  a  Presbyterian  Papist.  It  was  com- 
monly reported  that  he  was  a  Papist,  if  not  a  Jesuit ; 
that  he  kept  Popish  priests  in  his  house ; — nay,  it 
was  beyond  dispute  that  he  received  large  remit- 
tances from  Spain,  in  order  to  make  a  party  among 
the  poor,  and  when  the  Spaniards  landed,  he  was  to 
join  them  with  20,000  men.  Sometimes  it  was  re- 
ported that  he  was  in  prison  upon  a  charge  of  high 
treason  ;  and  there  were  people  who  confidently  af- 
firmed that  they  had  seen  him  with  the  Pretender  in 
France.  Reports  to  this  effect  were  so  prevalent, 
that  when,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1744,  a  pro- 
clamation was  issued  requiring  all  Papists  to  leave 
London,  he  thought  it  prudent  to  remain  a  week 
there,  that  he  might  cut  off  all  occasion  of  reproach; 
and  this  did  not  prevent  the  Surry  magistrates  from 
summoning  him,  and  making  him  take  the  oath  of  al- 
legiance, and  sign  the  declaration  against  Popery. 
Wesley  was  indifferent  to  all  other  accusations,  but 
the  charge  of  disaffection,  in  such  times,  might  have 
drawn  on  serious  inconveniences ;  and  he  drew  up 
a  loyal  address  to  the  King,  in  the  name  of  "The 
Societies  in  derision  called  Methodists."  They 
thought  it  incumbent  upon  them  to  offer  this  address, 
the  paper  said,  if  they  must  stand  as  a  distinct  body 
from  their  brethren ;  but  they  protested  that  they 
were  a  part,  however  mean,  of  the  Protestant  Church 
established  in  these  kingdoms ;  and  that  it  was  their 
principle  to  revere  the  higher  powers  as  of  God,  and 
to  be  subject  for  conscience  sake.  The  address, 
however,  was  not  prcser)ted,  probably  because  of  an 
objection  which  Charles  started,  of  its  seeming  to  al- 
low that  they  were  a  body  distinct  from  the  National 
Church,  whereas  they  were  only  a  sound  part  of  that 
Church.  Charles  himself  was  more  seriously  incom- 
moded by  the  imputation  of  disloyally  than  his  bro- 
ther. When  he  was  itinerating  in  Y'orksiiire,  an  ac- 
cusation was  laid  against  him  of  having  spoken  trea- 


22^  OUTCRY  AGAINST  METHODISM.  [1742, 

sonable  words,  and  witnesses  were  summoned  before 
the  magistrates  at  Wakefield  to  depose  against  him. 
Fortunately  for  him,  he  learnt  this  in  time  to  present 
himself,  and  confront  the  witnesses.  He  had  prayed 
that  the  Lord  would  call  home  his  banished  ones; 
and  this  the  accusers  construed,  in  good  faith,  to 
mean  tHe  Pretender.  The  words  would  have  had 
that  meaning  from  the  mouth  of  a  Jacobite.  But 
Charles  Wesley,  with  perfect  sincerity,  disclaimed 
any  such  intention.  "  I  had  no  thoughts,"  he  said, 
"of  praying  for  the  Pretender,  but  for  those  who 
confess  themselves  strangers  and  pilgrims  upon 
earth, — who  seek  a  country,  knowing  this  is  not  their 
home.  You,  sir,"  he  added,  addressing  himself  to  a 
clergyman  :v;>on  the  bench  ;  "you,  sir,  know  that  the 
Scriptures  '^peak  of  us  as  captive  exiles,  who  are  ab- 
sent from  the  Lord  a iiiie  present  in  the  body.  We 
are  not  at  home  tvl  we  are  in  Heaven."  The  ma- 
gistrates were  mo.)  of  sense:  they  perceived  that  he 
explained  himself  clearly — that  his  declarations  were 
frank  and  unequivoc.il,  and  they  declared  themselves 
perfectly  satisfied. 

Yet  these  aspersiorss  tended  to  aggravate  the  in- 
creasing obloquy  under  which  the  Wesleys  and  their 
followers  were  now  labouring.  "  Every  Sunday," 
says  Charles,  "  damnation  is  denounced  against  all 
who  hear  us,  for  we  are  Papists,  Jesuits,  seducers, 
and  bringers-in  of  the  Pretender.  The  clergy  mur- 
mur aloud  at  the  number  of  communicants,  and 
threaten  to  repel  them."  He  was  himself  repelled 
at  Bristol,  with  circumstances  of  indecent  violence. 
"Wives  and  children,"  he  says,  "are  beaten  and 
turned  out  of  doors,  and  the  persecutors  are  the 
complainers  :  it  is  always  the  lamb  that  troubles  the 
water!"  A  maid-servant  was  turned  away  by  her 
master,  "  because,"  he  said,  "  he  would  have  none 
in  his  house  who  had  received  the  Holy  Ghost !" — 
She  had  been  thrown  into  the  convulsions  of  Metho- 
dism, and  continued  in  them  fourteen  hours.  This 
happened  at  Bath,  where,  as  Charles  expresses  him- 
self, "  Satan  took  it  ill  to  be  attacked  in  his  head- 
quarters." .John  had  a  curious  interview  there  with 
Beau  Nash,  for  it  was  in  his  reign.    While  he  was 


1742.] 


VIOLENCE  OF  MOBS. 


23 


preaching,  this  remarkahle  personage  entered  the 
room,  came  close  to  the  preacher,  and  demanded  of 
him  by  what  authority  he  was  acting.  Wesley  made 
answer,  "  By  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  conveyed  to  me  by 
the  present  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  when  he  laid 
his  hands  upon  me  and  said,  '  Take  thou  authority 
to  preach  the  Gospel.'  " — Nash  then  affirmed  that  he 
M'as  acting  contrary  to  the  laws :  "  Besides,"  said  he, 
"  your  preaching  frightens  people  out  of  their  wits." 
"  Sir,"  replied  ^yesley,  "  did  you  ever  hear  me 
preach  — No,"  said  the  Master  of  the  Ceremonies. 
"  How  then  can  you  judge  of  what  you  never  heard 
Nash  made  answer,  "  By  common  report." — "  Sir," 
said  Wesley,  is  not  your  name  Nash  ?  I  dare  not 
judge  of  you  by  common  report :  I  think  it  not  enough 
to  judge  by."  However  accurate  common  report 
might  have  been,  and  however  rightly  Nash  might 
have  judged  of  the  extravagance  of  Methodism,  he 
was  delivering  opinions  in  the  wrong  place;  and 
when  he  desired  to  know  what  the  people  came 
there  for,  one  of  the  congregation  cried  out,  "  Let 
an  old  woman  answer  him : — you,  Mr.  Nash,  take 
care  of  your  body,  we  take  care  of  our  souls,  and  tor 
the  food  of  our  souls  we  come  here."  He  found  him- 
self a  very  different  person  in  the  meeting-house  from 
what  he  was  in  the  pmnp-room  or  the  assembly,  and 
thought  it  best  to  withdraw. 

But  Wesley  had  soon  to  encounter  more  danger- 
ous opposition.  Bristol  was  the  first  place  where  he 
received  any  serious  disturbance  from  the  rabble. — 
After  several  nights  of  prelusive  uproar,  the  mob  as- 
sembled in  great  strength.  Not  only  tlie  courts 
and  the  alleys,"  he  says,  but  all  the  street  upwards 
and  downwards.  Was  filled  with  people,  shouting, 
cursing  and  swearing,  and  ready  to  swallow  the 
ground  with  fierceness  and  rage.  Tiiey  set  the  or- 
ders of  the  magistrates  at  nought,  and  grossly  abused 
the  chief  constable,  till  a  party  of  peace  officers  ar- 
rived and  took  the  ringleaders  into  custody.  When 
they  were  brought  up  belbre  the  mayor,  Mr.  Combe, 
they  began  to  excuse  themselves,  by  reviling  Wes- 
ley; but  the  mayor  properly  cut  them  short  by  say- 


24 


V10LE^CE  OF  MOBS. 


[1742, 


ing,  "  What  Mr.  Wesley  is,  is  nothing  to  you.  I  will 
keep  the  peace.  I  will  have  no  rioting  in  this  city." 
And  such  was  the  effect  of  this  timely  and  determin- 
ed interposition  of  the  civil  power,  that  the  Metho- 
dists were  never  again  disturbed  by  the  rabble  at 
Bristol.  In  London  also  (he  same  ready  protection 
was  afTorded.  The  chairman  of  the  Middlesex  jus- 
tices, hearing  of  the  disposition  which  the  mob  had 
shown,  called  upon  Mr.  Wesley,  and  telling  him  that 
such  things  were  not  to  be  suffered,  added,  "  Sir,  I 
and  the  other  Middlesex  magistrates  have  orders 
from  above  to  do  you  justice  whenever  you  apply  to 
us."  This  assistance  he  applied  for  when  the  mob 
stoned  him  and  his  followers  in  the  streets,  and  at- 
tempted to  unroof  the  Foundry.  At  Chelsea  they 
threw  wildfire  and  crackers  into  the  room  where  he 
was  preaching.  At  Long-Lane  they  broke  in  the 
roof  with  large  stones,  so  that  the  people  within  were 
in  danger  of  their  lives.  Wesley  addressed  the  rab- 
ble without  effect  :  he  then  sent  out  three  or  four 
steady  and  resolute  men  to  seize  one  of  the  ringlead- 
ers :  they  brought  him  into  the  house,  cursing  and 
blaspheming,  dispatched  him  under  a  good  escort  to 
the  nearest  justice,  and  bound  him  over  to  the  next 
sessions  at  Guildford.  A  remarkable  circumstance 
occurred  during  this  scene.  One  of  the  stoutest  cham- 
pions of  the  rioters  was  struck  with  sudden  contri- 
tion, and  came  into  the  room  with  a  woman  who  had 
been  as  ferocious  as  himself — both  to  fall  upon  their 
knees,  and  acknowledge  the  mercy  of  God. 

These  disturbances  were  soon  suppressed  in  the 
metropolis  and  its  vicinity,  where  the  magistrates 
knew  their  duty,  and  were  ready  to  perform  it;  but 
in  some  parts  of  the  country,  the  very  persons  whose 
office  it  was  to  preserve  the  peace,  instigated  their 
neighbours  and  dependents  to  break  it.  Wesley  had 
preached  at  Wednesbury,  in  Staffordshire,  both  in 
the  town-hall,  and  in  the  open  air,  without  molesta- 
tion. The  colliers  in  the  neighbourhood  had  listen- 
ed to  him  peaceably ;  and  between  three  and  four 
hundred  persons  formed  themselves  into  a  society  as 
Methodists.  Mr.  Egginton,  the  minister  of  that  town, 


1742.] 


MISCONDUCT  OF  MAGISTRATES. 


25 


was  at  first  pleased  with  this ;  but  offence  was  given 
hiui  by  some  great  indiscretion,  and  from  that  time  he 
began  to  oppose  the  Methodists  by  the  most  out- 
rageous means.  Some  of  the  neighbouring  magis- 
trates were  ignorant  enough  of  their  duty,  both  as 
magistrates  and  as  men,  to  assist  him  in  stirring  up 
the  rabble,  and  to  refuse  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  Me- 
thodists, when  their  persons  and  property  were  at- 
tacked. Mobs  were  collected  by  the  sound  of  horn, 
windows  were  demolished,  houses  broken  open, 
goods  destroyed  or  stolen,  men,  women,  and  children 
beaten,  pelted,  and  dragged  in  the  kennels,  and  even 
pregnant  women  outraged,  to  the  imminent  danger  of 
their  hves,  and  the  disgrace  of  humanity.  The  mob 
said  they  would  make  a  law,  and  that  all  the  Metho- 
dists should  set  their  hands  to  it;  and  they  nearly 
murdered  those  who  would  not  sign  a  paper  of  re- 
cantation. When  they  had  had  the  law  in  their  own 
hands  for  four  or  tive  months,  (such  in  those  days  was 
the  state  of  the  police  !)  Wesley  came  to  Birmingham 
on  his  way  to  Newcastle;  and  hearing  of  the  state  of 
things  at  Wednesbury,  went  there,  like  a  man  whose 
maxim  it  was  always  to  look  danger  in  the  face.  He 
preached  in  mid-day,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  town, 
to  a  large  assembly  of  people,  without  the  slightest 
Hiolestation  either  going  or  coming,  or  while  he  was 
on  the  ground.  But  in  the  evening  the  mob  beset 
the  house  in  which  he  was  lodged  :  they  were  in 
great  strength,  and  their  cry  was,  "  Bring  out  the 
minister!  we  will  have  the  minister!"  Wesley,  who 
never,  on  any  occasion,  lost  his  calmness  or  his  self- 
possession,  desired  one  of  his  friends  to  take  the  cap- 
tain of  the  mob  by  the  hand,  and  lead  him  into  the 
house.  The  fellow  was  either  soothed  or  awed  by 
Wesley's  appearance  and  serenity.  He  was  desired 
to  bring  in  one  or  two  of  the  most  angry  of  his  com- 
panions :  they  were  appeased  in  the  same  manner, 
and  made  way  for  the  man  whom,  five  minutes  be- 
fore, they  would  fain  have  pulled  to  pieces,  that  he 
might  go  out  to  the  people.  Wesley  then  called  for 
a  chair,  got  upon  it,  and  demanded  of  the  multitude 
what  they  wanted  with  him      Some  of  them  made 

VOL.  II.  4 


VIOLENCE  OF  MOBS. 


[1743. 


answer,  they  wanted  him  to  go  with  them  to  the  jus- 
tice. He  repHed,  with  all  his  heart;  and  added  a 
lew  sentences,  which  had  such  an  effect,  that  a  cry 
arose,  "  The  gentleman  is  an  honest  gentleman,  and 
we  will  spill  our  blood  in  his  defence."  But  when  he 
asked  whether  they  should  go  to  the  justice  immedi- 
ately, or  in  the  morning,  (for  it  was  in  the  month  of 
October,  and  evening  was  closing  in,)  most  of  them 
cried,  "To-night,  to-night!"  Accordingly  they  set 
out  for  the  nearest  magistrate's,  Mr.  Lane,  of  Bent- 
ley-Hall.  His  house  was  about  two  miles  distant : 
night  came  on  before  they  had  walked  half  the  way  : 
it  began  to  rain  heavily :  the  greater  part  of  the  sense- 
less multitude  dispersed,  but  two  or  three  hundred 
still  kept  together;  and  as  they  approached  the 
house,  some  of  them  ran  forward  to  tell  Mr.  Lane 
they  had  brought  Mr.  Wesley  before  his  worship. — 
"  What  have  I  to  do  with  Mr.  Wesley?"  was  the  re- 
ply :  "  go  and  carry  him  back  agani."  By  this  time 
the  main  body  came  up,  and  knocked  at  the  door. — 
They  were  told  that  Mr.  Lane  was  not  to  be  spoken 
with;  but  the  son  of  that  gentleman  came  out,  and 
inquired  what  was  the  matter.  "  Why,  a'nt  please 
you,"  said  the  spokesman,  "  they  sing  psalms  all  day; 
nay,  and  make  folks  rise  at  five  in  the  morning.  And 
Avhat  would  your  worship  advise  us  to  do.^"  "To 
gg  home,"  said  Mr.  Lane,  "  and  be  quiet." 

Upon  this  they  were  at  a  stand,  till  some  one  ad- 
vised that  they  should  go  to  Justice  Persehouse,  at 
Walsal.  To  Walsal  therefore  they  went :  it  was 
about  seven  when  they  arrived,  and  the  magistrate 
sent  out  word  that  he  was  in  bed,  and  could  not  be 
spoken  with.  Here  they  were  at  a  stand  again :  at 
last  they  thought  the  wisest  thing  they  could  do  would 
be  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  home ;  and  about 
fifty  undertook  to  escort  Mr.  Wesley;  not  as  their 
prisoner,  but  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  him,  so 
much  had  he  won  upon  them  by  his  commanding  and 
yet  conciliating  manner.  But  the  cry  had  arisen  in 
Walsal  that  Wesley  was  there,  and  a  fresh  fierce 
rabble  rushed  out  in  pursuit  of  their  victim.  They 
presently  came  up  with  him.    His  escort  stood  man- 


VIOLENCE  OF  MOBS. 


27 


<iillv  in  liis  defence;  and  a  woman,  uho  was  one  of 
Uieir  leaders,  knocked  down  three  or  four  Walsal 
snen,  before  she  was  knocked  down  herself,  r^nd  very 
n'^arly  murdered.  His  friends  were  presently  over- 
powered, and  he  was  left  in  the  hands  of  a  rabble 
loo  much  infuriated  to  hear  him  speak.  "  Indeed,'* 
iio  says,  "  it  was  in  vain  to  attempt  it,  for  the  noise 
(til  every  side  was  like  the  roaring  of  the  sea."'  The 
t  nt ranee  to  the  town  was  down  a  steep  hill,  and  the 
path  was  slippery,  because  of  the  rain.  Some  of 
the  ruffians  endeavoured  to  throw  him  down,  and,  if 
(Iicy  had  accomplished  their  purpose,  it  was  not 
likely  that  he  would  ever  have  risen  again  :  but  he 
kept  his  feet.  Part  ol"  his  clothes  was  torn  off; 
hlows  were  aimed  at  him  with  a  bludgeon,  which, 
!i;id  they  taken  effect,  would  have  fractured  his  skull; 
and  one  cowardly  villain  gave  him  a  blow  on  the 
mouth  which  made  the  blood  gush  out.  With  such 
outrages  they  dragged  him  into  the  town.  Seeing 
the  door  of  a  large  house  open,  he  attempted  to  go 
ill.  but  was  caught  by  the  hair,  and  pulled  back  into 
the  middle  of  the  crowd.  They  liaulcd  him  toward 
the  end  of  the  main  street,  and  there  he  made  to- 
ward a  shop-door,  which  was  half  open,  and  would 
have  gone  in,  but  the  shopkeeper  would  not  let  him, 
-raying,  that,  if  he  did,  they  would  pull  the  house 
down  to  the  ground.  He  made  a  stand,  iiowever,  at 
the  door,  and  asked  if  they  would  hear  him  speak  ? 
.Many  cried  out.  "  No,  no!  knock  his  brains  out  I 
down  with  him  !  kill  him  at  once  !"  A  more  atro- 
cious exclamation  was  uttered  by  one  or  two  wretch- 
es. I  almost  tremble,"  says  Wesley,  "  to  relate  it! 
— '  Crucify  the  dog !  crucify  him  !'  "  Others  insisted 
that  he  should  be  heard.  Even  in  mobs  that  opinion 
'will  prevail  which  has  the  show  of  justice  on  its  side, 
if  it  be  supported  boldly.  He  obtained  a  hearing, 
and  began  by  asking,  What  evil  have  I  done.'' 
which  of  you  all  have  I  wronged  in  word  or  deed  }''"' 
His  powerful  and  persuasive  voice,  his  ready  utter- 
ance, and  his  perfect  self-command,  stood  him  on 
this  perilous  emergency  in  good  stead.    A  cry  was 


28  VIOLENCE  OF  MOBS.  [1743. 

raised,  "  Bring  him  away  !  bring  liim  away  !"  When 
it  ceased,  he  then  broke  out  into  prayer;  and  the 
very  man  who  had  just  before  headed  the  rabble, 
turned  and  said,  "  Sir,  1  will  spend  ray  life  for  you  ! 
follow  me,  and  not  one  soul  here  shall  touch  a  hair 
of  your  head !"  This  man  had  been  a  prize-fighter 
at  a  bear-garden  ;  his  declaration,  therefore,  carried 
authority  with  it ;  and  when  one  man  declares  him- 
self on  the  right  side,  others  will  second  him  who 
might  have  wanted  courage  to  take  the  lead.  A 
feeling  in  Wesley's  favour  was  now  manifested,  and 
the  shopkeeper,  who  happened  to  be  the  mayor  of 
the  town,  ventured  to  cry  out,  "  For  shame  !  for 
shame  !  let  him  go  ;"  having,  perhaps,  some  sense  of 
humanity,  and  of  shame  for  his  own  conduct.  The 
man  who  took  his  part  conducted  him  through  the 
mob,  and  brought  him,  about  ten  o'clock,  back  to 
VVednesbury  in  safety,  with  no  other  injury  than 
some  slight  bruises.  The  populace  seemed  to  have 
spent  their  lury  in  this  explosion;  and  when,  on  the 
following  morning,  he  rode  tlirough  the  town  on  his 
departure,  some  kindness  was  expressed  by  all  w  hom 
he  met.  A  few  days  afterwards,  the  very  magis- 
trates who  had  refused  to  see  him  w  hen  he  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  rabble,  issued  a  curious  warrant, 
commanding  diligent  search  to  be  made  atter  certain 
"  disorderly  persons,  styling  themselves  Methodist 
preachers,  who  were  going  about  raising  routs  and 
riots,  to  the  great  damage  of  His  Majesty's  liege 
people,  and  against  the  peace  of  our  Sovereign  Lord 
the  King." 

It  was  only  at  Wednesbury  that  advantage  was 
taken  of  the  popular  cry  against  the  Methodists  to 
break  open  their  doors  and  plunder  their  houses ; 
but  greater  personal  barbarities  were  exercised  in 
other  places.  Some  of  the  preachers  received  se- 
rious injury;  others  were  held  under  water  till  they 
were  nearly  dead  ;  and  of  the  women  who  attended 
them,  some  were  so  treated  by  the  cowardly  and 
brutal  populace,  that  they  never  thoroughly  recover- 
ed.   In  some  places  they  daubed  the  preacher  all 


[1743.  VIOLENCE  OF  MOBS.  29 

over  with  paint.  In  others*  they  pelted  the  people 
in  the  meetings  with  egg-shells,  which  they  had  filled 
with  blood  and  stopt  with  pitch.  The  progress  of 
methodism  was  rather  furthered  than  impeded  by 
this  kind  of  persecution,  for  it  rendered  the  Metho- 
dists objects  of  curiosity  and  compassion:  and  in 
every  instance  the  preachers  displayed  that  fear- 
lessness which  enthusiasm!  inspires,  and  which, 
when  the  madness  of  the  moment  was  over,  made 
even  their  enemies  respect  them. 

These  things  were  sufficiently  disgraceful  to  the 
nation  ;  but  the  conduct  of  many  of  tho  provincial 
magistrates  was  far  more  so,  for  they  suffered  them- 
selves to  be  so  far  influenced  by  passion  and  popu- 
lar feeling,  as  to  commit  acts  of  abominable  oppres- 
sion under  the  colour  of  law.  Tb.c  vicar  of  Bristal, 
which  was  John  Nelson's  home  and  head-quarters, 
thought  it  justifiable  to  rid  the  parish  by  ai.y  means 
of  a  man  who  preached  with  more  zeal  and  more  ef- 
fect than  himself;  and  he  readily  consented  to  a 
proposal  from  the  alehouse-keepers  that  John  sliould 
be  pressed  for  a  soldier  ;  for,  as  fast  as  he  made  con- 
verts, they  lost  customers.  He  was  pressed  accord- 
ingly, and  taken  before  the  commissioners  at  Hali- 
fax,  where  the  vicar  was  one  of  the  bench,  and  though 
persons  eiiough  attended  to  speak  to  his  character, 
the  commissioners  said  they  had  heard  enough  of  him 
from  the  minister  of  his  parish,  and  could  hear  no- 
thing more.  So,  gentlemen,"  said  John,  "I  see 
there  is  neither  law  nor  justice  for  a  man  that  is  call- 

*  The  most  harmless  mode  of  aiinoyancp  was  viractised  at  B<  dford. 
The  mei'tin^-room  was  over  a  place  where  pi^s  were  kept.  An  alder- 
mdii  of  the  town  was  one  of  the  society ;  and  liis  dutiful  nejjhew  took 
c:ire  that  the  pigs  should  always  bp  fed  during  the  time  of  pn  acliii'g, 
that  the  alderman  might  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  music  as  well 
as  their  odour.  Wesley  says,  in  one  of  his  Journals,  "  the  ste.nch  from 
the  swine  under  the  room  was  scarce  supportable.  Was  ever  a  preach- 
ing place  over  a  hog-stye  before!  Surely  they  love  the  gospel  who  come 
to  hear  it  in  such  a  place." 

i  When  John  Leach  was  pelted  near  Rochdale  in  those  riotous  d.iys, 
a-id  saw  his  brother  wounded  in  the  forehead  by  a  stone,  he  was  mad 
enough  to  tell  the  rabble  that  not  one  of  them  ro'iild  bit  him,  if  he  were 
to  stand  preaching  there  till  midnight.  Just  then  the  nn>b  hi  gan  to 
q  larrel  among  themselves,  and  therefore  left  oft' pelting.  But  the  anec- 
dote has  been  related  by  his  brethren  for  his  praise  ! 


•:»(>  MISCONDUCT  OF  MAGISTRATES.  [174.'i. 

ed  a  INIelhodist :"  and  addressing  the  vicar  by  his 
name,  he  said,  "  What  do  you  know  of  me  that  is 
evil  ?  Wliom  have  I  defrauded  ?  or  where  have  I 
contracted  a  debt  that  I  cannot  pay  ?" — "  You  have 
no  visible  way  of  getting  your  living,"  was  the  reply. 
He  answered,  "  I  am  as  able  to  get  my  living  with 
my  hands  as  any  man  of  my  trade  in  England  is,  and 
you  know  it."  But  all  remonstrances  Avere  in  vain, 
he  was  marched  off  to  Bradford,  and  there,  ^by  order 
of  the  commissioners,  put  in  the  dungeon  :  the  filth 
and  blood  from  the  shambles  ran  into  the  place,  and 
the  only  accommodation  afforded  him  there  was 
some  stinking  straw,  for  there  was  not  even  a  stone 
to  sit  on. 

John  Nelson  hnd  as  high  a  spirit  and  as  brave  a 
heart  as  ever  Englisliman  was  blessed  with ;  and  he 
was  encouraged  by  the  good  offices  of  many  zealous 
friends,  and  the  sympathy  of  some  to  whom  he  was 
a  stranger.  A  soldier  had  offered  to  be  surety  for 
him.  and  an  inhabitant  of  Bradford,  though  an  enemy 
to  the  Methodists,  had,  from  mere  feelings  of  huma- 
nity, offered  to  give  security  for  him  if  he  might  be 
allowed  to  lie  in  a  bed.  His  friends  brought  him 
candles,  and  meat  and  water,  which  they  put  through 
a  hole  in  the  door,  and  they  sang  liymns  till  a  late 
hour  in  the  night,  they  without  and  he  within.  A 
poor  fellow  was  witli  him  in  this  miserable  place,  who 
might  have  been  starved  if"  Nelson's  friends  had  not 
brought  food  for  him  also.  When  they  lay  down  up- 
on their  straw,  this  man  asked  him,  "  Pray,  sir,  are 
all  these  your  kinsfolk,  that  they  love  you  so  well  ? 
I  think  they  are  the  most  loving  people  that  ever  I 
saw^  in  my  life."  At  four  in  tlie  morning  his  wife 
came  and  spake  to  liim  through  the  hole  in  the  door; 
and  John,  who  was  now  well  read  in  his  Bible,  said 
that  Jeremiah's  lot  was  fallen  upon  him.  The  wife 
had  profiled  well  by  her  husband's  lessons.  Instead 
of  bewailing  for  him  and  for  herself,  (though  she  was 
to  be  left  with  two  children,  and  big  with  another,) 
she  said  to  him,  "  Fear  not ;  the  cause  is  God's  for 
which  you  are  here,  and  he  will  plead  it  himself: 
therefore  be  not  concerned  about  me  and  the  chil- 


1743.]  MISCONDUCT  OF  MAGISTRATES. 


31 


dren  ;  for  he  that  feeds  the  young  ravens  will  be 
mindful  of  us.  He  will  give  you  strength  for  your 
day  ;  and  after  wc  have  suffered  a  while,  he  will  per- 
fect that  which  is  lacking  in  our  souls,  and  then  bring 
lis  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  where 
the  weary  are  at  rest."  Early  in  the  morning  he  w  as 
marched,  under  a  guard,  to  Leeds  ;  the  other  press- 
ed men  were  ordered  to  the  alehouse,  but  he  was 
sent  to  prison ;  and  there  he  thought  of  the  poor  pil- 
grims who  were  arrested  in  their  progress;  for  the 
people  came  in  crowds,  and  looked  at  him  through 
the  iron  grate.  Some  said  it  was  a  shame  to  send  a 
man  for  a  soldier  for  speaking  the  truth,  when  they 
who  followed  the  Methodists,  and  till  that  time  had 
been  as  wicked  as  any  in  the  town,  were  become  like 
new  creatures,  and  never  an  ill  word  was  heard  from 
their  lips.  Others  wished  that  all  the  Methodists 
Avere  hanged  out  of  the  way.  They  make  people 
go  mad,"  said  they;  and  we  cannot  get  drunk  or 
swear,  but  every  fool  must  correct  us,  as  if  we  were 
to  be  taught  by  them.  And  this  is  one  of  the  Avorst 
of  them."  Here,  however,  he  met  with  some  kind- 
ness. The  jailer  admitted  his  friends  to  see  him, 
and  a  bed  was  sent  him  by  some  compassionate  per- 
son, when  he  must  otherwise  have  slept  upon  stinking 
straw. 

On  the  following  day  he  was  marched  to  York,  and 
taken  before  some  officers.  Instead  of  remonstrat- 
ing with  them  upon  the  illegal  manner  in  which  he 
had  been  seized,  and  claiming  his  discharge,  he  be- 
gan to  reprove  them  for  swearing ;  and  when  they 
told  him  he  was  not  to  preach  there,  for  he  was  de- 
livered to  them  as  a  soldier,  and  must  not  talk  in  that 
manner  to  his  officers,  he  answered,  that  there  was 
but  one  way  to  prevent  him.  which  was  by  not  swear- 
ing in  his  hearing.  John  Nelson's  reputation  was 
well  known  in  York,  and  the  popular  prejudice 
against  the  Methodists  was  just  at  its  height.  "We 
were  gunrded  through  the  city,"  he  says,  "  but  it  was 
as  if  hell  were  moved  from  beneath  to  meet  me  at 
niv  coming.  The  streets  and  windows  were  tilled 
with  people,  who  shouted  and  huzzaed,  as  if  I  had 


32 


MISCONDUCT  OP  MAGISTRATES. 


[1743. 


been  one  that  had  laid  waste  the  nation.  But  the 
Lord  made  my  hiovv  like  brass,  so  that  I  could  look 
on  them  as  grasshoppers,  and  pass  through  the  city 
as  if  there  had  been  none  in  it  but  God  and  myself." 
Lots  were  cast  for  hitn  at  the  guard-house  ;  and  when 
it  was  thus  determined  wiiicli  captain  should  have 
him,  lie  was  offered  money,  which  he  refused  to  take, 
and  for  this  they  bade  the  sergeant  hand-cuff  him, 
and  send  him  to  prison.  The  hand-cuffs  were  not 
put  on  :  but  he  was  kept  three  da)'S  in  prison,  where 
lie  preaclied  to  the  poor  reprobates  among  whom 
he  was  thrown,  and,  wretches  as  they  were,  igno- 
rant of  all  that  was  good,  and  abandoned  to  all  that 
was  evil,  the  intrepidity  of  the  man  who  reproved 
them  for  their  blasphemies,  and  the  sound  reason 
which  appeared  amidst  all  the  enthusiasm  of  his  dis- 
course, was  not  without  effect.  Strangers  brought 
him  food  ;  his  wife  also  followed  him  here,  and  en- 
couraged him  to  go  on  and  suffer  every  thing  bravely 
for  conscience  sake.  On  the  third  day  a  court-mar- 
tial was  held,  and  he  was  guarded  to  it  by  a  file  of 
musqueteers,  with  their  bayonets  fixed  When  the 
court  asked,  "  What  is  this  man's  crime  the  an- 
swer was,  "  This  is  the  Methodist  preacher,  and  he 
refuses  to  lake  money:"  upon  which  they  turned 
to  him,  and  said,  "  sir,  you  need  not  find  fault  with 
us,  for  we  must  obey  our  orders,  which  are  to  make 
you  act  as  a  soldier:  yon  are  delivered  to  us  ;  and 
if  you  have  not  justice  done  you,  we  cannot  help  it." 
John  Nelson  plainly  told  them  he  would  not  fight, 
because  it  was  against  his  way  of  thinking:  and 
when  he  again  refused  the  money,  which  by  their 
bidding  was  offered  him,  they  told  him,  that,  if  he 
ran  away,  he  would  be  just  as  liable  to  suffer  as  if 
he  had  taken  it.  He  replied,  "If  I  cannot  be  dis- 
charged lawfully,  I  shall  not  run  away.  If  I  do,  pun- 
ish me  as  you  please."  He  was  then  sent  to  his 
quarters,  where  his  arms  and  accoutrements  were 
brought  him  and  put  on.  "  Why  do  you  gird  me," 
said  he,  "with  these  warlike  habiliments.''  lam  a 
man  averse  to  war,  and  shall  not  fight,  but  imder  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  the  Captain  of  my  salvation:  the 


1743.] 


MISCONDUCT  OF  MAGISTRATES. 


33 


weapons  he  gives  me  are  not  carnal,  like  these."  He 
must  bear  those,  they  told  him,  till  he  could  get  his 
discharge.  To  this  he  made  answer,  that  he  would 
bear  them  then  as  a  cross,  and  use  them  as  far  as  he 
could  without  defiling  his  conscience,  which  he 
would  not  do  t'ov  any  man  on  earth. 

There  was  a  spirit  in  all  this  w  hich,  when  it  had 
ceased  to  excite  ridicule  from  his  comrades,  obtained 
respect.  He  had  as  good  opportunities  of  exhorting 
and  preaching  as  he  could  desire  :  he  distributed  also 
the  little  books  which  Wesley  had  printed  to  explain 
and  vindicate  the  tenets  of  the  Methodists,  and  was 
as  actively  employed  in  the  cause  to  which  he  had 
devoted  himself,  as  if  he  had  been  his  own  master. — 
At  last  the  ensign  of  his  company  sent  for  him,  and 
accosting  him  with  an  execration,  swore  he  would 
have  no  preaching  nor  praying  in  the  regiment. — 
'•Then,"  said  John,  "Sir,  you  ought  to  have  no 
swearing  or  cursing  neither;  for  surely  I  have  as 
much  right  to  pray  and  preach,  as  you  have  to  curse 
and  swear."  Upon  this  the  brutal  ensign  swore  he 
should  be  damnably  Hogged  for  what  he  had  done. 
"Let  God  look  to  that,"  was  the  resolute  man's  an- 
swer. "The  cause  is  His.  But  if  you  do  not  leave 
ofTyour  cursing  and  swearing,  it  will  be  worse  with 
you  than  with  me."  The  ensign  then  bade  the  cor- 
poral put  that  fellow  into  prison  directly;  and  when 
the  corporal  said  he  must  not  carry  a  mi\n  to  prison 
unless  he  gave  in  his  crime  with  him,  he  told  him  it 
was  for  disobeying  orders.  To  prison,  therefore, 
Nelson  was  taken,  to  his  heart's  content;  and,  after 
eight-and-forty  hours'  continement,  was  brought  be- 
fore the  major,  who  asked  him  what  he  had  been  put 
in  confinement  for.  For  warning  people  to  llee 
from  the  wrath  to  come,"  he  replied ;  "  and  if  that 
be  a  crime,  I  shall  commit  it  again,  unless  you  cut  my 
tongue  out;  for  it  is  better  to  die  than  tc  disobey 
God."  The  major  told  him,  if  that  was  all,  it  was  no 
crime:  when  he  had  done  his  duly,  he  might  preach 
as  much  as  he  liked,  but  he  must  make  no  mobs. 
And  then  wishing  tliat  all  num  were  like  him,  he  dis- 
missed him  to  his  quarterb.    But  Nelson  wa-^  not  yet 

VOL.  II.  .0 


34 


MISCOiXDUCT  OF  MAGISTRATES. 


[1743. 


out  of  the  power  of  the  ensign.  One  Sunday,  when 
they  were  at  Darling;ton,  hoping  to  find  an  occasion 
for  making  him  feel  it,  he  asked  him  why  he  had  not 
been  at  church.  Nelson  replied,  "  I  Avas,  Sir,  and  if 
you  had  been  there,  you  might  have  seen  me  ;  for  I 
never  miss  going  when  I  have  an  opportunity."  He 
then  asked  him  if  he  liad  preached  since  they  came 
there  :  and  being  told  tliat  he  had  not  publicly,  wish- 
ed, with  an  oath,  that  he  would,  that  he  might  punish 
him  severely.  John  Nelson  did  not  forbear  from 
telling  him-  that  if  he  did  not  repent,  and  leave  off 
his  habit  of  swearing,  he  would  suffer  a  worse  punish- 
ment than  it  was  in  his  power  to  inflict;  and  it  was 
not  without  a  great  effort  of  self-restraint,  that  he 
subdued  his  resentment  at  the  insults  which  this 
petty  tyrant  poured  upon  him,  and  the  threats  which 
he  uttered.  "  It  caused  a  sore  temptation  to  arise 
in  me,"  he  says,  "  to  think  that  an  ignorant  wicked 
man  should  thus  torment  me, — and  I  able  to  tie  his 
head  and  heels  together !  I  found  an  old  man's  bone 
in  me  ;  but  the  Lord  lifted  up  a  standard,  when  an- 
ger was  coming  on  like  a  flood ;  else  I  should  have 
wrung  his  neck  to  the  ground,  and  set  my  foot  upon 
him."  The  Wesleys,  however,  meantime,  were  exert- 
ing tlieir  influence  to  obtain  his  discharge,  and  suc- 
ceeded by  means  of  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon. — 
His  companion,  Thomas  Beard,  who  had  been  press- 
ed for  the  same  reason,  would  probably  have  been 
discharged  also,  but  the  consequence  of  his  cruel 
and  illegal  impressment  had  cost  him  his  life.  He 
was  seized  with  a  fever,  the  effect  of  fatigue  and  agi- 
tation of  mind  :  they  let  him  blood,  the  arm  festered, 
mortified,  and  was  amputated ;  and  he  died  soon 
after  the  operation  ! 

Resort  was  had  to  the  same  abominable  measure 
for  putting  a  stop  to  Methodism  in  various  other 
places.  A  society  had  been  formed  at  St.  Ives,  in 
Cornwall,  by  Charles  Wesley.  There  was,  however, 
a  strong  spirit  of  opposition  in  that  country ;  and 
when  news  arrived  that  AdmiralMatthews  had  beaten 
the  Spaniards,  the  mob  pulled  down  the  preaching- 
house  for  joy.    "Such,"  says  Wesley,  "is  the  Cor- 


1743.] 


VIOLRNCE  OF  MOBS, 


iiish  method  of  thanksgiving! — I  suppose  if  Admiral 
Lestock  had  fought  too,  they  would  have  knocked 
ail  the  Methodists  on  the  head  !"  The  vulgar  sup- 
posed them  to  be  disaffected  persons,  ready  to  join 
the  Pretender  as  soon  as  he  should  land ;  and  men 
in  a  higher  rank  of  life,  and  of  more  attainments, 
thought  them  "  a  parcel  of  crazy-headed  fellows," 
and  were  so  offended  and  disgusted  with  their  extra- 
vagancies, as  not  only  to  overlook  the  good  which 
they  really  w  rought  among  tiiose  who  were  not  re- 
claimable  by  any  other  means,  but  to  connive  at,  and 
even  encourage  any  excesses  which  tijc  brutal  mul- 
titude might  choose  to  commit  against  them.  x\s  the 
most  cxpedilious  mode  of  proceeding,  pressing  was 
resorted  to  ;  and  some  of  the  magistrates  issued  war- 
rants for  apprehending  several  of  these  obnoxious 
people,  as  being  able-bodied  men,  who  had  no  law- 
ful calling  or  sufficient  maintenance — a  pretext 
absolutely  groundless.  Maxfield  was  seized  by  vir- 
tue of  such  a  warrant,  and  offered  to  the  captain  of  a 
king's  ship  then  in  Mount's  Bay;  but  the  officer  re- 
fused to  receive  him,  saying,  "  I  have  no  authority  to 
take  such  men  as  these,  unless  you  would  have  me 
give  him  so  much  a-\veek  to  preach  and  pray  to  my 
people."  He  was  then  thrown  into  prison  at  Pen- 
zance ;  and  when  the  mayor  inclined  to  release  him, 
Dr.  Borlase,  w  ho,  though  a  rnan  of  character  and  let- 
ters, was  not  ashamed  to  take  an  active  part  in  pro- 
ceedings like  these,  read  the  articles  of  war,  and  de- 
livered him  over  as  a  soldier.  A  few  days  after- 
wards Mr.  Ustick,  a  Cornish  gentleman,  came  up  to 
Wesley  himself,  as  he  was  preaching  in  the  open  air, 
and  said,  "  Sir,  I  have  a  warrant  from  Dr.  Borlase, 
and  you  must  go  with  me."  It  had  been  supposed 
that  this  was  striking  at  the  root;  and  that  if  John 
Wesley  himself  were  laid  hold  of,  Cornwall  would  be 
rid  of  his  followers.  But,  however  plausible  this  may 
have  seemed  when  the  resolution  was  formed,  Mr. 
Ustick  found  himself  considerably  embarrassed  when 
he  had  taken  into  his  custody  one  who,  instead  of 
being  a  wild  hare-brained  fanatic,  had  all  the  manner 
and  appearance  of  a  respectable  clergyman,  and  was 


36  MISCONDUCT  OF  MAGISTRATES.  [1713. 

perfectly  courteous  and  self-possessed.  He  was 
more  desirous  now  of  getting  well  out  of  the  business 
than  he  had  been  of  engaging  in  it;  and  this  he  did 
with  great  civility,  asking  him  if  he  was  willing  to  go 
with  him  to  the  Doctor.  W  esley  said,  immediately, 
if  he  pleased.  Mr.  Uslick  replied,  Sir,  1  must  wait 
upon  you  to  your  inn,  and  in  the  morning,  if  you  will 
be  so  good  as  to  go  with  me,  I  will  show  you  the  way." 
They  rode  there  accordingly  in  the  morning: — the 
Doctor  was  not  at  home,  and  Mr.  Ustick,  saying  that 
he  had  executed  his  commission,  took  his  leave,  and 
left  Wesley  at  liberty. 

The  same  evening,  as  Wesley  was  preaching  at 
Gwenap,  two  gentlemen  rode  fiercely  among  the 
people,  and  cried  out,  "  Seize  him !  seize  him  for 
His  Majesty's  service !"  Finding  that  the  order  was 
not  obeyed,  one  of  them  alighted,  caught  him  by  the 
cassock,  and  said,  "  I  take  you  to  serve  His  Majesty." 
Taking  him  then  by  the  arm,  he  walked  away  with 
him,  and  talked  till  he  was  out  of  breath  of  the  wick- 
edness of  the  fellows  belonging  to  the  society.  Wes- 
ley at  length  took  advantage  of  a  break  in  his  dis- 
course to  say,  "  Sir,  be  they  what  they  will,  1  appre- 
hend it  will  not  justify  you  in  scjizing  me  in  this  man- 
ner, and  violently  carrying  me  away,  as  you  said,  to 
serve  His  Majesty.''  Kage  by  this  time  had  spent  it- 
self, and  was  succeeded  by  an  instant  apprehension 
of  the  consequence  which  might  result  liom  acting 
illegally  towards  one  who  appeared  likely  to  under- 
stand the  laws,  and  able  to  avail  himself  of  them, — 
The  colloquy  ended  in  his  escorting  Mr.  Wesley 
back  to  the  place  from  whence  he  had  taken  him. 
The  next  day  brought  with  it  a  more  serious  adven- 
ture. The  house  in  which  he  was  visiting  an  invalid 
lady  at  Falmouth,  was  beset  by  a  mob,  who  roared 
out,  "  Bring  out  the  Canorum — w  here  is  the  Cano- 
rum  a  nickname  which  the  Cornish-rnen  had  given 
to  the  Methodists — it  is  not  known  wherefore.  The 
crews  of  some  privateers  headed  the  rabble,  and 
presently  broke  open  the  outer  door,  and  filled  the 
passage.  By  this  time  the  persons  of  the  house  had 
all  made  their  escape,  except  Wesley  and  a  poor 


1713.] 


MISCONDUCT  OF  MAGISTRATES. 


37 


servant  girl,  who,  for  it  was  now  too  late  to  retire, 
would  have  had  him  conceal  himself  in  the  closet. 
He  liimself,  from  the  imprecations  of  the  rabble, 
thouj^ht  his  life  in  the  most  imminent  danger,  but  any 
attempt  at  concealment  would  have  made  the  case 
more  desperate ;  and  it  was  his  maxim  always  to 
look  a  mob  in  the  face.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  the 
partition  was  broken  down,  he  stepped  forward  into 
the  midst  of  them  : — "  Here  1  am  !  which  of  you  has 
any  thing  to  say  to  roe  ?  To  which  of  you  have  I 
done  any  wrong?  To  you  .-^  or  you?  or  you?" 
Thus  he  made  his  way  bare-headed  into  the  street, 
and  continued  speaking,  till  the  captain  swore  that 
not  a  man  should  touch  him  :  a  clergyman  and  some 
of  the  better  inhabitants  came  up  and  interfered,  led 
him  into  a  house,  and  sent  him  safely  by  water  to 
Penryn. 

Charles  was  in  equal  or  greater  danger  at  Devizes. 
The  curate  there  took  the  lead  against  him.  rung  the 
bells  backwards  to  call  the  rabble  together;  and 
two  dissenters,  of  some  consequence  in  the  town, 
set  them  on,  and  encouraged  them,  supplying  them 
with  as  much  ale  as  they  would  drink,  wliile  they 
played  an  engine  into  the  house,  broke  the  windows, 
flooded  the  rooms,  and  spoiled  the  goods.  The 
mayor's  wife  conveyed  a  message  to  Charles,  be- 
seeching that  he  would  disguise  himself  in  women's 
clothes,  and  try  to  make  his  escape.  Her  son,  a 
poor  profligate,  had  been  turned  from  the  evil  of  his 
ways  by  the  Methodists,  just  when  he  was  about  to 
run  away  and  go  to  sea,  and  this  had  inclined  her 
heart  towards  those  from  whom  she  had  received  so 
great  a  benefit.  'J'his,  however,  would  have  been 
too  perilous  an  expedient,  'i'he  only  magistrate  in 
I  he  town  refused  to  act  when  he  was  called  upon  : 
and  the  mob  began  to  untile  the  house,  that  they 
might  get  in  through  the  roof 

"  1  remembered  the  Roman  senators,"  says  Charles 
Wesley,  "  sitting  in  the  Forum,  when  the  Gauls 
broke  in  upon  them,  but  thought  there  was  a  fitter 
posture  for  Christians,  and  told  my  companion  they 
should  take  us  on  our  knees."    He  had,  honever, 


38  VIOLENCE  OF  MOBS.  [1713, 

resolute  and  active  friends,  one  of  whom  succeeded, 
at  last,  in  making  a  sort  of  treaty  with  a  hostile  con- 
stable; and  the  constable  undertook  to  bring  him 
safe  out  of  town,  if  he  would  promise  never  to  preach 
there  again.  Charles  Wesley  replied,  "  I  shall  pro- 
mise no  such  thing:  setting  aside  my  office,  I  will 
not  give  up  my  birth-right,  as  an  Englishman,  of 
visiting  what  place  I  please  in  His  Majesty's  domi- 
nions." The  point  was  compromised,  by  his  declar- 
ing that  it  was  not  his  present  intention  ;  and  he  and 
his  companion  were  escorted  out  of  Devizes  by  one 
of  the  rioters,  the  whole  multitude  pursuing  them 
with  shouts  and  execrations. 

Field  preaching,  indeed,  was  at  this  time  a  ser- 
vice of  great  danger ;  and  Wesley  dwelt  upon  this 
with  great  force,  in  one  of  his  Appeals  to  Men  of 
Reason  and  Religion.  "  Who  is  there  among  you, 
brethren,"  he  says,  "  that  is  willing  (examine  your 
own  hearts)  even  to  save  souls  from  death  at  this 
price  Would  not  you  let  a  thousand  souls  perish, 
rather  than  you  would  be  the  instrument  of  rescuing 
them  thus?  I  do  not  speak  now  with  regard  to  con- 
science, but  to  the  inconveniences  that  must  accom- 
pany it.  Can  you  sustain  them  if  you  would.''  Can 
you  bear  the  summer  sun  to  beat  upon  your  naked 
head  ?  Can  you  suffer  the  wintry  rain  or  wind  from 
whatever  quarter  it  blows.''  Are  you  able  (o  stand 
in  the  open  air,  without  any  covering  or  defence, 
when  God  casteth  abroad  his  snow  like  wool,  or 
scattereth  his  hoar  frost  like  ashes."*  And  yet  these 
are  some  of  the  smallest  inconveniences  which  ac- 
company field-j)reachlng.  For,  beyond  all  these, 
are  the  contradiction  of  sinners,  the  scoffs  both  of 
the  great  vulgar  and  the  small;  contempt  and  re- 
proach of  every  kind — of(en  more  than  verbal  af- 
fronts— stupid,  brutal  violence,  sometimes  to  the 
hazard  of  health,  or  limbs,  or  life.  Brethren,  do  you 
envy  us  this  honour What,  I  pray  you,  would  buy 
you  to  be  a  field-preacher  ?  Or  what,  think  you, 
could  induce  any  man  of  common  sense  to  continue 
therein  one  year,  unless  he  had  a  full  conviction  in 
himself,  that  it  was  the  will  of  God  concerning  him  ? 


1743.] 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCY. 


39 


Upon  this  conviction  it  is  (were  we  to  submit  to 
these  things  on  any  other  motive  whatever,  it  would 
furnisli  you  with  a  better  proof  of  our  distraction 
than  any  that  has  yet  been  found)  that  we  now  do 
for  the  good  of  souls  what  you  cannot,  will  not,  dare 
not  do.-  And  we  desire  not  that  you  should  :  but 
this  one  thing  we  may  reasonably  desire  of  you — do 
not  increase  the  difficulties,  which  are  already  so 
great,  that,  without  the  mighty  power  of  God,  we 
must  sink  under  them.  Do  not  assist  in  trampling 
down  a  little  handful  of  men,  who,  for  the  present, 
stand  in  the  gap  between  ten  thousand  poor  wretches 
and  destruction,  till  you  find  some  others  to  take 
their  places." 

The  wholesome  prosecution  of  a  few  rioters,  in 
di(rerent  places,  put  an  end  to  enormities  which 
would  never  have  been  committed,  if  the  local  ma- 
gistrates had  attempted  to  prevent  them.  The  ot- 
fenders  were  not  rigorously  pursued  ;  they  generally 
submitted  before  the  trial :  and  it  sufficed  to  make 
them  understand  that  the  peace  might  not  be  broken 
with  impunity.    "  Such  a  mercy  is  it,"  says  Wesley, 

to  execute  the  penalty  of  the  law  on  those  who 
will  not  regard  its  precepts  !  So  many  inconveniences 
to  the  innocent  does  it  prevent,  atid  so  much  sin  in 
the  guilty.'" 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SCENES  OF  ITINEKANCY. 

When  Wesley  began  his  course  of  itinerancy, 
there  were  no  turnpikes*  in  England,  and  no  stage- 

*  Wesley  probably  paid  more  for  turnpikes  than  any  other  man  in 
England,  for  no  other  person  travelled  so  mueh  ;  and  it  rarely  happened 
to  him  to  go  twice  through  the  same  gate  in  one  day.  Thus  he  felt  the 
impost  heavily,  and,  being  a  horseman,  was  not  equally  sensible  of  the 
l>e.p,etit  derived  from  it.    This  may  account  for  his  joining:  in  what  was 


40 


SCENES  OF  ITINERAN'CV. 


coach  wliich  went  further  north  than  York.  In  many 
parts  of  the  northern  counties  neither  coach  nor 
chaise  had  ever  been  seen.  He  travelled  on  horse- 
back, always  with  one  of  his  preachers  in  company; 
and,  that  no  time  might  be  lost,  he  generally  read  as 
he  rode.  Some  of  his  journeys  were  exceedingly 
dangerous, — through  the  fens  of  his  native  country, 
when  the  waters  were  out,  and  over  the  fells  of 
Northumberland,  when  they  were  covered  with  snow. 
Speaking  of  one,  the  worst  of  such  expeditions,  which 
had  lasted  two  days  in  tremendous  weather,  he  says, 
"  Many  a  rough  journey  have  I  had  before,  but  one 
like  this  I  never  had,  between  wind,  and  hail,  and 
rain,  and  ice,  and  snow,  and  driving  sleet,  and  pierc 
ing  cold.  But  it  is  past.  Those  days  will  return 
no  more,  and  are  therefore  as  though  they  had  never 
been. 

Pain,  disappointment,  sickness,  strife, 
Whate'er  molests  or  troubles  life, 
However  grievous  in  its  stay, 
^  It  shakes  tlie  tenement  of  clay, — 

V^'hen  past  as  nothing  we  esteem, 
And  pain,  like  pleastrre,  is  a  dream." 

For  sucli  exertions  and  bodily  inconveniences  he 
was  overpaid  by  the  stir  which  his  presence  every 
where  excited,  the  power  which  he  exercised,  the 
effect  which  he  produced,  the  delight  with  which  he 
was  received  by  his  disciples,  and,  above  all,  by  tJie 
approbation  of  his  own  heart,  the  certainty  that  he 
was  em[)loyed  in  doing  good  to  his  fellow-creatures, 
and  the  full  persuasion  that  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
with  him  in  his  work. 

At  the  commencement  of  his  errantry,  he  had 
sometimes  to  bear  with  an  indifference  and  insensi- 


at  one  time  the  popular  cry.  Writing,  in  1770,  he  says, I  was  agreea- 
bly surprised  to  find  the  whole  road  from  Thirsk  to  Stokcsley,  which 
used  to  he  extremely  bad,  better  than  most  turnpikes.  Tlie  gcntUmen 
had  exerted  themselves,  and  raised  money  enoujch  to  mend  it  eflcctually. 
So  tiiey  have  done  for  several  hundred  miles  hi  Scotland,  and  through- 
out all  Connaught  in  Ireland.  And  so  undoubtedly  tluy  might  ilo 
throughout  all  England,  without  saddling  the  poor  people  witli  the  vile 
imposition  of  turnpikes  for  ever." 


SCENES  OP  ITINERANCY. 


41 


bility  in  his  friends,  which  was  more  likely  than  any 
opposition  to  have  abated  his  ardour.  He  and  John 
Nelson  rode  from  common  to  common,  in  Cornwall, 
preaching  to  a  people  who  heard  willingly,  but  sel- 
dom or  never  proffered  them  the  slightest  act  of  hos- 
pitality. Returning  one  day  in  autumn  from  one  of 
these  hungry  excursions,  Wesley  stopt  his  horse  at 
some  brambles  to  pick  the  fruit.  Brother  Nelson," 
said  he,  "  we  ought  to  be  thankful  that  there  are 
plenty  of  blackberries,  for  this  is  the  best  country 
I  ever  saw  for  getting  a  stomach,  but  the  worst  that 
ever  I  savv  for  getting  food.*  Do  the  people  think 
we  can  live  by  preaching.''"  They  were  detained 
some  time  at  St.  Ivest,  because  of  the  illness  of  one 
of  their  companions ;  and  their  lodging  was  little 
better  than  their  fare.  "  All  that  time,"  says  John, 
"  Mr.  Wesley  and  I  lay  on  the  floor  :  he  had  my 
great-coat  for  his  pillow,  and  I  had  Burkett's  Notes 
on  the  New  Testament  for  mine.  After  being  here 
near  three  weeks,  one  morning,  about  three  o'clock, 
Mr.  Wesley  turned  over,  and  finding  me  awake, 
clapped  me  on  the  side,  saying,  '  Brother  Nelson,  let 
us  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  one  whole  side  yet;  for 
the  skin  is  off  but  on  one  side.'  " 

*  Wesley  has  himself  remarked  the  hihospitality  of  his  Cornish  disci- 
ples, upon  an  after- visit  in  1748,  but  he  liaa  left  a  blank  for  the  name  of 

the  place.    "About  four,"  he  says,  "  I  came  to   :  examined  the 

leaders  of  the  classes  for  two  hours  :  preached  to  the  largest  congrega- 
tion I  had  seen  in  Cornwall :  met  the  society,  and  earnestly  charged 
them  to  beware  of  covetousness.  All  this  time  I  was  not  asked  to  eat  or 
drink.    After  the  society,  some  bread  and  cheese  were  set  before  me. 

I  think,  verily,   will  not  be  ruined  by  entertaining,  me  once  a 

year."  A  little  society  in  Lincolnshire,  at  this  time,  were  charitable  even 
to  an  excess.  "  I  have  not  seen  such  another  in  all  England,"  says  Wesley. 
"  In  the  class  paper,  which  gives  an  account  of  the  contribution  for  the 
poor,  I  observed  one  gave  eiglit-pence,  often  ten-pence  a  week  ;  another 
thirteen,  fifteen,  or  eighteen-peiice  ;  another  sometimes  one,  sometimes 
two  shillings.  I  asked  Micah  Elmoor,  the  leader,  (an  Israelite,  indeed,  who 
now  rests  from  his  labour,)  how  is  this  ?  are  you  the  richest  society  in 
England  He  answered,  '  I  suppose  not ;  but  all  of  us,  who  are  single 
persons,  have  agreed  together  to  giv«  both  oinselves,  and  all  we  have,  to 
God  ;  and  we  do  it  gladly  ;  whereby  we  are  able,  from  time  to  time,  to 
entertain  all  the  strangers  that  come  to  Tetney,  who  often  have  r)0  food 
to  eat,  nor  any  friend  to  give  them  a  lodging.'  " 

t  In  his  last  Journal,  Wesley  notices  Ihe  meeting-house  of  the  Metho- 
dists at  this  place:  being  "  unlike  any  other  in  England,  botii  as  to  it"-- 
form  and  materials.  It  is  exactly  round,  and  composed  wholly  of  bra- 
zen slags,  which,  I  suppose,  will  last  as  long  a<  the  eurth." 

VOX.,  ir.  (5 


42 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCY. 


It  was  only  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  that  he 
had  to  complain  of  inhospitality  and  indifference. 
As  he  became  notorious  to  the  world,  and  known 
among  his  own  people,  it  was  then  considered  a 
blessing  and  an  honour  to  receive  so  distinguished  a 
guest  and  so  delightful  a  companion  ;  a  man  who,  in 
rank  and  and  acquirements,  was  superior  to  those 
by  whom  he  was  generally  entertained  ;  whose  man- 
ners were  almost  irresistibly  winning,  and  whose 
cheerfulness  was  like  a  perpetual  sunshine.  He  had 
established  for  himself  a  dominion  in  the  hearts  of 
his  followers, — in  that  sphere  he  moved  as  in  a  king- 
dom of  his  own;  and,  wherever  he  went,  received 
the  homage  of  gratitude,  implicit  confidence,  and  re- 
verential affection.  Few  men  have  ever  seen  so 
many  affecting  instances  of  the  immediate  good 
whereof  they  were  the  instruments.  A  man  nearly 
fourscore  years  of  age,  and  notorious  in  his  neigh- 
bourhood for  cursing,  swearing,  and  drunkenness, 
was  one  day  among  his  chance  hearers,  and  one  of 
the  company,  perhaps  with  a  feeling  like  that  of  the 
Pharisee  in  the  parable,  was  offended  at  his  pre- 
sence. But,  when  Wesley  had  concluded  his  dis- 
course, the  old  sinner  came  up  to  him,  and  catching 
him  by  the  hands,  said,  "  Whether  thou  art  a  good 
or  a  bad  man  I  know  not ;  but  I  know  the  words 
thou  speakest  are  good  !  I  never  heard  the  like  in 
all  my  life.  Oh  that  God  would  set  them  home  up- 
on my  poor  soul !"  And  then  he  burst  into  tears,  so 
that  he  could  speak  no  more.  A  Cornish  man  said 
to  him,  "Twelve  years  ago,  I  was  going  over  Gul- 
van  Downs,  and  I  saw  many  people  together;  and  I 
asked  what  was  the  matter?  They  told  me,  a  man 
going  to  preach.  And  I  said,  to  be  sure  it  is  some 
'mazed  man  !  But  when  1  saw  you,  J  said,  nay,  this 
is  no  'mazed  man.  And  you  preached  on  God's  rais- 
ing the  dry  bones  ;  and  from  that  time  I  could  never 
rest  till  God  was  pleased  to  breathe  on  me,  and  raise 
my  dead  soul!"  A  woman,  overwhelmed  with  af- 
fliction, went  out  one  night  with  a  determination  of 
throwing  herself  into  the  New  River.  As  she  was 
passing  the  Foundry,  she  heard  the  people  singing: 


SCENES  OF  ITLNERANCV. 


43 


she  stopt,  and  went  in  ;  listened,  learnt  Avhere  to 
look  for  consolation  and  support,  and  was  thereby 
preserved  from  suicide. 

Wesley  had  been  disappointed  of  a  room  at  Grims- 
by, and  when  the  appointed  hour  for  preachitig  came, 
the  rain  prevented  him  from  preaching  at  the  Cross. 
In  the  perplexity  which  this  occasioned,  a  conve- 
nient place  was  offered  him  by  a  woman,  "  w  hich 
was  a  sinner."  Of  this,  however,  he  w  as  ignorant  at 
the  lime,  and  the  woman  listened  to  him  without  any 
apparent  emotion.  But  in  the  evening  he  preached 
eloquently,  upon  the  sins  and  the  faith  of  her  who 
washed  our  Lord's  feet  with  tears,  and  wiped  them 
with  the  hairs  of  her  head  ;  and  that  discourse,  by 
which  the  whole  congregation  were  affected,  touch- 
ed her  to  the  heart.  She  followed  him  to  his  lodging, 
crying  out,  "O,  Sir,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved 
Wesley,  who  now  understood  that  she  had  forsaken 
her  husband,  and  was  living  in  adultery,  replied, 
"  Escape  for  your  life  !  Return  instantly  to  your  hus- 
band !"  She  said,  she  knew  not  how  to  go  ;  she  had 
just  heard  from  him,  and  he  was  at  Newcastle,  above 
an  hundred  miles  off  Wesley  made  answer,  that  he 
was  going  for  Newcastle  himself  the  next  morning  ; 
she  might  go  w^ith  him,  and  his  companion  should 
take  her  behind  him.  It  was  late  in  October :  she 
performed  the  journey  under  this  protection,  and  in 
a  state  of  mind  which  beseemed  her  condition. — 
During  our  whole  journey,"  he  says,  "  I  scarce  ob- 
served her  to  smile;  nor  did  she  complain  of  any 
thing,  or  appear  moved  in  the  least  with  those  trying 
circumstances  which  many  times  occurred  in  our 
way.  A  steady  seriousness,  or  sadness  rather,  ap- 
peared in  her  whole  behaviour  and  conversation,  as 
became  one  that  felt  the  burthen  of  sin,  and  was 
groaning  after  salvation." — "Glory  be  to  the  Friend 
of  sinners !"  he  exclaims,  when  he  relates  the  story. 
"He  hath  plucked  one  more  brand  out  of  the  fire! 
Thou  poor  sinner,  thou  hast  received  a  prophet  in  the 
name  of  a  prophet,  and  thou  art  found  of  Him  that 
sent  him."  The  husband  did  not  turn  away  the  pe- 
nitent; and  her  reformation  appeared  to  be  sincere 


44 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCY. 


and  permanent.  After  some  time,  the  husband  left 
Newcastle,  and  wrote  to  her  to  foUoM-  him.  "She 
set  out,"  savs  Weslej,  "in  a  ship  bound  for  Hull. — 
A  storm  met  them  by  the  way :  the  ship  sprung  a  leak; 
but  though  it  was  near  the  shore,  on  which  many  per- 
sons flocked  together,  yet  the  sea  ran  so  exceeding- 
ly high,  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  any  help. — 
Mrs.  S.  was  seen  standing  on  the  deck,  as  the  ship 
gradually  sunk ;  and  afterwards  hanging  by  her  hands 
on  the  ropes,  till  the  masts  likewise  disappeared. 
Even  then,  for  some  moments,  they  could  observe  her 
floating  upon  the  waves,  till  her  clothes,  which  buoy- 
ed her  up,  being  thoroughly  wet,  she  sunk — I  trust, 
into  the  Ocean  of  God's  mercy  !" 

Wesley  once  received  an  invitation  from  a  clergy- 
man in  the  country,  whom  he  describes  as  a  hoary, 
reverend,  and  religious  man,  whose  very  sight  struck 
him  with  an  awe.  The  old  man  said,  ttiat,  about  nine 
years  ago,  his  only  son  had  gone  to  hear  Mr.  Wesley 
preach,  a  youth  in  the  flower  of  his  age,  and  remark- 
ble  for  piety,  sense,  and  learning  above  his  years. 
He  came  home,  ill  of  the  small-pox:  but  he  praised 
God  for  the  comfort  which  he  derived  from  the 
preaching  on  that  day,  rejoiced  in  a  full  sense  of  his 
love,  and  triumphed  in  that  assurance  over  sickness, 
and  pain,  and  deafth.  The  old  man  added,  that 
from  that  time  he  had  loved  Mr.  Wesley,  and  great- 
ly desired  to  see  him ;  and  he  novv  blessed  God  that 
this  desire  had  been  fulfilled  before  he  followed  his 
dear  son  into  eternity  ! 

One  day  a  post-chaise  was  sent  to  carry  him  from 
Alnwick  to  Warkworth,  where  he  had  been  entreat- 
ed to  preach.  "  I  found  in  it,"  says  he,  "  one  waiting 
for  me,  whom  in  the  bloom  of  youth,  mere  anguish  of 
soul  had  brought  to  the  gates  of  death.  She  told  me 
the  troubles  which  held  her  in  on  every  side,  from 
which  she  saw  no  way  to  escape.  I  told  her,  "  The 
way  lies  straight  before  you  :  what  you  want  is  the 
love  of  God.  I  believe  God  will  give  it  you  shortly. 
Perhaps  it  is  his  good  pleasure  to  make  yoti^  a  poor 
bruised  reed,  the  first  witness  here  of  that  great  sal- 
vation.   Look  for  it  just  as  you  are.,  unfit,  unworthy, 


SCENES  OF  ITINERAN'CV. 


43 


unhoiy, — by  simple  faith, — every  day,  every  hour.'" 
She  did  feel  the  next  day  something  she  could  not 
comprehend,  and  knew  not  what  to  call  it.  In  one  of 
the  trials,  which  used  to  sink  her  to  the  earth,  she 
was  all  calm,  all  peace  and  love  ;  enjoying  so  deep  a 
communication  with  God,  as  nothing  external  could 
interrupt.  "Ah,  thou  child  of  affliction,  of  sorrow, 
and  pain,  hath  Jesus  found  out  thee  also  ?  And  he 
is  able  to  find  and  bring  back  thy  husband — as  far 
as  he  is  wandered  out  of  the  way  !" 

The  profligates  whom  he  reclaimed  sometimes  re- 
turned to  their  evil  ways ;  and  the  innocent,  in  whom 
he  had  excited  the  fever  of  enthusiasm,  were  some- 
times, when  the  pulse  fell,  left  in  a  feebler  state  of 
faith  than  they  were  found ;  but  it  was  with  the  af- 
flicted in  body  or  in  mind  that  the  good  which  he 
produced  was  deep  and  permanent.  Of  this  he  had 
repeated  instances,  but  never  a  more  memorable  one 
than  when  he  visited  one  of  his  female  disciples,  who 
was  ill  it)  bed,  and  after  having  buried  seven  of  her 
family  in  six  months,  had  just  heard  that  the  eighth, 
her  husband,  whom  she  dearly  loved,  had  been  cast 
away  at  sea.  I  asked  her,"  he  says,  "do  you  not 
fret  at  any  of  these  things  She  said,  with  a  love- 
ly smile,  "  Oh,  no  :  how  can  I  fret  at  any  thing  which 
is  the  will  ofGod  ?  Let  him  take  all  beside,  He  has 
given  me  Himself  I  love.  I  praise  Him  every  mo- 
ment I" — Let  any,"  says  Wesley,  "that  doubts  of 
Christian  perfection^  look  on  such  a  spectacle  as  this!" 
If  it  had  not  become  a  point  of  honour  with  him  to 
vindicate  how  he  could,  and  whenever  he  could,  a 
doctrine  which  was  as  obnoxious  as  it  is  exceptiona- 
ble and  dangerous,  he  would  not  have  spoken  of 
Christian  perfection  here.  He  would  have  known 
that  resignation,  in  severe  sorrow,  is  an  effort  of  na- 
ture as  well  as  of  religion,  and  therefore  not  to  be 
estimated  too  highly  as  a  proof  of  holiness.  But  of 
the  healing  effects  of  Christianity,  the  abiding  cheer- 
fulness, under  unkindly  circumstances,  which  it  pro- 
duces, the  strength  which  it  imparts  in  weakness, 
and  the  consolation  and  support  in  time  of  need,  he 
had  daily  and  abundant  proofs. 


46 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCy. 


It  was  said  hy  an  old  preacher,  that  they  who 
M  ould  go  to  Heaven  must  do  four  sorts  of  services  ; 
hard  service,  costly  service,  derided  service,  and  for- 
lorn service  Hard  service  Wesley  performed  all 
his  life,  with  a  willing  heart ;  so  willing  a  one,  that 
no  service  could  appear  costly  to  him.  He  can  hard- 
ly be  said  to  have  been  tried  with  derision,  because, 
before  he  became  the  subject  of  satire  and  contume- 
ly, he  had  attained  a  reputation  and  notoriety  which 
enabled  him  to  disregard  them.  These  very  attacks, 
indeed,  proved  only  that  he  was  a  conspicuous  mark, 
and  stood  upon  high  ground.  Neither  was  he  ever 
called  upon  forlorn  service:  perhaps,  if  he  had,  his 
ardour  might  have  failed  him.  Marks  of  impatience 
sometimes  appear  when  he  speaks  of  careless  hear- 
ers. "  I  preached  at  Pocklington,"  he  says,  "  with 
an  eye  to  the  death  of  that  lovely  woman  Mrs.  Cross. 
A  gay  young  gentleman,  with  a  young  lady,  stepped 
in,  staid  five  minutes,  and  went  out  again,  with  as  ea- 
sy an  unconcern  as  if  they  had  been  listening  to  a 
ballad  singer.  I  mentioned  to  the  congregation  the 
deep  folly  and  ignorance  implied  in  such  behaviour. 
These  pretty  fools  never  thought  that,  for  this  very 
opportunity,  they  are  to  give  an  account  before  men 
and  angels."  Upon  another  occasion,  when  the 
whole  congregation  had  appeared  insensible,  he 
says  of  them,  "  they  hear,  but  when  will  they  feel  ? 
Oh,  what  can  man  do  toward  raising  dead  bodies 
or  dead  souls !" 

But  it  was  seldom  (hat  he  preached  to  indifferent 
auditors,  and  still  more  seldom  that  any  withdrew 
from  him  with  marks  of  contempt.  In  general,  he 
was  heard  with  deep  attention,  for  his  believers  lis- 
tened with  devout  reverence ;  and  they  who  were 
not  persuaded  listened,  nevertheless,  from  curiosity, 
and  behaved  respectfully  from  the  influence  of  ex- 
ample. "  I  wonder  at  those,"  says  he,  "  who  talk  of 
the  indecency  of  field-preaching.  The  highest  iiide- 
cency  is  in  St.  Paul's  church,  where  a  considerable  part 
of  the  congregation  are  asleep,  or  talking,  or  look- 
ing about,  not  minding  a  word  the  preacher  says. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  highest  decency  in  a 
church-yard  or  field,  where  the  whole  congregation 


SCENES  OP  ITINERANCE. 


47 


behave  and  look  as  if  they  saw  the  Judge  of  all,  and 
heard  Him  speaking  from  Heaven."  Sometimes 
when  he  had  finished  the  discourse,  and  pronounced 
the  blessing,  not  a  person  offered  to  move ; — the 
charm  was  upon  them  still ;  and  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  remained  where  they  were,  till  he  set  the 
example  of  leaving  the  ground.  One  day  many  of 
his  hearers  were  seated  upon  a  long  wall,  built,  as  is 
common  in  the  northern  counties,  of  loose  stones. 
In  the  middle  of  the  sermon  it  fell  with  them.  "  I 
never  saw,  heard,  nor  read  of  such  a  thing  before," 
he  says.  "  The  whole  wall,  and  the  persons  sitting 
upon  it,  sunk  clown  together,  none  of  them  screaming 
out,  and  very  few  altering  their  posture,  and  not  one 
was  hurt  at  all ;  but  they  appeared  sitting  at  the  bot- 
tom, just  as  they  sate  at  the  top.  Nor  was  there  any 
interruption  either  of  my  speaking  or  of  the  atten- 
tion of  the  hearers." 

The  situations  in  which  he  preached  someiimes 
contributed  to  the  Impression  ;  and  he  himself  per- 
ceived, that  natural  influences  operated  upon  the 
multitude,  like  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  Romish 
worship.    Sometimes,  in  a  hot  and  cloudless  sum- 
mer day,  he  and  his  congregation  were  under  cover 
of  the  sycamores,  which  afford  so  deep  a  shade  to 
some  of  the  old  farm-houses  in  Westmoreland  and 
Cumberland.    In  such  a  scene,  near  Brough,  he  ob- 
serves, that  a  bird  perched  on  one  of  the  trees,  and 
sung  without  intermission  from  the  beginning  of  the 
service  till  the  end.    No  Instrumental  concert  would 
have  accorded  with  the  place  and  feeling  of  the 
hour  so  well.    Sometimes,  when  his  discourse  was 
not  concluded  till  twilight,  he  saw  that  the  calmness 
of  the  evening  agreed  with  llic  seriousness  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  that  "they  seemed  to  drink  in  the  word  of  God, 
as  a  thirsty  land  the  refreshing  showers."    One  of  his 
preaching  places  lr>  Cornwall  was  in  what  had  once 
been  the  court-yard  of  a  rich  and  honourable  man. 
But  he  and  all  his  family  were  in  the  dust,  and  his 
memory  had  almost  peri.^hed.     "At  Gwenap,  in  the 
same  county,"  he  says,  "  I  stood  on  the  wall,  in  tiie 
calm  still  evening,  with  the  setting  sim  behind  me. 


48 


SCENES   OF  ITINERANCY. 


and  almost  an  innumerable  multitude  before,  behind, 
and  on  either  hand.  Many  likewise  sate  on  the  lit- 
tle hills,  at  some  distance  from  the  bulk  of  the  con- 
gregation. But  they  could  all  hear  distinctly  while 
I  read,  '  The  disciple  is  not  above  his  Master,^  and  the 
rest  of  those  comfortable  words  which  are  day  by 
day  fullfiUed  in  our  ears."  This  amphitheatre  was 
one  of  his  favourite  stations.  He  says  of  it  in  his  old 
age,  "  I  think  this  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
spectacles  which  is  to  be  seen  on  this  side  heaven. 
And  no  music  is  to  be  heard  upon  earth  comparable 
to  the  sound  of  many  thousand  voices,  when  they  are 
all  harmoniously  joined  together,  singing  praises  to 
God  and  the  Lamb."  At  St.  Ives,  when  a  high  wind 
prevented  him  standing  where  he  had  intended,  he 
found  a  little  enclosure  near,  one  end  of  which  was 
native  rock,  rising  ten  or  twelve  feet  perpendicular, 
from  which  the  ground  fell  with  an  easy  descent. 
"  A  jutting  out  of  the  rock,  about  four  feet  from  the 
the  ground,  gave  me  a  very  convenient  pulpit.  Here 
well  nigh  the  wliole  town,  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor,  assembled  together.  Nor  was  there  a  word 
to  be  heard,  nor  a  smile  seen,  from  one  end  of  the 
congregation  to  the  other.  It  was  just  the  same  the 
three  following  evenings.  Indeed  I  was  afraid,  on 
Saturday,  that  the  roaring  of  the  sea,  raised  by  the 
north  wind,  would  have  prevented  their  hearing. 
But  God  gave  me  so  clear  and  strong  a  voice,  that  I 
believe  scarce  one  word  was  lost."  On  the  next  day 
the  storm  had  ceased,  and  the  clear  sky,  the  setting 
sun,  and  the  smooth  still  ocean,  all  agreed  with  the 
state  of  the  audience. 

There  is  a  beautiful  garden  at  Exeter,  under  the 
ruins  of  the  castle  and  of  the  old  city  wall,  in  what 
was  formerly  the  moat:  it  was  made  under  the  di- 
rection of  Jackson,  the  musician,  a  man  of  rare 
genius  in  his  own  art,  and  eminently  gifted  in  many 
ways.  Before  the  ground  was  thus  happily  appro- 
priated, Wesley  preached  there  to  a  large  assembly, 
and  felt  the  impressiveness  of  the  situation.  He 
says,  "  It  was  an  awful  sight !  So  vast  a  congregation 
in  that  solemn  amphitheatre,  and  all  silent  and  still. 


SCENES  OP  ITINERANCY. 


49 


while  I  explained  at  large,  and  enforced  that  glorious 
truth.  '  Happy  are  they  whose  iniquities  are  forgiven, 
and  whose  sins  are  covered.'  "  In  another  place  he 
says,  "  I  rode  to  Blanchland,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Newcastle.  The  rough  mountains  round  about  were 
still  white  with  snow.  In  the  midst  of  them  is  a 
small  winding  valley,  through  which  the  Darwent 
runs.  On  the  edge  of  this  the  little  town  stands, 
which  is  indeed  little  more  than  a  heap  of  ruins. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  large  cathedral  church, 
by  the  vast  walls  which  still  remain.  I  stood  in  the 
church-yard,  under  one  side  of  the  building,  upon 
a  large  tomb-stone,  round  which,  while  I  was  at 
prayers,  all  the  congregation  kneeled  down  on  the 
grass.  They  were  gathered  out  of  the  lead  mines, 
from  all  parts ;  many  from  Allandale,  six  miles  offi 
A  row  of  children  sat  under  the  opposite  wall,  all 
quiet  and  still.  The  whole  congregation  drank  in 
every  word,  with  such  earnestness  in  their  looks, 
that  I  could  not  but  hope  that  God  will  make  this 
wilderness  sing  for  joy."  At  Gawksham  he  preached 
"  on  the  side  of  an  enormous  mountain.  The  con- 
gregation," he  says,  "  stood  and  sate,  row  above  row, 
in  the  sylvan  theatre.  I  believe  nothing  in  the  post- 
diluvian earth  can  be  more  pleasant  than  the  road 
from  hence,  between  huge  steep  mountains,  clothed 
with  wood  to  the  top,  and  watered  at  the  bottom  by 
a  clear  winding  stream."  Heptenstall  Bank,  to  which 
he  went  from  hence,  was  one  of  his  favourite  field 
stations.  "  The  place  in  which  I  preached  was  an 
oval  spot  of  ground,  surrounded  with  spreading  trees, 
scooped  out,  as  it  were,  in  the  side  of  a  hill,  which 
rose  round  like  a  theatre."  The  congregation  was 
as  large  as  he  could  then  collect  at  Leeds ;  but  he 
says,  "  Sucfi  serious  and  earnest  attention  !  I  lifted 
up  my  hands,  so  that  I  preached  as  I  scarce  ever 
did  in  my  life."  Once  he  had  the  ground  measured, 
and  found  that  be  was  heard  distinctly  at  a  distance 
of  seven-score  yards.  In  the  seventieth  year  of  hi.s 
age,  he  preached  atGwetiap,  to  the  largest  assembly 
that  had  ever  collected  to  hear  him :  from  the 
ground  which  they  covered,  he  computed  them  to 
VOL.  n.  7 


50 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCi. 


be  not  fewer  than  two-and-thirty  thousand ;  and  it 
was  found,  upon  inquiry,  that  all  could  hear,  even 
to  the  skirts  of  the  congregation. 

This  course  of  life  led  him  into  a  lower  sphere  of 
society  than  that  wherein  he  would  otherwise  have 
moved  ;  and  he  thought  himself  a  gainer  by  the 
change.  Writing  to  some  Earl,  who  took  a  lively 
interest  in  the  revival  of  religion  which,  through  the 
impulse  given,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  Methodism, 
was  taking  place,  he  says,  "  To  speak  rough  truth, 
I  do  not  desire  any  intercourse  with  any  persons  of 
quality  in  England.  I  mean,  for  my  own  sake.  They 
do  me  no  good,  and,  I  fear,  1  can  do  none  to  them." 
To  another  correspondent  he  says,  "  I  have  found 
some  of  the  uneducated  poor  who  have  exquisite 
taste  and  sentiment ;  and  many,  very  many  of  the 
rich,  who  have  scarcely  any  at  all." — "  In  most  gen- 
teel religious  people  there  is  so  strange  a  mixture, 
that  I  have  seldom  much  confidence  in  them.  But  I 
love  the  poor ;  in  many  of  them  I  find  pure  genuine 
grace,  unmixed  with  paint,  folly,  and  aflTectation." 
And  again,  "  How  unspeakable  is  the  advantage  in 
point  of  common  sense,  which  middling  people  have 
over  the  rich !  There  is  so  much  paint  and  affecta- 
tion, so  many  unmeaning  words  and  senseless  cus- 
toms among  people  of  rank,  as  fully  justify  the  re- 
mark made  1700  years  ago,  Sensus  communis  in  ilia 
fortund  rarus.^'' — "  'Tis  well,"  he  says,  "  a  few  of  the 
rich  and  noble  are  called.  Oh  !  that  God  would  in- 
crease their  number.  But  I  should  rejoice,  were 
it  the  will  of  God,  if  it  were  done  by  the  ministry  of 
others.  If  I  might  choose,  I  should  still,  as  I  have 
done  hitherto,  ^reac^  the  gospel  to  ike  poor.''''  Preach- 
ing in  Monk-town  church,  (one  of  the  three  belonging 
to  Pembroke,)  a  large  old  ruinous  building,  he  says, 
"  I  suppose  it  has  scarce  had  such  a  congregation  in 
it  during  this  century.  Many  of  them  were  gay  gen- 
teel people ;  so  I  spake  on  the  first  elements  of  the 
gospel :  but  I  was  still  out  of  their  depth.  Oh,  how 
hard  it  is  to  be  shallow  enough  for  a  polite  audience !" 
Yet  Wesley's  correspondence  with  the  few  persons 
over  whom  he  obtained  any  influence  in  higher  life, 


SCENES  OP  ITINERANCY. 


51 


though  written  with  honest  and  conscientious  free- 
dom, is  altogether  untainted  with  any  of  that  alloy 
which  too  frequently  appeared  when  he  was  address- 
ing those  of  a  lower  rank.  Those  favourite  topics 
are  not  brought  forward,  by  which  enthusiastic  dis- 
ciples were  so  easily  heated  and  disordered  ;  and 
there  appears  an  evident  feeling  in  the  writer,  that 
he  is  addressing  himself  to  persons  more  judicious 
than  his  ordinary  disciples. 

But  though  Wesley  preferred  the  middling  and 
lower  classes  of  society  to  the  rich,  the  class  which 
he  liked  least  were  the  farmers.  "  In  the  little  jour- 
neys which  I  liave  lately  taken,"  he  says,  "  I  have 
thought  much  of  the  huge  encomiums  which  have 
been  for  many  ages  bestowed  on  a  country  life. 
How  have  all  the  learned  world  cried  out, 

0  fortunati  nimium,  bona  si  sua  norinf, 
AgricolcE  i 

But,  after  all,  what  a  flat  contradiction  is  this  to 
universal  experience !  See  the  little  house,  under 
the  wood,  by  the  river  side  !  There  is  rural  life  in 
perfection.  How  happy,  then,  is  the  farmer  that 
lives  there  ! — Let  us  take  a  detail  of  his  happiness. 
He  rises  with,  or  before  the  sun,  calls  his  servants, 
looks  to  his  swine  and  cows,  then  to  his  stable  and 
barns.  He  sees  to  the  ploughing  and  sowing  his 
ground  in  winter  or  in  spring.  In  summer  and  au- 
tumn he  hurries  and  sweats  among  his  mowers  and 
reapers.  And  where  is  his  happiness  in  the  mean 
time  ?  Which  of  these  employments  do  we  envy  ?  Or 
do  we  envy  the  delicate  repast  which  succeeds, 
M'hich  the  poet  so  languishes  for  ? 

O  quando  faba,  Pythagorm  cognata,  simalque 
Uncta  satis  pingui  ponentur  oluscula  lardo  ? 

Oh  the  happiness  of  eating  beans  well  greased  with  fat 
bacon ;  nay,  and  cabbage  too !  Was  Horace  in  nis 
senses  when  he  talked  thus or  the  servile  herd  of 
his  imitators  }  Our  eyes  and  ears  may  convince  us 
there  is  not  a  less  happy  body  of  men  in  all  England 
than  the  country  farmers.    In  general  their  life  is  su- 


52 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCY. 


premely  dull;  and  it  is  usually  unhappy  too;  for,  of 
all  people  in  the  kingdom,  they  are  the  most  discon- 
tented, seldom  satisfied  cither  with  God  or  man." 

Wesley  was  likely  to  judge  thus  unfavourably  of 
the  agricultural  part  of  the  people,  because  they 
were  the  least  susceptible  of  Methodism.  For  Me- 
thodism could  be  kept  alive  only  by  associations  and 
frequent  meetings ;  and  it  is  ditlicult,  or  impossible, 
to  arrange  these  among  a  scattered  poptdation. — 
Where  converts  were  made,  and  the  discipline  could 
not  be  introduced  among  them,  and  the  effect  kept 
up  by  constant  preaching  and  iiispection,  they  soon 
fell  off.  "  From  the  terrible  instances  I  met  with," 
says  Wesley,  "  in  all  parts  of  England,  I  am  more 
and  more  convinced  that  the  devil  himself  desires 
nothing  more  than  this,  that  the  people  of  any  place 
should  be  half  awakened,  and  then  left  to  themselves 
to  fall  asleep  again.  Therefore  I  determine,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  not  to  strike  one  stroke  in  any  place 
where  1  cannot  follow  the  blow."  But  this  could 
only  be  done  in  populous  places.  Burnet  has  *  ob- 
served, that  more  religious  zeal  is  to  be  found  in 
towns  than  in  the  country,  and  that  that  zeal  is  more 
likely  to  go  astray.  It  is  because  men  are  powerfully 
acted  upon  by  sympathy,  whether  for  evil  or  for  good; 
because  opinions  are  as  infectious  as  diseases,  and 
both  the  one  and  the  other  find  subjects  enough  to 
seize  on  in  large  cities,  and  those  subjects  in  a  state 
which  prepares  them  to  receive  the  mental  or  bodily 
affection. 

*  "  As  for  the  men  of  trade  and  business,  tliey  are,  generally  speaking, 
the  best  body  in  tlie  nation — generous,  sober,  and  charitable :  so  that, 
while  the  people  in  the  country  are  so  immersed  in  their  affairs  that  tho 
sense  of  religion  cannot  reach  them,  there  is  a  better  spirit  stirring  in 
our  cities;  more  knowledge,  more  zeal,  and  more  charity,  with  a  great 
deal  more  of  devotion.  There  may  be  ton  much  of  vatiity,  with  too 
pompous  an  exterior,  mixed  with  these  in  the  capital  city ;  but,  upon  the 
whole,  they  are  the  best  we  have.  Want  of  exercise  is  a  great  prejudice 
to  their  health,  and  a  corrupter  of  their  minds,  by  raising  vapours  and 
melancholy,  that  fills  many  with  dark  thoughts,  rendering  religion,  which 
affords  the  truest  joy,  a  burden  to  them,  and  making  them  even  a  bur- 
den to  themselves.  This  furnishes  prejudices  against  religion  to  those 
who  are  but  too  much  disposed  to  seek  "for  them." 

Burnet's  Conclusion  to  ths  History  of  his  Ou  n  Timts, 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCY, 


53 


But  even  where  Methodism  was  well  established, 
and,  on  the  whole,  flourishing,  there  were  great  fluc- 
tuations, and  Wesley  soon  found  how  little  he  could 
depend  upon  the  perseverance  of  his  converts.  Early 
in  his  career  lie  took  the  trouble  of  inquiring  into  the 
motives  of  seventy-six  persons,  who,  in  the  course  of 
three  months,  had  withdrawn  from  one  of  his  socie- 
ties in  the  north.  The  result  was  curious.  Fourteen 
of  them  said  they  left  it  because  otherwise  their  mi- 
nisters would  not  give  them  the  sacrament : — these, 
be  it  observed,  were  chiefly  Dissenters.  Nine,  be- 
cause their  husbands  or  wives  were  not  willing  they 
should  stay  in  it.  Twelve,  because  their  parents 
were  not  willing.  Five,  because  their  master  and 
mistress  would  not  let  them  come.  Seven,  because 
their  acquaintance  persuaded  them  to  leave  it.  Five, 
because  people  said  such  bad  things  of  the  Society. 
Nine,  because  they  would  not  be  laughed  at.  Three, 
because  they  would  not  lose  the  poors'  allowance. 
Three  more,  because  they  could  not  spare  time  to 
come.  Two,  because  it  was  too  far  oli!  One,  be- 
cause she  was  afraid  of  falling  into  fits : — her  reason 
might  have  taught  VVesley  a  useful  lesson.  One,  be- 
cause people  were  so  rude  in  the  street.  Two, 
because  Thomas  JVaishit  was  in  the  Society.  One, 
because  he  would  not  turn  his  back  on  his  baptism. 
One,  because  the  Methodists  were  mere  Church-of- 
England-mcn.  And  one,  because  it  was  time  enough 
to  serve  God  yet.  The  character  of  the  converts, 
and  the  wholesome  discipline  to  which  they  were 
subject,  is  still  further  exhibited,  by  an  account  of 
those  who,  in  the  same  time,  had  been  expelled  from 
the  same  Society: — they  were,  two  for  cursing  and 
swearing,  two  for  habitual  Sabbath-breaking,  seven- 
teen for  drunkenness,  two  for  retailing  spiritous  li- 
quors, three  for  quarrelling  and  brawling,  one  for 
beating  his  wife,  three  for  habitual  wilful  lying,  four 
for  railing  and  evil-speaking,  one  for  idleness  and  la- 
ziness, and  nine-and-tvventy  for  lightness  and  care- 
lessness.— It  would  be  well  for  the  community  if  some 
part  of  this  discipline  were  in  general  use. 


54 


SCENES  OF  ITINERANCY. 


When  Wesley  became  accustomed  to  such  fluctu- 
ations, he  perceived  that  they  must  be,  and  reason- 
ed  upon  them  sensibly.  In  noticing  a  considerable 
increase  which  had  taken  place  in  one  of  his  socie- 
ties in  a  short  time,  he  says,  "  Which  of  these  will 
hold  fast  their  profession?  The  fowls  of  the  air  will 
devour  some,  the  sun  will  scorch  more,  and  others 
will  be  choked  by  the  thorns  springing  up.  I  won- 
der we  should  ever  expect  that  half  of  those  who 
hear  the  word  tvithjoy^  will  bring  forth  fruit  unto  perfec- 
tion.''''— "  How  is  it,"  he  asks  himself,  "  that  almost  in 
every  place,  even  where  there  is  no  lasting  fruit, 
there  is  so  great  an  impression  made  at  first  upon  a 
considerabie  number  of  people?  The  fact  is  this  ; 
every  where  the  work  of  God  rises  higher  and  higher, 
till  it  comes  to  a  point.  Here  it  seems,  for  a  short 
time,  to  be  at  a  stay,  and  then  it  gradually  sinks 
again.  All  this  may  easily  be  accounted  for.  At 
first  curiosity  brings  many  hearers  ;  at  the  same  time 
God  draws  many,  by  his  preventing  grace,  to  hear 
his  word,  and  comforts  them  in  hearing :  one  then 
tells  another;  by  this  means,  on  the  one  hand,  curi- 
osity spreads  and  increases;  and,  on  the  other,  the 
drawings  of  God's  Spirit  touch  more  hearts,  and 
many  of  them  more  powerfully  than  before.  He  now 
offers  grace  to  all  that  hear,  most  of  w  hom  are  in 
some  measure  affected,  and  more  or  less  moved  with 
approbation  of  what  they  hear — desire  to  please 
God,  and  good-will  to  his  messenger.  These  prin- 
ciples, variously  combined  and  increasing,  raise  the 
general  work  to  its  highest  point.  But  it  cannot  stand 
here  ;  for,  in  the  nature  of  things,  curiosity  must  soon 
decline.  Again,  the  drawings  of  God  are  not  follow- 
ed, and  thereby  the  Spirit  of  God  is  grieved:  the 
consequence  is.  He  strives  with  this  and  this  man  no 
more,  and  so  his  drawings  end.  Tiius  both  the  na- 
tural and  supernatural  power  declining,  most  of  the 
hearers  will  be  less  and  less  affected.  Add  to  this, 
that,  in  the  process  of  the  work,  it  must  ic,  that  offences 
will  come.  Some  of  the  hearers,  if  not  preachers  also, 
will  act  contrary  to  their  profession.  Either  their 
follies  or  faults  will  be  told  from  one  to  another,  and 


Wesley's  lay-coadjutors. 


53 


lose  nothing  in  the  telling.  Men,  once  curious  to 
hear,  will  now  draw  back :  men  once  drawn,  having 
stifled  their  good  desires,  will  disapprove  what  they 
approved  before,  and  feel  dislike,  instead  of  good- 
will, to  the  preacher.  Others,  who  were  more  or 
less  convinced,  will  be  afraid  or  ashamed  to  acknow- 
ledge that  conviction ;  and  all  these  will  catch  at  ill 
stories  (true  or  false)  in  order  to  justify  their  change. 
When,  by  this  means,  all  who  do  not  savingly  believe, 
have  quenched  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  little  flock  goes 
on  from  faith  to  faith ;  the  rest  sleep  on,  and  take 
their  rest.  And  thus  the  number  of  hearers  in  every 
place  may  be  expected,  first  to  increase,  and  then 
decrease."' 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Wesley's  lay-coadjutors. 

When  Wesley  had  once  admitted  the  assistance  of 
lay-preachers,  volunteers  in  abundance  oflfered  their 
zealous  services.  If  he  had  been  disposed  to  be 
nice  in  the  selection,  it  was  not  in  his  power.  He 
had  called  up  a  spirit  which  he  could  not  lay,  but  he 
was  still  able  to  control  and  direct  it.  Men  were 
flattered  by  being  admitted  to  preach  with  his  sanc- 
tion, and  sent  to  itinerate  where  he  was  pleased  to 
appoint,  who,  if  he  had  not  chosen  to  admit  their 
co-operation,  would  not  have  been  withheld  from 
exercising  the  power  which  they  felt  in  themselves, 
and  indulging  the  strong  desire,  which  tiiry  imputed 
to  the  impulse  of  the  Spirit:  but  had  thc}  t<;ken  this 
course,  it  would  have  been  destructive  to  the  scheme 
which  was  now  fairly  developed  before  him. 

Wesley  had  taken  no  step  in  his  whole  progress 
so  reluctantly  as  this.  The  measure  was  forced 
upon  him  by  circumstances.  It  had  become  inevi- 
table, in  thc  position  wherein  he  had  placed  himself: 


66 


WESLEV'S  LAt-COADJUrORS. 


still  he  was  too  judicious  a  man,  too  well  acquainted 
with  history  and  with  human  nature,  not  to  feel  a 
proper  repugnance  to  the  irregularity  which  he 
sanctioned,  aiid  to  apprehend  the  ill  consequences 
which  were  likely  to  ensue.  He  says  himself,  that 
to  touch  this  point  was  at  one  time  to  touch  the 
apple  of  his  eye :  and  in  his  writings  he  carefully 
stated,  that  the  preachers  were  permitted  by  him, 
but  not  appointed.  One  of  those  clergymen,  who 
would  gladly,  in  their  sphere,  have  co-operated  with 
the  VVesleys,  had  they  not  disliked  the  extravagan- 
cies of  Methodism,  and  foreseen  the  schism  to  which 
it  was  leading,  objected  to  this  distinction.  "  I  fear. 
Sir,"  said  he,  "  that  your  saying  you  do  not  appoint, 
but  only  approve  of  the  lay-preachers,  from  a  per- 
suasion of  their  call  and  fitness,  savours  ofdisingenu- 
ity.  Where  is  the  difference  }  Under  whose  sanction 
do  they  act  ?  Would  they  generally  think  their  call 
a  sufficient  warrant  for  commencing  preachers,  or 
be  received  in  that  capacity  by  your  people,  without 
your  approbation,  tacit  or  express  ?  And  what  is 
their  preaching  upon  this  call,  but  a  manifest  breach 
upon  the  order  of  the  Church,  and  an  inlet  to  con- 
fusion, which,  in  all  probability,  will  follow  upon 
your  death;  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  you  are  upon  the 
point  of  knowing  by  your  own  experience." 

But  Wesley  had  so  often  been  called  upon  to  de- 
fei»d  himself,  that  he  perfectly  understood  the  strength 
of  his  ground.  Replying  for  his  brother,  and  the  few 
other  clergymen  who  acted  with  him,  as  well  as  for 
himself,  he  made  answer,  "  We  have  done  nothing 
rashly,  nothing  without  deep  and  long  consideration, 
(hearing  and  weighing  all  objections,)  and  much 
prayer.  Nor  have  we  taken  one  deliberate  step,  of 
which  we,  as  yet,  see  reason  to  repent.  It  is  true, 
in  some  things  we  vary  from  the  rules  of  our  Church ; 
but  no  further  than,  we  apprehend,  is  our  bounden 
duty.  It  is  from  a  full  conviction  of  this  that  we 
preach  abroad,  use  extemporary  prayer,  Ibrm  those 
who  appear  to  be  awakened  into  societies,  and  per- 
mit laymen,  whom  we  believe  God  has  called,  to 
preach.    I  say  permit^  because  we  ourselves  have 


Wesley's  lay-coadjutors. 


57 


hitherto  viewed  it  in  no  other  light.  This  we  are 
clearly  satisfied  that  we  may  do ;  that  we  may  do  more, 
we  are  not  satisfied.  It  is  not  clear  to  us  tliat  Pres- 
byters, so  circumstanced  as  we  are,  may  appoint,  or 
ordain  others  ;  but  it  is,  that  we  may  direct,  as  well  as 
suffer  them  to  do,  what  we  conceive  they  are  moved 
to  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  true  that,  in  ordinary  cases, 
both  an  inward  and  an  outward  call  are  requisite ; 
but,  we  apprehend,  there  is  something  far  fi-om 
ordinary  in  the  present  case ;  and,  upon  the  calmest 
view  of  things,  we  think,  that  they  who  are  only 
called  of  God,  and  not  of  man,  have  more  right  to 
preach  than  they  who  are  only  called  of  man  and 
not  of  God.  Now,  tliat  many  of  the  clergy,  though 
called  of  man,  are  not  called  of  God  to  preach  his 
gospel,  is  undeniable  :  first,  because  they  themselves 
utterly  disclaim,  nay,  and  ridicule  the  inward  call ; 
secondly,  because  they  do  not  know  what  the  gospel 
is ;  of  consequence  they  do  not,  and  cannot  preach  it. 
Dear  Sir,  coolly  and  impartially  consider  this,  and 
you  will  see  on  which  side  the  difficulty  lies.  I  do 
assure  you,  this  at  present  is  my  chief  embarrass- 
ment. That  I  have  not  gone  too  far  yet,  I  know; 
but  whether  1  have  gone  far  enough,  I  am  extremely 
doubtful.  I  see  those  running  whom  God  hath  not 
sent;  destroying  their  own  souls,  and  those  that  hear 
them;  perverting  the  right  ways  of  the  Lord,  and 
blaspheming  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  I  see  the 
blind  leading  the  blind,  and  both  falling  into  the 
ditch.  Unless  I  warn,  in  all  ways  I  can,  these  pe- 
rishing souls  of  their  danger,  am  I  clear  of  the  blood 
of  these  men  ?  Soul-damning  clergymen  lay  me  un- 
der more  difficulties  than  soul-saving  laymen  !" 

He  justified  the  measure,  by  showing  how  it  had 
arisen  :  a  plain  account  of  the  whole  proceeding 
was,  he  thought,  the  best  defence  of  it.  And  I 
am  bold  to  affirm,"  says  he,  in  o!ie  of  his  Appeals  to 
Men  of  Reason  and  Religion,  "  that  these  unlettered 
men  have  help  from  God  for  that  great  work,  the 
saving  souls  from  death  ;  seeing  he  hath  enabled, 
and  doth  ena>>le  them  slill,  to  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness.   Thus  hath  he  '  destroyed  t!ie  wisdom  of 

VOL.  n. 


58 


WESLEY  S  LAY-COADJUTORS. 


the  wise,  and  brought  to  nought  the  understanding 
of  the  prudent.'  When  ihey  imagined  they  had 
effectually  shut  the  door,  and  locked  up  every  pas- 
sage, whereby  any  help  could  come  to  two  or  three 
preachers,  weak  in  body  as  well  as  soul,  who  they 
might  reasonably  believe  would,  humanly  speaking, 
wear  themselves  out  in  a  short  time, — when  they 
had  gained  their  point,  by  securing  (as  they  suppos- 
ed) all  the  men  of  learning  in  the  nation.  He  that 
sitteth  in  heaven  laughed  them  to  scorn,  and  came  upon 
them  by  a  way  they  thought  not  of.  Out  of  the  stones 
he  raised  up  those  who  should  beget  children  to  Abra- 
ham. We  had  no  more  foresight  of  this  than  you. 
Nay,  we  had  the  deepest  prejudices  against  it,  until 
we  could  not  but  own  that  God  gave  wisdom  from 
above  to  these  unlearned  and  ignorant  men,  so  that 
the  work  of  the  Lord  prospered  iti  their  hands,  and 
sinners  were  daily  converted  to  God." 

Zeal  was  the  only  qualification  which  he  required. 
If  the  aspirant  possessed  no  other  requisite  for  his 
work,  and  failed  to  produce  an  effect  upon  his  hear- 
ers, his  ardour  was  soon  cooled,  and  he  withdrew 
quietly  from  the  field;  but  such  cases  were  not  very 
frequejit.  The  gift  of  voluble  utterance  is  the  com- 
monest of  all  gifts;  and  when  the  audience  are  in 
sympathy  with  the  speaker,  they  are  easily  affected  ;* 
the  understanding  makes  no  demand,  provided  the 
passions  find  their  food.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
when  enthusiasm  was  united  with  strength  of  talents 
and  of  character,  Wesley  was  a  skilful  preceptor, 
who  knew  how  to  discipline  the  untutored  mind,  and 
to  imbue  it  thoroughly  with  his  system.  He  strongly 
impressed  upon  his  preachers  the  necessity  of  read- 
ing to  improve  themselves.  In  reproving  and  ad- 
vising one  who  had  neglected  this  necessary  disci- 

*  Seivel  relates,  with  all  simplicity  and  sincerity,  in  his  History  of  the 
Quakers,  that  his  mother,  a  Dutch  woman,  preached  in  her  native  lan- 
guage to  a  congregation  of  English  Friends,  and  that  though  they  did 
not  understand  a  single  word,  tliey  were  nevertheless  edified  hy  the  dis- 
course.— A  man  returned  from  attending  one  of  Whitefiekl's  sermons, 
and  said  it  was  good  for  him  to  be  there :  the  place,  indeed,  was  so 
crowded,  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  get  near  enough  to  hear  him ; 
"  but  then,"  said  he,  "  I  saw  his  blessed  wig !" 


WESLEY  S  LAY-COADJUTORS. 


59 


pline,  he  points  out  to  him  the  ill  consequences  of 
that  neglect.  "Hence,"  he  says,  "your  talent  in 
preaching  does  not  increase :  it  is  just  the  same  as  it 
was  seven  years  ago.  It  is  lively,  but  not  deep:  there 
is  little  variety;  there  is  no  compass  of  thought. — 
Reading  only  can  supply  this,  with  daily  meditation 
and  daily  prayer.  You  wrong  yourself  greatly  by 
omitting  this :  you  can  never  be  a  deep  preacher 
without  it,  any  more  than  a  thorough  Christian.  Oh 
begin !  Fix  some  part  of  every  day  for  private  exer- 
cises. You  may  acquire  the  taste  which  you  have 
not:  what  is  tedious  at  first,  will  afterwards  be  plea- 
sant. Whether  you  like  it  or  not,  read  and  pray 
daily.  It  is  for  your  life!  there  is  no  other  way; 
else  you  will  be  a  trifler  all  your  days,  and  a  pretty 
superficial  preacher.  Do  justice  to  your  own  soul: 
give  it  time  and  means  to  grow :  do  not  starve  your- 
self  any  longer." 

But  when  the  disciple  was  of  a  thoughtful  and  in- 
quiring mind,  then  Wesley's  care  was  to  direct  his 
studies,  well  knowing  how  important  it  was  that  he 
should  retain  the  whole  and  exclusive  direction. — 
Thus,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Benson,  then  one  of  the 
most  hopeful,  and  since  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  his  followers,  he  says,  "  When  I  recommend  to  any 
one  a  method  or  scheme  of  study,  I  do  not  barely 
consider  this  or  that  book  separately,  but  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  rest.  And  what  I  recommend,  I  know ; 
I  know  both  the  style  and  sentiments  of  each  author, 
and  how  he  will  confirm  or  illustrate  what  goes  be- 
fore, and  prepare  for  what  comes  after.  Therefore, 
I  must  insist  upon  it,  the  interposing  other  books  be- 
tween these  is  not  good  husbandry  :  it  is  not  making 
your  time  and  pains  go  as  far  as  they  might  go.  If 
you  want  more  books,  let  me  recommend  more,  who 
best  understand  my  own  scheme.  And  do  not  ramble^ 
however  learned  the  persons  may  be  that  advise  you 
so  to  do." 

To  this  disciple  Wesley  had  occasion  to  say, 
"  Beware  you  be  not  swallowed  up  in  books !  An 
ounce  of  love  is  worth  a  pound  of  knowledge."  This 
kind  of  caution  w^as  not  often  wanted.    Nor,  although 


60 


Wesley's  lay-coadjutors. 


many  of  his  early  preachers  applied  themselves  dili- 
gently to  the  study  of  the  languages,  did  he  particu- 
larly encourage  them  in  their  desire  of  becoming 
learned  men ;  for  he  perceived  that,  provided  the 
preacher  were  thoroughly  master  of  his  system,  and 
had  the  language  of  Scripture  at  command,  the  more, 
in  other  points  of  intellectual  culture,  he  was  upon 
a  level  with  the  persons  among  whom  he  was  called 
to  labour,  the  better  would  they  comprehend  him, 
and  the  more  likely  would  he  be  to  produce  the  de- 
sired effect.  "  Clearness,"  he  says  to  one  of  his  lay- 
assistants,  "  is  necessary  for  you  and  me,  because  we 
are  to  instruct  people  of  the  lowest  understanding; 
therefore  we,  above  all,  if  we  think  with  the  wise, 
must  yet  speak  with  the  vulgar.  We  should  con- 
stantly use  the  most  common,  little,  easy  words  (so 
they  are  pure  and  proper)  which  our  language 
affords.  When  first  I  talked  at  Oxford  to  plain  peo- 
ple in  the  castle  or  the  town,  I  observed  they  gaped 
and  stared.  This  quickly  obliged  me  to  alter  my 
style,  and  adopt  the  language  of  those  I  spoke  to; 
and  yet  there  is  a  dignity  in  their  simplicity, 
which  is  not  disagreeable  to  those  of  the  highest 
rank."  Many  of  his  ablest  and  most  successful  assist- 
ants perceived  the  good  sense  of  this  reasoning,  and 
acted  upon  it.  "  I  am  but  a  brown-bread  preacher," 
says  Thomas  Hanson,  "  that  seek  to  help  all  I  can  to 
Heaven,  in  the  best  manner  I  can."  Alexander  Ma- 
ther had  received  a  good  Scotch  education  in  his 
boyhood,  and  was  sometimes  tempted  to  recover  his 
lost  Latin,  and  learn  Greek  and  Hebrew  also,  when 
he  observed  the  progress  made  by  others  who  had 
not  the  same  advantage  to  begin  with.  Eut  this  de- 
sire was  set  at  rest,  when  he  considered  that  these 
persons  were  not  more  instrumental  than  before, 
"  either  in  awakening,  converting,  or  building  up 
souls,"  which  he  regarded  as  the  "only  business, 
and  the  peculiar  glory  of  a  Methodist  preacher.  In 
all  these  respects  they  had  been  useful,"  he  said, 
but  not  more  useful  than  when  they  were  without 
their  learning;  and  he  doubted  whether  they  had 
been  so  useful  as  they  might  have  been,  if  they  had 


WESI.EV'S  LAY-COADJUTORS. 


61 


employed  the  same  time,  the  same  diligence,  and  the 
same  iritenseness  ol  thought  in  the  several  branches 
of  that  work  for  \vhich  they  willingly  gave  up  all." 

But  although  Wesley  was  not  desirous  that  his 
preachers  should  labour  to  obtain  a  reputation  for 
learning,  he  repelled  the  charge  of  ignorance.  *'  In 
the  one  thing."  he  says, "  which  they  profess  to  know, 
they  are  not  ignorant  men.  I  trust  there  is  not  one 
of  them  who  is  not  able  to  go  through  such  an  ex- 
amination in  substantial,  practical,  experimental  di- 
vinity, as  few  of  our  candidates  for  holy  orders,  even 
in  the  University  (I  speak  it  with  sorrow  and  shame, 
and  in  tender  love.)  are  able  to  do.  But  oh  !  what 
manner  of  examination  do  most  of  those  candidates 
go  through  ?  and  what  proof  are  the  testimonials 
commonly  brought  (as  solemn  as  the  form  is  wherein 
they  run)  either  of  their  piety  or  knowledge,  to  whom 
are  entrusted  those  sheep  which  God  hatlj  purchas- 
ed with  his  own  blood  .''" 

No  founder  of  a  monastic  order  ever  more  entire- 
ly possessed  the  respect,  as  well  as  the  love  and  the 
admiration  of  his  disciples;  nor  better  understood 
their  individual  characters,  and  how  to  deal  with 
each  according  to  the  measure  of  his  capacity. 
Where  strength  of  mind  and  steadiness  were  united 
with  warmth  of  heart,  he  made  the  preacher  his 
counsellor  as  well  as  his  friend  :  when  only  simple 
zeal  was  to  be  found,  he  used  it  for  his  instrument  as 
long  as  it  lasted.  An  itinerant,  who  was  troubled 
with  doubts  respecting  his  call,  wrote  to  him  in  a  fit 
of  low  spirits,  requesting  that  he  would  send  a 
preacher  to  supersede  him  in  his  circuit,  because 
he  believed  he  was  out  of  his  place.  Wesley  repli- 
plied  in  one  short  sentence,  "  Dear  brother,  you  are 
indeed  ovt  of  your  place  ;  for  you  are  reasoning,  when 
you  ought  to  be/?w^2>?^."  And  this  was  all.  Thus 
tempering  his  authority,  sometimes  with  playfulness, 
and  always  with  kindness,  he  obtained  from  his  ear- 
ly followers  an  unhesitating,  a  cheerful,  and  a  devot- 
ed obedience.  One  of  them,  w  hom  he  had  summon- 
ed from  Bristol  to  meet  him  at  Holyhead,  and  ac- 
company him  to  Ireland,  set  out  on  foot,  with  only 


(32 


Wesley's  lay-coadjutors. 


three  shillings  in  his  pocket.  It  is  a  proof  how  con- 
fidently such  a  man  might  calculate  upon  the  kindli- 
ness of  human  nature,  that,  during  six  nights  out  of 
seven,  this  innocent  adventurer  was  hospitably  enter- 
tained by  utter  strangers,  and  when  he  arrived  he 
had  one  penny  left.  John  Jane  (such  was  his  name)did 
not  long  survive  this  expedition:  he  brought  on  a  fe- 
ver by  walking  in  exceeding  hot  weather;  and  Wesley, 
recording  his  death  in  his  journal,  concludes  in  this 
remarkable  manner: — "All  his  clothes,  linen  and 
woollen,  stockings,  hat,  and  wig,  are  not  thought  suf- 
ficient to  answer  his  luneral  expenses,  which  amount 
to  ll.  17s.  3d.  All  the  money  he  had  was  Is.  4d. — 
Enougli  for  any  unmarried  preacher  of  the  gospel  to 
leave  to  his  executors  !"  St.  Francis  himself  might 
have  been  satisfied  with  such  a  disciple. 

Men  were  not  deterred  from  entering  upon  this 
course  of  life  by  a  knowledge  of  the  fatigue,  the  pri- 
vations, and  the  poverty  to  which  they  devoted  them- 
selves; still  less  by  the  serious  danger  they  incur- 
red, before  the  people  were  made  to  understand  that 
the  Methodists  were  under  tlie  protection  of  the  law. 
There  is  a  stage  of  enthusiasm  in  which  these  things 
operate  as  incitements;  but  this  effect  ceases  as  the 
spirit  sinks  to  its  natural  level.  Many  of  the  first 
preachers  withdrew  from  the  career  when  their  ar- 
dour was  abated;  not  because  they  were  desirous 
of  returning  to  the  ways  of  the  world,  and  emanci- 
pating themselves  from  the  restraints  of  their  new 
profession,  but  because  the  labour  was  too  great. 
Some  received  regular  orders,  and  became  useful 
ministers  of  the  Establishment ;  others  obtained  con- 
gregations among  the  Dissenters;  others  resumed 
the  trades  which  they  had  forsaken,  and,  settling 
where  the  Methodists  were  numerous,officiated  occa- 
sionally among  them.  Thegreatextentof  ground  over 
which  they  were  called  to  itinerate,  while  the  num- 
ber of  preachers  was  comparatively  small,  occasioned 
them,  if  they  were  married  men,  or  had  any  regard 
for  their  worldly  welfare,  thus  to  withdraw  them- 
selves; for  the  circuits  were  at  that  time  so  wide, 
that  the  itinerant  could  only  command  two  or  three 


Wesley's  lay-coadjutors. 


63 


days  in  as  many  months,  for  enjoying  the  society  of 
his  family,  and  looking  after  his  own  concerns.  Yet 
more  persons  than  might  have  been  expected  perse- 
vered in  their  course,  and  generally  had  reason,  even 
in  a  worldly  point  of  view,  to  congratulate  themselves 
upon  the  part  which  they  had  taken.  From  humble, 
or  from  low  life,  they  were  raised  to  a  conspicuous 
station :  they  enjoyed  respect  and  influence  in  their 
own  sphere,  which  was  the  world  to  them  ;  and,  as 
moral  and  intellectual  creatures,  they  may  indeed  be 
said  to  have  beea  new-born,  so  great  was  the  change 
which  they  had  undergone. 

Conversions  have  sometimes  been  produced  by 
circumstances  almost  as  dreadful  as  the  miracle  by 
which  Saul  the  persecutor  was  smitten  down.  Such 
were  the  cases  of  S.  Norbert,  (omitting  all  wilder 
legends,)  of  S.  Francisco  de  Borja,  of  the  Abbe  de 
Ranee,  and,  in  our  own  days,  of  Vanderkemp. 
Sometimes  the  slightest  causes  have  sufficed,  and 
a  chance  word  has  determined  the  future  character 
of  the  hearer's  life.  The  cases  in  Methodism  have 
generalljf  been  of  the  latter  kind.  A  preacher  hap- 
pened to  say  in  a  sermon,  "  there  are  two  witnesses, 
dead  and  buried  in  the  dust,  who  will  rise  up  in 
judgment  against  you  !"  And  holding  up  the  Bible, 
he  continued,  "  these  are  the  tw  o  witnesses  that  have 
been  dead  and  buried  in  the  dust  upon  your  shelf; 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New !"  One  man  was 
present  who  felt  what  was  said,  as  if  his  own  guilt  had 
been  recorded  against  him,  and  was  thus  mysteri- 
ously revealed.  I  felt,"  says  he,  "  what  was  spo- 
ken. 1  remembered  that  my  Bible  was  covered  w  ith 
dust,  and  that  I  had  written  my  name  with  the  point 
of  my  finger  upon  the  binding.  1  thought  I  hod  sign- 
ed my  own  damnation  on  the  back  of  the  witnesses.'* 
This  brought  on  a  fearful  state  of  mind.  He  went 
home  in  great  terror ;  and  seeing  a  dead  toad  in  his 
path,  he  wished,  he  says,  that  he  had  been  a  toad  al- 
so, for  then  he  should  have  had  no  soul  to  lose.  In 
the  middle  of  the  night,  while  labouring  under  such 
fetdings,  he  sat  up  in  bed,  and  said,  "  Lord,  how  will 
if  be  with  me  in  hell Jutt  then  a  dog  began  to 


64 


Wesley's  lay-coadjutors. 


howl  under  his  window,  and  reminded  him  of  the 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  After  a  perilous 
struggle  between  Methodism  and  madness,  the  case 
came  to  a  favourable  termination,  and  John  Furz 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  as  a  preacher. 

A  party  of  men  were  amusing  themselves  one  day 
at  an  alehouse  in  Rotherham,  by  mimicking  the  Me- 
thodists. It  was  disputed  who  succeeded  best,  and 
this  led  to  a  wager.  There  were  four  performers, 
and  the  rest  of  the  company  was  to  decide,  after  a 
fair  specimen  from  each.  A  Bible  was  produced, 
and  three  of  the  rivals,  each  in  turn  mounted  the  ta- 
ble, and  held  forth,  in  a  style  of  irreverent  buffoonery, 
wherein  the  Scriptures  were  not  spared.  John 
Thorpe,  who  was  the  last  exhibiter,  got  upon  the  ta- 
ble in  high  spirits,  exclaiming,  I  shall  beat  you  all  I 
He  opened  the  book  for  a  text,  and  his  eyes  rested 
upon  these  words, '  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish  P  These  words,  at  such  a  moment,  and  in 
such  a  place,  struck  him  to  the  heart.  He  became 
serious,  he  preached  in  earnest,  and  he  affirmed  af- 
terwards, that  his  own  hair  stood  erect  at  the  feel- 
ings which  then  came  upon  him,  and  the  awful  de- 
nunciations which  he  uttered.  His  companions 
heard  him  with  the  deepest  silence.  When  became 
down,  not  a  word  was  said  concerning  the  wager; 
he  left  the  room  immediately,  without  speaking  to 
any  one,  went  home  in  a  state  of  great  agitation,  and 
resigned  himself  to  the  impulse  which  had  thus 
strangely  been  produced.  In  consequence,  he  join- 
ed the  Methodists,  and  became  an  itinerant  preacher: 
but  he  would  often  say,  when  he  related  this  story, 
that  if  ever  he  preached  by^the  assistance  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  it  was  at  that  time. 

Many  of  Wesley's  early  coadjutors  have  left  me- 
moirs of  themselves,  under  the  favourite  title  of  their 
"  Experience."  A  few  sketches  from  these  authentic 
materials  will  illustrate  the  progress  and  nature  of 
Methodism;  and  while  they  exhibit  the  eccentrici- 
ties of  the  human  mind,  will  lay  open  also  some  of  its 
recesses. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


JOHN  OLIVER.  JOHN  PAWSON.  ALEXANDER  MATIiER.— 

THOMAS  OLIVERS, 

John  Oliver,  the  son  of  a  tradesman,  at  Stockport, 
in  Cheshire,  received  the  rudiments  of  a  liberal  edu- 
cation at  the  grammar-school  in  that  town ;  but  at  the 
age  of  thirteen,  in  consequence  of  reduced  circum- 
stances, was  taken  into  his  father's  shop.  When  he 
was  about  fifteen,  the  Methodists  came  to  Stockport ; 
he  partook  the  general  prejudice  against  them,  and 
calling  upon  one  with  whom  he  chanced  to  be  ac- 
quainted, took  upon  iiimself  to  convince  him  that  he 
was  of  a  bad  religion,  which  was  hostile  to  the  church. 
The  Methodist,  in  reply,  easily  convinced  him  that 
he  had  no  religion  at  all.  His  pride  was  mortified 
at  this  defeat,  and  he  went  near  his  acquaintance  no 
more ;  but  the  boy  was  touched  at  heart  also :  he 
left  off  his  idle  and  criminal  diversions,  (of  which 
cock-fighting  was  one,)  read,  prayed,  fasted,  regular- 
ly attended  church,  and  repeated  the  prayers  and 
collects  every  day.  This  continued  some  months, 
without  any  apparent  evil ;  but  having,  at  his  father's 
instance,  spent  a  Sabbath  evening  at  ar-i  inn,  with 
some  young  comrades  from  Manchester,  and  forgot- 
ten all  his  good  resolutions  while  he  was  in  their 
company,  he  came  home  at  night  in  an  agony  of  mind. 
He  did  not  dare  to  pray :  his  conscience  stared  him 
in  the  face;  and  he  became  melancholy.  The  cause 
of  this  distemper  was  more  obvious  than  the  cure; 
and  when  he  was  invited  one  evening  to  attend  a 
meeting,  the  father  declared  he  wouM  knock  his 
brains  out  if  he  went,  though  he  should  be  hanged 
for  it.  John  Oliver  knew  how  little  was  meant  by 
this  threat,  and  stole  away  to  the  sermon.  He  drank 
it  in  with  all  his  heart;"  and  having  afterwards  been 
informed,  by  a  female  disciple,  of  the  manner  of  her 
conversion,  he  was  "  all  in  a  flame  to  know  these 


66 


JOHN"  OLIVEM. 


things  for  himself."  So  he  hastened  home,  fell  to 
prayer,  fancied  twice  that  he  heard  a  voice  distinct- 
ly saying  that  his  sins  were  forgiven  him,  and  felt,  in 
that  instant,  that  all  his  load  was  gone,  and  (hat  an 
inexpressible  change  had  been  wrought.  "  I  loved 
God,"  he  says  :  "  I  loved  all  mankind.  I  could  not 
tell  whether  I  was  in  the  body  or  out  of  it.  Prayer 
was  turned  into  v^onder,  love,  and  praise."  In  this 
state  of  exaltation  he  joined  the  society. 

Mr.  Oliver  was  a  man  of  violent  temper;  he  loved 
his  son  dearly  ;  and  tljinking  that  a  boy  of  sixteen  was 
not  emancipated  from  the  obligation  of  filial  obedi- 
ence, his  anger  at  the  course  which  John  persisted 
in  pursuing  was  strong  in  proportion  to  the  strength 
of  his  affection.  He  sent  to  all  the  Methodists  in  the 
town,  threatened  wh;\l  he  would  do  if  any  of  them 
dared  receive  liim  into  their  houses.  He  tried  seve- 
rity, by  the  advice  of  stupid  men ;  and  broke  not  only 
sticks  but  chairs  upon  him,  in  his  passion.  Perceiv- 
ing thot  these  brutal  means  were  ineffectual,  and 
perhaps  inwardly  ashamed  of  them,  he  reproached 
his  undutiful  child  with  breaking  his  father's  heart, 
and  bringing  down  his  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave.  The  distress  of  the  father,  and  the  stubborn 
resolution  of  the  son,  w  ere  now  matter  of  public  talk 
in  Stockport.  Several  clergymen  endeavoured  to 
convince  the  lad  of  his  misconduct.  One  of  them, 
who  had  been  his  schoolmaster,  called  him  his  child, 
prayed  for  him,  wept  over  him,  and  conjured  him,  as 
he  loved  his  own  soul,  not  to  go  near  those  people 
any  more.  The  father,  in  presence  of  this  clergy- 
man, told  his  son,  that  he  might  attend  the  church- 
prayers  every  day,  and  should  have  every  indul- 
gence which  he  could  ask,  provided  he  would  come 
no  more  near  those  "  damned  villains,"  as  he  called 
the  objects  of  his  violent  but  not  unreasonable  pre- 
judice. John's  reply  was,  that  he  would  do  every 
thing  in  his  power  to  satisfy  him  as  a  child  to  a  parent, 
but  that  this  was  a  matter  of  conscience  which  he 
could  not  give  up. 

Vtv.  Oliver  had  good  cause  for  apprehending  the 
worst  consequences  from  that  spirit  of  fanaticism 


JOHN  OLIVER. 


67 


with  which  the  boy  was  so  thoroughly  possessed. 
The  disease  was  advancing  rapidly  toward  a  crisis. 
At  this  time,  his  heart  was  *'  kept  in  peace  and 
love  all  the  day  long :"  and  when  his  band-fcllow8 
spoke  of  the  wickeduess  which  they  felt  in  them- 
selves, he  wondered  at  them,  and  could  discover 
none  in  himself.  It  was  not  long  before  he  made 
the  discovery.  "  Having,"  he  says,  given  way 
to  temptation,  and  grieved  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God," 
all  his  comforts  were  withdrawn  in  a  moment:  "  my 
soul  was  all  over  darkness :  I  could  no  longer  see 
him  that  is  invisible  :  1  could  not  feel  his  influence 
on  my  heart  :  I  sought  him,  but  could  not  find 
him.  I  endeavoured  to  pray,  but  the  heavens 
seemed  like  brass :  at  the  same  time  such  a  weight 
came  upon  me,  as  if  I  was  instantly  to  be  pressed 
to  death.  1  sunk  into  black  despair:  I  found  no 
gleam  of  light,  no  trace  of  hope,  no  token  of  any 
kind  for  good.  The  Devil  improved  this  hour  of 
darkness,  telling  me  I  was  sure  to  be  damned,  for 
I  was  forsaken  of  God.  Sleep  departed  from  me, 
and  I  scarce  eat  any  thing,  till  I  was  reduced  to  a 
mere  skeleton."  One  morning,  being  no  longer 
able  to  endure  this  misery,  and  resolving  to  put  an 
end  to  his  wretched  life,  he  rose  very  early,  and 
threw  himself  into  the  river,  in  deep  water.  How 
he  was  taken  out,  and  conveyed  to  the  house  of  a 
Methodist,  he  says,  is  what  he  never  could  tell ; 
"  unless  God  sent  one  of  his  ministering  spirits  to 
help  in  the  time  of  need."  A  humbler  Christian 
would  have  been  satisfied  with  gratefully  acknow- 
ledging the  providence  of  God :  he,  however,  flat- 
tered himself  with  the  supposition  of  a  miracle  ;  and 
Wesley,  many  years  afterwards,  published  the  ac- 
count without  reprehension  or  comment.  That  even- 
ing, there  was  preaching  and  praying  in  the  house ; 
but,  in  the  morning,  "  Satan  came  upon  him  like  thun- 
der." telling  him  he  was  a  self-murderer;  and  he  at- 
tempted to  strangle  himself  with  a  handkerchief, 
it  was  now  thought  proper  to  send  for  Mr.  Oliver, 
who  had  been  almost  distracted  all  this  while,  fear- 
ing what  might  so  probably  have  happened  to  the 


6« 


JOHN  OI-IVER. 


poor  bewildered  boy.  He  took  him  home,  promising 
to  use  no  severity;  for  John  was  afraid  to  go.  A 
physician  was  called  in,  whom  Ohver  calls  an  utter 
stranger  to  all  religion.  He  bled  him  largely,  phy- 
sicked him  well,  and  blistered  him  on  the  head, 
back,  and  feet.  It  is  very  possible  that  the  bodily- 
disease  required  some  active  treatment:  the  leaven 
of  the  mind  was  not  thus  to  be  worked  ofE  The 
first  time  that  he  was  permitted  to  go  out,  one  of  his 
Methodist  friends  advised  him  to  elope,  seeing  that 
he  would  not  be  permitted  to  serve  God  at  home. 
He  went  to  Manchester;  his  mother  followed  him, 
and  found  means  to  bring  him  back  by  force  :  the 
father  then  gave  np  the  contest  in  despair,  and  .Tohn 
pursued  his  own  course  without  further  opposition. 
Now  it  was,  he  says,  that  his  strength  came  again  : 
his  light,  his  life,  his  God.  He  began  to  exhort: 
soon  afterward  he  fancied  himself  called  to  some 
more  public  work ;  and,  having  passed  through  the 
previous  stages,  was  accepted  by  Wesley  upon  trial 
as  a  travelling  preacher.  At  the  year's  end  he 
would  have  gone  home,  from  humility,  not  from  any 
weariness  of  his  vocation.  Wesley's  reply  was,  "  You 
have  set  your  hand  to  the  gospel-plough,  therefore 
never  look  back  !  I  would  have  you  come  up  to  liOn- 
don  this  winter.  Here  is  every  thing  to  make  the 
man  of  God  perfect."  He  accepted  the  invitation ; 
and  had  been  thirty  years  an  active  and  successful 
preacher,  when  his  life  and  portrait  were  exhibited 
in  the  Arminian  Magazine. 

Oliver  describes  himself  as  having  always  been 
of  a  fearful  temper — a  temper  which  is  often  con- 
nected with  rashness.  During  part  of  his  life,  he 
was  afflicted  with  what  he  calls  a  scrofulous  dis- 
order. A  practitioner  in  Essex,  to  w  hom  he  applied 
for  relief,  and  who  began  his  ])ractico  by  prayer, 
told  him  his  wliole  mass  of  blood  was  corrupted,  and 
advised  him  to  a  milk  diet :  he  took  daily  a  quart  of 
milk,  with  white  bread,  and  two  table-spoonfuls  of 
honey.  In  six  months  his  whole  habit  of  body  was 
changed,  and  no  symptom  of  the  disorder  ever  ap- 
peared afterwards. 


JOHN  PAWSOiV. 


69 


John  Pawsox  was  the  son  of  a  respectable  farmer, 
who  cnltlvated  his  own  estate,  at  Thorncr,  in  York- 
shire. His  parents  were  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  gave  him  a  good  education  according  to  their 
means ;  and  though,  he  says,  they  were  strangers  to 
the  life  and  power  of  religion,  brought  him  up  in 
the  fear  of  God.  The  father  followed  also  the  trade 
of  a  builder,  and  this  son  was  bred  to  the  same  busi- 
ness. The  youth  knowing  the  Methodists  only  by 
common  report,  supposed  them  to  be  a  foolish  and 
wicked  people  ;  till  happening  to  hear  a  person  give 
an  account  of  his  wife,  who  was  a  Methodist,  he 
conceived  a  better  opinion  of  them,  and  felt  a  wish 
to  hear  them.  Accordingly  he  went  one  evening  to 
their  place  of  meeting ;  but,  when  he  came  to  the 
door,  he  was  ashamed  to  go  in,  and  so  walked  round 
the  house,  and  returned  home.  This  was  in  his  18th 
year.  He  Avas  now  employed  at  Harcwood,  and  fell 
into  profligate  company,  who,  though  they  did  not 
succeed  in  corrupting  him,  made  him  dislike  Metho- 
dism more  than  ever. 

Two  sermons,  which  had  been  preached  at  the 
parish  church  in  Leeds  by  a  methodistical  clergy- 
man, were  lent  to  his  father  when  Pawson  was  about 
twenty.  These  fell  into  his  hands,  and  convinced 
him  that  justification  by  faith  was  necessary  to  salva- 
tion. He  went  now  to  Otley  to  hear  a  Methodist 
preach ;  and  from  that  hour  his  course  of  life  was 
determined.  The  serious  devout  behaviour  of  the 
people,  he  says,  struck  him  with  a  kind  of  religious 
awe:  the  singing  greatly  delighted  him;  and  the 
sermon  was,  to  use  his  own  phraseology,  "  much 
blest  to  his  soul."  He  was  permitted  to  stay,  and  be 
present  at  the  Society  Meeting,  and  "  had  cause  to 
bless  God  for  it." 

There  was  nothing  wavering  in  this  man's  charac- 
ter: he  had  been  morally  and  religiously  brought 
up;  his  disposition,  from  the  beginning,  was  good, 
and  his  devotional  feelings  strong.  But  his  relations 
were  exceedingly  offended  when  he  declared  him- 
self a  Methodist.  An  uncle,  who  had  promised  to 
be  !)is  friend,  resolved  that  he  would  leave  bim  no- 


70 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


thing  in  his  will,  and  kept  the  resolution.  His  pa- 
rents, and  his  brother  and  sisters,  supposed  him  to 
be  totally  ruined.  Sometimes  his  father  threatened 
to  turn  him  out  of  doors,  and  utterly  disown  him  :  but 
John  was  his  eldest  son:  he  dearly  loved  him:  and 
this  fault,  bitterly  as  he  regretted  and  re&ented  it, 
was  not  of  a  nature  to  destroy  his  natural  affection. 
He  tried  persuasion,  as  well  as  threats;  beseeching 
him  not  to  run  wilfully  after  his  own  ruin;  and  his 
mother  frequently  wept  much  on  his  account.  The 
threat  of  disinheriting  him  gave  him  no  trouble  :  but 
the  danger  which  he  believed  their  souls  were  in 
distressed  him  sorely.  "  I  did  not  regard  what  I 
suffered,"  says  he,  "  so  my  parents  might  be  brought 
out  of  their  Egyptian  darkness."  He  bought  books, 
and  laid  them  in  his  father's  way,  and  it  was  a  hope- 
ful symptom  that  the  father  read  them,  although  it 
seemed  to  no  good  purpose.  The  seed,  however, 
had  struck  root  in  the  family :  his  brother  and  some 
of  his  sisters  were  "  awakened."  The  father  be- 
came more  severe  with  John,  as  the  prime  cause 
of  all  this  mischief:  then  again  he  tried  mild  means, 
and  to!d  him  to  buy  what  books  he  pleased,  but 
besought  him  not  to  go  to  the  preachings  :  he 
might  learn  more  by  reading  Mr.  Wesley's  writings, 
than  by  hearing  the  lay-preachers ;  and  the  Metho- 
dists, he  said,  were  so  universally  hated,  that  it 
would  ruin  his  character  to  go  among  them.  It 
was  "  hard  work"  to  withstand  the  entreaties  of  a 
good  father ;  and  it  was  not  less  hard  to  refrain 
from  what  he  verily  believed  essential  to  his  salva- 
tion. There  was  preaching  one  Sunday  near  the 
house,  and,  in  obedience,  he  kept  away :  but  when 
it  was  over,  and  he  saw  the  people  returning  home, 
full  of  the  consolation  which  they  had  rv^ceived, 
his  grief  became  too  strong  for  him :  he  went  into 
the  garden,  and  wept  bitterly;  and,  as  his  emo- 
tions became  more  powerful,  retired  into  a  solitary 
place,  and  there,  he  says,  bemoaned  himself  be- 
fore the  Lord,  in  such  anguish,  that  he  was  scarcely 
able  to  look  up.  In  this  situation  his  father  found 
him,  and  took  him  into  the  fields  to  see  the  grass  and 


JOHN  PAWSOX. 


71 


corn  ;  but  the  cheerful  images  of  nature  produced  no 
effect  upon  a  mind  thus  agitated  ;  and  the  father  was 
grievously  troubled,  beUeving  verily  that  his  son 
would  run  distracted.  They  returned  home  in  time 
to  attend  the  Church  service;  and,  in  the  evening, 
as  was  their  custom,  John  read  aloud  from  some  re- 
ligious book,  choosing  one  to  his  purpose.  Seeing 
that  his  father  approved  of  what  he  read,  he  ventured 
to  speak  to  him  in  defence  of  his  principles.  The 
father  grew  angry,  and  spoke  with  bitterness.  "  I 
find,"  said  ihc  old  man,  "  thou  art  now  entirely 
ruined.  I  have  used  every  means  1  can  think  of,  but 
all  to  no  purpose.  1  rejoiced  at  thy  birth,  and  I  once 
thought  thou  wast  as  hopeful  a  young  man  as  any  in 
this  town  ;  but  now  I  shall  have  no  more  comfort  in 
thee  so  long  as  I  live.  I  hy  mother  and  I  are  grown 
old,  and  thou  makest  our  lives  quite  miserable  :  thou 
wilt  bring  down  our  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave.  Thou  intendest  to  make  my  house  a  preach- 
ing house,  when  once  my  head  is  laid  ;  but  i.  shall 
never  be  thine  :  no,  I  will  leave  all  I  have  to  the  poor 
of  the  parish,  before  the  Methodists  shall  have  any 
thing  to  do  with  it."  Favvson  was  exceedingly  affect- 
ed ;  and  the  father  seeing  this,  desired  him  to  pro- 
raise  that  he  would  hear  their  preaching  no  more. — 
He  replied,  when  he  could  speak  for  weeping,  that 
if  he  could  see  a  suthcient  reason  he  would  make  that 
promise  ;  but  not  till  then.  "  Well,"  replied  the  old 
man,  I  see  thou  art  quite  stupid — I  may  as  well  say 
nothing :  the  Methodists  are  the  most  bewitching 
people  that  ever  lived ;  for,  when  once  a  person 
heai  s  them,  it  is  impossible  to  persuade  him  to  return 
back  again." 

Pawson  retired  from  this  conversation  in  great 
trouble,  and  was  tempted  to  think  that  he  was  guilty 
of  disobeying  his  parents ;  but  he  satisfied  himself 
that  he  must  obey  God  rather  than  man.  It  was  a 
great  comlbrt  to  him  that  his  brother  sympathized 
with  him  entirely :  they  both  str  .ve  to  oblige  their 
parents  as  much  as  possible,  and  took  especial  care 
that  no  business  should  be  neglected  for  the  preach- 
ing. This  conduct  had  its  effect.  They  used  to  pray 


72 


JOHN  r  A  Us  ON. 


together  in  their  chamber.  The  mother,  after  often 
listening  on  the  stairs,  desired  at  last  to  join  them ; 
and  the  father  became,  in  hke  manner,  a  listener  at 
first,  and  afterwards  a  partakei-  in  these  devotions. — 
The  minister  of  the  parish  now  began  to  apprehend 
that  he  should  lose  the  whole  family:  the  way  by 
Avhicli  lie  attempted  to  retain  them  was  neither  wise 
nor  charitable  ;  it  w  as  by  reviling  and  calumniatinsr 
the  Methodists,  and  in  this  manner  inflaming  the  fa^ 
ther's  wrath  against  the  son.  This  was  Pawson's  last 
trial :  perceiving  the  effect  which  was  thus  produced, 
he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  father,  in  ■which,  after  stating 
his  feelings  concerning  his  own  sou!,  he  came  to  plain 
arguments, which  could  not  but  have  their  due  weight. 

What  worse  am  1,  in  any  respect,  since  I  heard  the 
Methodists  ?  Am  i  disobedient  to  you  or  my  mother 
in  any  other  thing?  Do  I  neglect  any  part  of  busi- 
ness.'*" He  asked  him  also  why  he  condemned  the 
preachers,  whom  he  Iiad  never  heard.  "If  you  will 
hear  them  only  three  times,"  said  he,  "  and  then 
prove  from  the  Scripture  that  they  preach  contrary 
thereunto,  1  will  hear  them  no  more."  The  old  man 
accepted  this  proposal.  The  first  sermon  he  liked 
tolerably  well,  the  second  not  at  all,  and  the  third  so 
much,  that  lie  went  to  hear  a  fourth,  Avhich  pleased 
him  better  than  all  the  rest.  His  own  mind  was  now 
wholly  unsettled  :  he  retired  one  morning  into  the 
stable,  where  nobody  might  hear  or  see  him,  that  he 
might  pray  without  interruption  to  the  Lord  ;  and 
here  such  a  paroxysm  came  on,  "that  he  roared  for 
the  very  disquietness  of  his  soul." — "  This,"  says 
Pawson,  "  was  a  day  of  glad  tidings  to  me.  I  now 
had  liberty  to  cast  in  ray  lot  with  the  people  of  God. 
My  father  invited  the  preachers  to  his  house,  and 
prevented  vvj  turning  it  into  a  preaching  house,  (as 
he  had  formerly  said,)  by  doing  it  himself.  From  this 
time  we  had  preachings  in  our  own  house,  and  all 
the  family  joined  the  Society." 

It  might  have  been  thought  that  the  proselyte  had 
now  obtaitsed  his  soul's  desire ;  but  he  had  not  attain- 
ed to  the  new  birth  :  his  prayer  was,  that  the  Lord 
would  take  away  his  heart  of  stone,  and  give  him  a 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


73 


heart  of  llesh  ;  and,  ere  long,  as  he  was  "  hearing 
the  word''  in  a  neiglibouring  village,  the  crisis  which 
he  solicited  came  on.  "  In  the  beginning  of  the  ser- 
vice," says  he,  "  the  power  of  God  came  mightily 
upon  me  and  many  others.  All  on  a  sudden  my  heart 
was  like  melting  wax:  I  cried  aloud  with  an  exceed- 
ing bitter  cry.  The  arrows  of  the  Almighty  stuck 
fast  in  my  flesh,  and  the  poison  of  them  drank  up  my 
spirits  ;  yet,  in  the  height  of  my  distress,  I  could  bless 
the  Lord  that  he  had  granted  me  that  which  I  had  so 
long  sought  for,"  It  was  well  that  his  father  had 
been  con\  erted  before  he  reached  this  stage,  or  he 
might  with  some  reason  have  believed  that  Metho- 
dism had  made  his  son  insane.  He  could  take  no 
delight  in  any  thing;  his  business  became  a  burden 
to  him  ;  he  was  quite  confused  ;  so  that  any  one,  he 
says,  who  looked  on  him,  might  see  in  his  counte- 
nance the  distress  of  his  mind,  for  he  was  on  the  very 
brink  of  despair.  One  day  he  was  utterly  confound- 
ed by  hearing  that  one  of  his  acquaintance  had  re- 
ceived an  assurance  of  salvation,  when  he  had  only 
heard  three  sermons;  whereas  he,  who  had  long 
waited,  was  still  without  comfort.  Public  thanks 
were  given  for  this  new  birth ;  and  Pawson  went 
home  from  the  meeting  to  give  vent  to  his  own  grief. 
As  he  could  not  do  this  in  his  chamber  without  dis- 
turbing the  family,  he  retired  into  the  barn,  where 
he  might  perform  freely,  and  there  began  to  pray, 
and  weep,  and  roar  aloud,  for  his  distress  was  greater 
than  he  could  well  bear.  Presently  he  found  that 
his  brother  was  in  another  part  of  the  barn,  in  as 
much  distress  as  himself  Their  cries  brought  in  the 
father  and  mother,  the  elder  sister,  and  her  husband, 
and  all  being  in  the  same  condition,  they  all  lament- 
ed together.  '-I  suppose,"  says  Pawson,  "if  some 
of  the  good  Christians  of  the  age  had  seen  or  heard 
us,  they  would  have  concludes  we  were  all  quite  be- 
side ourselves.  However,  "  though  the  children  were 
brought  to  the  birth,  there  was  not  strength  to  bring 
forth."  One  Saturday  evening,  when  "  there  was  a 
mighty  shaking  among  the  dry  bones"  at  the  meet- 
ing, his  father  received  the  assurance,  and  the 

VOL.  IF.  10 


74 


JOHN  PAWSON. 


^reachel*  gave  thanks  on  his  arcounl ;  but  Pawson 
was  so  far  from  being  able  to  rejoice  with  him,  that, 
he  says,  his  soul  sunk  as  into  the  belly  of  hell." — 
On  the  day  following  the  preacher  met  the  Society, 

in  order  to  vvre;tle  with  God  in  behalf  of  those  who 
tvere  in  distress."  Pawson  went  full  of  sorrow,  pant- 
ing after  the  Lord  as  the  hart  aflej-  the  water-brooks." 
When  the  praydr  for  those  in  distress  was  made,  he 
placed  hitiiself  upon  his  knees  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  if  possible,  in  greater  anguish  of  spirit  than 
ever  before.  Presently  a  person,  whom  he  knew, 
"  cried  for  mercy,  as  if  he  would  rend  the  very  hea- 
ven,"— "  Quickly  after,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye," 
says  Pawson,  "  all  my  trouble  was  gone,  my  guilt  and 
condemnation  were  removed,  and  I  was  fdled  with 
joy  unspeakable.  I  was  brought  out  of  darkness  into 
marvellous  light ;  out  of  miserable  bondage,  into  glo- 
rious liberty;  out  of  the  most  bitter  distress,  into  un- 
speakable happiness.  I  had  not  the  least  doubt  of* 
rtiy  acceptance  with  God,  but  was  fully  assured  that 
he  Was  reconciled  to  me  through  the  merits  of  his 
Son.  I  was  fully  satisfied  that  I  was  born  of  God  : 
my  justification  was  so  clear  to  me,  that  I  could  nei- 
ther doubt  nor  fear," 

The  lot  of  the  yoiing  man  was  now  cast.  He  was 
shortly  afterwards  desired  to  meet  a  class :  it  was  a 
sore  trial  to  him ;  but  obedience  was  a  duty,  and  he 
was  "  obliged  to  take  up  the  cross."  "  From  the  first 
or  second  time  I  met  it,"  he  continues,  "  I  continually 
walked  in  the  light  of  God's  countenance :  I  served 
him  with  an  undivided  heart.  I  had  no  distressing 
temptations,  but  had  constant  power  over  all  sin,  so 
that  1  lived  as  upon  the  borders  of  heaven."  Hence- 
forward his  progress  was  regular.  From  reading  the 
homilies,  and  explaining  them  as  he  went  on,  he  be- 
gan to  expound  the  Bible,  in  his  poor  manner.  The 
people  thriist  him  into  the  pulpit.  First  he  became 
a  local  preacher,  then  an  itinerant,  and,  finally,  a 
leading  personage  of  the  conference,  in  which  he 
continued  a  steady  and  useful  member  till  his  death. 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


75 


Alexander  Matheu  was  a  man  of  cooler  tempera- 
ment and  better  disciplined  mind  than  most  of  Wes- 
ley's coadjutors.  He  was  the  son  of  a  baker,  at  Bre- 
chin, in  Scotland  :  his  parents  were  reputable  and 
religious  people:  they  kept  him  carefully  from  evil 
company,  and  brought  him  up  in  the  fear  of  God : 
but  (he  father  was  a  rigid  and  severe  man  ;  and  pro- 
bably for  this  reason,  while  he  was  yet  a  mere  boy, 
(according  to  his  own  account  not  thirteen,)  he  join- 
ed the  rebels  in  174.').  Having  escaped  from  Cullo- 
den  and  the  pursuit,  he  found  that  his  father's  doors 
were  closed  against  him  on  his  return.  By  his  mo- 
thers help,  however,  he  was  secreted  among  their 
relations  for  several  months,  till  he  thought  the  dan- 
ger was  over,  and  ventured  a  second  time  to  present 
himself  at  home.  The  father,  more,  perhaps,  from 
cu'ining,  than  actual  want  of  feeling,  not  only  again 
refused  him  admittance,  but  went  himself  and  gave 
information  against  him  to  the  commanding  officer, 
and  the  boy  would  have  been  sent  to  prison,  if  a  gen- 
tleman of  the  town  had  not  interfered,  and  obtained 
leave  for  him  to  lodge  in  his  fathers  house.  The 
next  morning  he  passed  through  the  form  of  an  ex- 
amination, and  was  discharged.  From  this  time  he 
worked  at  his  fathers  business,  till,  in  the  nineteenth 
year  of  his  age,  he  thought  it  adviseable  to  see  the 
world,  and  therefore  travelled  southward.  The  next 
year  he  reached  London,  and  there  engaged  himself 
as  a  journeyman  baker.  Because  he  was,  as  he  says, 
a  foreigner,  his  first  master  was  summoned  to  Guild- 
hall, and  compelled  to  dismiss  him.  This  unjust  law 
was  not  afterwards  enforced  against  him,  and  he 
seems  to  have  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  employ- 
ment. Before  he  had  been  many  months  in  London, 
a  young  woman,  who  had  been  bred  up  with  him  in 
his  fathers  house,  sought  him  out :  they  had  not  met 
for  many  years,  and  this  renewal  of  an  old  intimacy, 
in  a  strange  land,  soon  ended  in  marriage, 

Mather  had  made  a  resolution  that  he  would  live 
wholly  to  God  whenever  he  should  marry.  For  a 
while  he  was  too  happy  to  remember  this  resolu- 
tion :  he  remembered  it  when  his  wife  was  afllicted 


76 


ALEXANDER  MM  HER. 


with  illness :  it  then  lay  heavy  on  his  mind  that  he 
had  not  performed  his  vow  of  praying  with  her,  and 
yet  some  kind  of  false  feeling  prevented  him  from 
opening  his  heart  to  her.  Day  after  day  the  sense 
of  this  secret  sin  increased  upon  him,  till,  after  loss 
of  appetite  and  of  sleep,  and  tears  by  day  and  night, 
he  "  broke  through,"  as  he  expresses  it,  and  began 
the  practice  of  praying  with  her,  which  from  that 
time  was  never  interrupted.  Her  education  had 
been  a  religious  one  like  his,  and  they  did  not  de- 
part from  the  way  in  which  they  were  trained  up. 

Though  Mather  had  no  domestic  obstacles  to 
overcome,  and  never  passed  through  those  struggles 
of  mind  which,  in  many  of  his  colleagues,  bordered 
so  closely  upon  madness,  he  was  by  no  means  in  a 
sane  state  of  devotion  at  this  time.  It  was  not  suffi- 
cient for  him  to  pray  by  himself  every  morning  and 
every  afternoon  with  his  wife ;  he  sometimes  knelt 
when  he  was  going  to  bed,  and  continued  in  that 
position  till  two  o'clock,  when  he  was  called  to  his 
work.  The  master  whom  he  now  served  was  an  at- 
tendant at  the  Foundry,  but,  like  all  others  of  the 
same  trade,  he  was  in  the  practice  of  what  was  called 
"  baking  of  pans"  on  a  Sunday.  Mather  regarded 
this  as  a  breach  of  the  Sabbath  :  it  troubled  him  so 
that  he  could  hnd  no  peace ;  and  his  flesh,  he  says, 
consumed  away,  till  the  bones  were  ready  to  start 
through  his  skin.  At  length,  unable  to  endure  this 
state  of  mind,  he  gave  Ijis  master  warning.  The 
master,  finding  by  what  motives  he  was  influen- 
ced, and  that  he  had  not  provided  himself  with 
another  place,  was  struck  by  his  conscientious 
conduct:  he  went  round  to  all  the  trade  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  proposed  that  they  should 
enter  into  an  agreement  not  to  bake  on  Sundays. 
The  majority  agreed.  "  He  advertised  for  a  meeiing 
of  master  bakers  upon  the  subject ;  but  nothing  could 
be  concluded.  After  all  this,  which  Mather  acknow- 
ledges was  more  than  he  could  reasonably  expect, 
he  said  to  him,  "I  have  done  all  I  can,  and  now  1 
hope  you  will  be  content."  Mather  sincerely  thank- 
ed him  for  what  he  had  done,  but  declared  his  inten^ 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


77 


lion  of  quitting  him,  as  soon  as  hi?  master  could 
suit  himself  with  another  man.  But  the  master, 
it  seems,  took  advice  at  the  Foundry,  and  on  the 
following  Sunday  staid  at  home,  to  tell  all  his  custo- 
mers that  he  could  bake  no  more  on  the  Sabbath 
day.  From  this  time  both  he  and  his  wife  were  par- 
ticularly kind  to  Mather.  They  introduced  him  to 
the  Foundry,  and  he  soon  became  a  regular  member 
of  the  Society. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  had  strong  impressions 
upon  his  mind  that  he  was  called  to  preach.  After 
fasting  and  praying  upon  this  point,  he  communica- 
ted \t  to  his  band,  and  they  set  apart  some  days  for  the 
same  exercises.  This  mode  of  proceeding  w  as  not 
likely  to  abate  his  desire;  and  the  band  tlicn  advis- 
ed him  to  speak  to  Mr.  Wesley.  Vv  esley  replied, 
"  This  is  a  common  temptation  among  young  men. 
Several  have  mentioned  it  to  me  ;  but  the  next  thing 
I  hear  of  them  is,  that  ihey  are  married,  or  upon  the 
point  of  it." — "  Sir,"  said  Mather,  "  I  am  married  al- 
ready." Wesley  then  bade  him  not  care  for  the 
temptation,  but  seek  God  by  fasting  and  prayer.  He 
made  answer,  that  he  had  done  this;  and  Wesley 
recommended  patience  and  perseverance  in  this 
course  ;  adding,  that  he  doubted  not  but  God  would 
soon  make  the  way  plain  before  him.  Mather  could 
not  but  understand  this  as  an  encouragement :  he 
was  the  more  encouraged,  w  hen  Wesley  shortly  af- 
terwards appointed  him  first  to  be  the  leader  of  a 
band,  and  in  a  little  lime  of  a  class.  In  both  situa- 
tions he  acquitted  himself  to  the  satisfaction  of  others: 
his  confidence  in  himself  was,  of  course,  increased, 
and  he  went  once  more  to  Mr.  Wesley  to  represent 
iiis  ardent  aspirations.  "To  be  a  Methodist  preach- 
er," said  Wesley,  is  not  the  way  to  ease,  honour, 
pleasure,  or  profit.  It  is  a  life  of  much  laboiu-  and 
reproach.  They  often  fare  hart! — olten  are  in  want. 
They  are  liable  to  be  stoned,  beaten,  and  abused  in 
various  manners.  Consider  this  before  you  engage 
in  so  uncomfortable  a  w  ay  of  life."  The  other  side 
of  the  picture  would  have  been  sufliciently  tempting, 
if  Mather  had  been  inllucnccd  by  worldly  considcra- 


78 


ALEXANDER  MATHER. 


tions  :  the  danger  was  just  enough  to  stimulate  en-t 
thusiasm :  the  reproach  of  strangers  would  only 
heighten  the  estimation  in  which  he  would  be  held 
by  believers:  no  way  of  life  could  be  more  uncom- 
fortable than  his  own  ;  and  what  a  preferment  in  the 
world  for  a  journeyman  baker !  The  conversation 
ended,  by  allowing  him  to  make  a  trial  on  the  follovr- 
ing  morning.  After  a  second  essay,  he  received  in- 
formation nearly  at  ten  at  night,  that  he  was  to  preach 
the  next  monnng  at  five  o'clock  at  the  Foundry. 
This  was  the  critical  trial.  All  the  time  he  was  mak- 
ing his  dough  he  was  engaged  in  meditation  and 
prayer  for  assistance.  The  family  were  all  in  bed, 
and  wlien  he  had  done,  he  continued  praying  and 
reading  the  Bible  to  find  a  text  till  two  o'clock.  It  was 
then  time  to  call  his  fellow-servant,  and  they  Avent  to 
work  together  as  usual  till  near  four,  preparing  the 
bread  for  the  oven.  His  comrade  then  retired  to 
bed,  and  he  to  his  prayers,  till  a  quarter  before  five, 
when  he  went,  in  fear  and  trembling,  to  the  meeting, 
still  unprepared  even  with  a  text.  He  took  up  the 
hymn-book,  and  gave  out  the  hymn,  in  a  voice  so 
faint,  because  of  his  timidity,  that  it  could  not  be 
understood.  The  people,  not  hearing  the  verse, 
knew  not  what  to  sing:  he  was  no  singer  himself^ 
otherwise  he  might  have  recovered  this  mishap  by 
leading  them, — so  they  were  at  a  stand,  and  this  in- 
creased his  agitation  so  much,  that  his  joints  shook. 
However,  he  recovered  himself,  and  took  the  text 
npon  which  he  opened.  The  matter  after  this  was 
left  to  Mr.  Wesley,  to  employ  him  as  his  business 
would  permit,  just  when  and  where  he  pleased. 
When  first  he  began  to  preach,  there  was  a  consider- 
able natural  defect  in  his  delivery;  and  he  spoke 
with  such  extreme  quickness,  that  very  few  could 
understand  him  :  but  he  entirely  overcame  this. 

The  account  of  the  exertions  in  which  this  zealous 
labourer  was  now  engaged,  may  best  be  related  in 
his  own  words.  He  says,  "In  a  little  time  I  was 
more  employed  than  my  strength  would  well  allow. 
I  had  no  time  for  preaching  but  what  I  took  from  my 
sleep ;  so  that  I  frequently  had  not  eight  hours  sleep 


ALEXANiiER  MATHER. 


79 


in  a  week.  This,  with  hard  labour,  constant  ab- 
stemiousness, and  frequent  fasting,  brought  me  so 
low,  that,  in  a  little  more  than  tw  o  years,  I  was  hard- 
ly able  to  follow  my  business.  My  master  was  often 
afraid  I  should  kill  myself:  and  perhaps  his  fear  was 
not  groundless.  I  have  frequently  put  off  my  shirts 
as  wet  with  sweat  as  if  they  had  been  dipt  in  water. 
After  hastening  to  finish  my  business  abroad,  I  have 
come  home  all  in  a  sweat  in  the  evening,  changed  my 
clothes,  and  ran  to  preach  at  one  or  another  chapel ; 
then  walked  or  ran  back,  changed  my  clothes,  and 
gone  to  work  at  ten,  wrought  hard  all  night,  and 
preached  at  five  the  next  morning.  I  ran  back  to 
draw  the  bread  at  a  quarter,  or  half  an  hour  past 
six ;  wrought  hard  in  the  bake-house  till  eight ;  then 
hurried  about  with  bread  till  the  afternoon,  and  per- 
haps at  night  set  off  again." 

Had  this  mode  of  life  continued  long,  Mather  must 
have  fallen  a  victim  to  his  zeal.  He  was  probably 
saved  by  being  appointed  a  travelling  preacher ; 
yet,  at  the  very  commencement  of  his  itinerancy,  his 
course  had  been  nearly  cut  short.  A  mob  attacked 
him  at  Boston  :  and  when,  w  ith  great  difficulty  and 
danger,  he  reached  his  inn,  bruised,  bleeding,  and 
covered  with  blood,  the  rabble  beset  the  house,  and 
the  landlord  attempted  to  turn  him  out,  for  fear  they 
should  pull  it  down.  Mather,  however,  knew  the 
laws,  and  was  not  wanting  to  himself.  "  Sir,"  he 
said,  "  I  am  in  your  house  ;  but,  while  I  use  it  as  an 
inn,  it  is  mine — turn  me  out  at  your  peril."  And  he 
compelled  him  to  apply  to  a  magistrate  for  protec- 
tion. It  was  more  than  twelve  months  before  he  re- 
covered from  the  brutal  treatment  which  he  received 
on  this  occasion.  The  mob  at  Wolverhampton  pull- 
ed down  a  preaching  house:  an  attorney  had  led 
them  on,  and  made  the  first  breach  himself.  Mather 
gave  him  his  choice  of  rebuilding  it  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, or  being  tried  for  his  life  :  of  course  the  house 
was  rebuilt,  and  there  were  no  further  riots  at  Wol- 
verhampton. He  Avas  of  a  hardy  constitution  and 
strong  mind,  cool  and  courageous,  zealous  and  dis- 
interested, most  tender-hearted  and  charitable,  but 


80 


THOMAS  OLIVKKS. 


possessing  withal  a  large  share  of  prudence,  which 
enabled  him  to  conduct  the  temporal  affairs  of  the 
Connexion  with  great  ability.  The  account  which, 
in  his  matured  and  sober  mind,  he  gives  of  his  ex- 
perience, touching  what  Wesley  calls  the  great  sal- 
vation, bears  with  it  fewer  marks  of  enthusiasm,  and 
more  of  meditation,  than  is  usually  found  in  such 
cases.  What  1  experienced  in  my  own  soul,  he 
says,  "  was  an  instantaneous  deliverance  from  all 
those  w  rong  tempers  and  atfections  which  I  had  long 
and  sensibly  groaned  under;  an  entire  disengage- 
ment from  every  creature,  witli  an  entire  devotedness 
to  God  ;  and  from  tfiat  moment  I  found  an  unspeak- 
able pleasure  in  doing  the  will  of  God  in  all  things. 
I  had  also  a  power  to  do  it,  and  the  constant  appro- 
bation both  of  my  own  conscience  and  of  God.  I 
had  simplicity  of  heart,  and  a  single  eye  to  God  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places,  with  such  a  fervent  zeal 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  souls,  as  swal- 
lowed up  every  other  care  and  consideration.  Above 
all,  I  uad  uninterrupted  communion  with  God,  whe- 
ther sleeping  or  waking."  It  is  scarcely  compatible 
with  human  weakness,  that  a  state  like  this  should 
be  permanent ;  and  Mather,  in  describing  it,  after 
an  interval  of  more  than  twenty  years,  exclaims, 
"  Oh  that  it  were  with  me  as  when  the  candle  of  the 
Lord  thus  shone  upon  my  head  !"  Yet  he  had  not 
failed  in  his  course  ;  and,  after  much  reflection,  and 
the  surer  aid  of  prayer,  had  calmly  satisfied  his  clear 
judgment,  "  that  deliverance  from  sin  does  not  imply 
deliverance  from  human  infirmities ;  and  that  it  is 
not  inconsistent  with  temptations  of  various  kinds." 

Tiio.AiAS  Oliveks  was  born  at  Tregonan,  a  village 
in  Montgomeryshire,  in  the  year  1725.  Beir>g  left 
an  orphan  in  childhood,  with  some  little  property,  he 
was  placed  under  the  care  of  the  husband  of  his  fa- 
ther's first  cousin ;  which  remote  relationship  comes 
under  the  comprehensive  term  of  a  Welsh  uncle. 
Mr.  Tudor,  as  this  person  was  called,  was  an  emi- 
nent former,  and  did  his  duty  by  the  boy  ;  giving  him 
not  merely  the  common  school  education,  but  bestow*- 


THOMAS  OLIVERS, 


81 


ing  more  than  common  pains  in  imparting  religious 
acquirements.  He  was  taught  to  sing  psalms,  as 
well  as  repeat  his  catechism  and  his  prayers,  and  to 
attend  church  twice  on  the  Sabbath  day.  But  the 
parish  happened  to  be  in  a  state  of  shocking  immo- 
rality : — there  was  one  man,  in  particular,  who  stu- 
died the  art  of  cursing,  and  would  exemplify  the 
richness  of  the  Welsh  language,  by  compounding 
twenty  or  thirty  words  into  one  long  and  horrid  blas- 
phemy. As  this  was  greatly  admired  among  his  pro- 
fligate companions,  Olivers  imitated  it,  and  in  time 
rivalled  what  he  calls  his  infernal  instructer.  The 
other  parts  of  his  conduct  were  in  the  same  spirit; 
and  he  obtained  the  character  of  being  the  worst 
boy  who  had  been  known  in  that  country  for  the  last 
thirty  years.  When  he  was  about  three  or  four  and 
twenty  he  left  the  country,  not  having  half  learned 
the  business  to  which  he  had  been  apprenticed. 
The  cause  of  his  departure  was  the  outcry  raised 
against  him  for  his  conduct  toward  a  farmer's  daugh- 
ter: he  was  the  means,  he  says,  of  driving  her  al- 
most to  an  untimely  end.  It  was  the  sin  which  lay 
heaviest  on  his  mind,  both  before  and  after  his  con- 
version ;  and  which,  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  remem- 
bered with  peculiar  shame  and  sorrow. 

He  removed  to  Shrewsbury,  and  there,  or  in  its 
neighbourhood,  continued  a  profligate  course  of  life, 
till  poverty,  as  well  as  conscience,  stared  him  in  the 
face.  He  said  within  himself,  that  he  was  living  a 
most  wretched  life,  and  that  the  end  must  be  damna- 
tion, unless  he  repented  and  forsook  his  sins.  But 
how  should  he  acquire  strength  for  this  .J*  For  he 
had  always  gone  to  church,  and  he  had  often  pray- 
ed and  resolved  against  his  evil  practices,  and  yet  his 
resolutions  were  weak  as  water.  So  he  thought  of 
"  trying  what  the  sacrament  would  d6 ;"  and  borrow- 
ing, accordingly,  the  book  called  A  Week's  Prepa- 
ration, he  went  regularly  through  it,  and  read  daily 
upon  his  knees  the  meditations  and  prayers  for  the 
day.  On  the  Sunday  he  Avent  to  the  Lord's  table, 
and  spent  the  following  week  in  going  over  the  se- 
cond part  of  the  book,  as  devoutly  as  he  had  done 

VOL.  H.  11 


82 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


the  first.  During  this  fortnight  he  "kept  tolerably 
clear  of  sin;"  but  when  tl>c  course  of  regimen  was 
over,  the  effect  ceased  :  he  returned  the  book  with 
many  thanks,  and  fell  again  into  his  vicious  courses. 
Ere  long  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  ^ever;  and 
when  his  life  was  despaired  of,  was  restored,  as  he 
believed,  by  the  <=kiU  of  a  journeyman  apothecary, 
who,  being  a  Meihodist,  attended  him  for  charity. 
His  recovery  brought  with  it  a  keen  but  transitory 
repentance.  Tliis  was  at  Wrexham.  Here  he  and 
one  oi"  his  companions  committed  an  act  of  arch-vil- 
lainy, and  decamped  in  consequence;  Olivers  leav- 
several  debts  behind  him,  and  the  other  running 
away  Aom  liis  apprenticeship.  They  travelled  as 
far  as  Bristol;  and  there  Olivers,  learning  that  Mr. 
VVhiteiield  was  to  preach,  resolved  to  go  and  hear 
what  he  had  to  say;  because  he  had  often  heard  of 
Wliitefjcld,  and  had  sung  songs  about  him.  He  went, 
and  was  too  late.  Determined  to  be  soon  enough  on 
tlie  following  evening,  he  went  three  hours  before  the 
time.  When  the  sermon  began,  he  did  little  but 
look  about  him  ;  but  seeing  tears  trickle  down  the 
cheeks  of  some  who  stood  near,  he  became  more  at- 
tentive. The  text  was,  "  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked 
out  of  the  fire  f"' 

"  When  the  sermon  began,"  says  this  fiery-minded 
Welshman,  "  1  was  certainly  a  dreadful  enemy  to 
God,  and  to  all  that  is  good ;  and  one  of  the  most 
prolligate  and  abandoned  young  men  living."  Before 
it  was  ended,  he  became  a  new  creature :  a  clear 
view  of  redemption  was  set  before  him,  and  his  own 
conscience  gave  him  clear  conviction  of  its  necessi- 
ty. T!ie  heart,  he  says,  was  broken  ;  nor  could  he 
express  the  strong  desires  which  he  felt  for  righte- 
ousness. They  led  him  to  efTectual  resolutions  ;  he 
broke  off"  all  his  evil  practices,  forsook  all  his  wick- 
ed companions,  and  gave  himself  up  with  all  his 
heart  to  God.  He  was  now  almost  incessantly  in 
tears  :  was  constant  in  attending  worship,  wher- 
ever it  was  going  on  ;  and  describes  his  feelings  dur- 
ing a  Te  Deum  at  the  cathedral,  as  if  he  had  done 
with  earth,  and  was  praising  God  before  his  throne. 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


He  bought  the  Week's  Preparation,  and  read  it  up- 
on his  knees  day  and  night;  and  so  constant  was  he 
in  prayer,  and  in  this  position,  that  his  knees  became 
stitr,  and  he  was  actually,  for  a  time,  lame  in  conse- 
quence. "  So  earnest  was  I,"  he  says,  "  that  I  used, 
by  the  hour  together,  to.  wrestle  with  all  the  might  of 
my  body  and  soul,  till  I  almost  expected  to  die  on 
the  spot.  What  with  bitter  cries,  (unheard  by  any 
but  God  and  myself,)  together  with  torrents  of  tears, 
which  were  almost  continually  trickling  down  my 
cheeks,  my  throat  was  often  dried  up,  as  David  says, 
and  my  eyes  literally  failed,  while  I  waited  for  God  !" 
He  used  to  follow  Whitefield  in  the  streets,  with 
such  veneraiion  that  he  could  "  scarce  refrain  from 
kissing  the  very  prints  of  his  feet."' 

Here  he  would  fain  have  become  a  member  of  the 
Society  ;  but  when,  with  much  timidity,  he  made  his 
wishes  known  to  one  of  Mr.  W  hitefield's  ministers, 
the  preacher,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  thought 
proper  to  discourage  him.  After  a  few  months  Oli- 
vers removed  to  Bradford,  and  there,  for  a  long  time, 
attended  the  preaching  of  the  Methodists ;  and  when 
the  public  service  was  over,  and  he,  with  the  unini- 
tiated, was  shut  out,  he  would  go  into  the  field  at  the 
back  of  the  preaching  house,  and  listen  while  they 
were  singing,  and  weep  bitterly  at  the  thought  that, 
while  God's  people  were  thus  praising  his  name,  he, 
a  poor  wretched  fugitive,  was  not  permitted  to  be 
among  them.  And,  though  he  compared  himself  to 
one  of  the  foolish  virgins,  when  they  came  out  he 
would  walk  behind  them  for  the  sake  of  catching  a 
word  of  their  religious  conversation.  This  coriduct. 
and  his  regular  attendance,  at  last  attracted  notice  ; 
he  was  asked  if  it  was  his  wish  to  join  the  Society, 
and  receive  a  note  of  admission  from  the  preacher. 
His  rebuff  at  Bristol  iiad  discouraged  him  from  apply- 
ing for  what  might  so  easily  have  been  obtained 
and  the  longing  for  the  admission  had  produced  a 
st^te  of  mind  little  difTerent  from  insanity.  Keturn- 
ing  home,  now  that  he  possessed  it,  and  exhilarated, 
or  even  intoxicated  with  joy,  he  says,  that  as  hecam<? 
to  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  at  the  entrance  of  the  town. 


84 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


a  ray  of  light,  resembling  the  shining  of  a  star,  de- 
scended through  a  small  opening  in  the  heaven,  and 
instantaneously  shone  upon  him.  In  that  itistant  his 
burden  fell  ofT,  and  he  was  so  elevated,  that  he  felt 
as  if  he  could  literally  fly  away  to  heaven.  A  shoot- 
ing star  might  easily  produce  this  effect  upon  a  man 
so  agitated  :  for  trifles,  light  as  air,  will  act  as  strong- 
ly upon  enthusiasm  as  upon  jealousy ;  and  never  was 
any  man  in  a  state  of  higher  enthusiasm  than  Olivers 
at  this  time.  He  says,  that  in  every  thought,  inten- 
tion or  desire,  his  constant  inquiry  was,  whether  it 
was  to  the  glory  of  God ;  and  that,  if  he  could  not 
answer  in  the  affirmative,  he  dared  not  indulge  it: 
that  he  received  his  daily  food  nearly  in  the  same 
manner  as  he  did  the  sacrament:  that  he  used  men- 
tal prayer  daily  and  hourly;  and  for  a  while  his  rule 
was,  in  this  manner,  to  employ  five  minutes  out  of 
every  quarter  of  an  hour.  "  Upon  the  whole,"  he 
pursues,  "  I  truly  lived  by  faith.  I  saw  God  in  every 
thing  :  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  all  therein,  show- 
ed me  something  of  him  ;  yea,  even  from  a  drop  of 
water,  a  blade  of  grass,  or  a  grain  of  sand,  I  often  re- 
ceived instruction." 

He  soon  became  desirous  of  "  telling  the  world 
what  God  had  done  for  him  ;"  and  having  communi- 
cated this  desire  to  his  band-fellows,  they  kept  a  day 
of  solemn  fasting  on  the  occasion,  and  then  advised 
him  to  make  a  trial.  Many  approved  of  his  gifts  : 
others  were  of  opinion  that  he  ought  to  be  more  es- 
tablished, and  was  too  earnest  to  hold  it  long.  When 
he  began  to  preach,  his  custom  was,  to  get  all  his 
worldly  business  done,  clean  himself,  and  put  out  his 
Sunday's  apparel  on  Saturday  night,  which  sometimes 
was  not  accomplished  before  midnight:  afterwards 
he  sat  up  reading,  praying,  and  examining  himself, 
till  one  or  two  in  the  morning :  he  rose  at  four,  or 
never  later  than  five,  and  went  two  miles  into  the 
country,  through  all  weather,  to  meet  a  few  poor 
people,  from  six  till  seven.  By  eight  he  returned  to 
Bradford,  to  hear  the  preaching;  then  went  seven 
miles  on  foot  to  preach  at  one ;  three  or  four  further 
to  hold  forth  at  five ;  and,  after  all,  had  some  five  or 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


85 


six  more  to  walk  on  his  return.  And  as  the  preach- 
ing was  more  exhausting  than  the  exercise,  he  was 
often  so  wearied,  that  he  could  scarcely  get  over 
a  stile,  or  go  up  into  his  chamber  when  he  got 
home. 

When  he  had  been  a  local  preacher  about  twelve 
months,  the  small  pox  broke  out  in  Bradford,  and 
spread  like  a  pestilence :  scarce  a  single  person  es- 
caped ;  and  six  or  seven  died  daily.  Olivers  was 
seized  with  it  the  first  week  in  October ;  heating 
things  were  given  him  by  an  ignorant  old  woman  ; 
and  when  some  charitable  person  sent  an  experienc- 
ed physician  to  visit  him,  the  physician  declared  that, 
in  the  course  of  fifty  years'  practice,  he  had  never 
seen  so  severe  a  case.  He  was  blind  for  five  weeks. 
The  room  in  which  he  lay  was  so  offensive,  that 
those  who  went  out  of  it  infected  the  streets  as  they 
past.  He  was  not  able  to  rise  that  his  bed  might  be 
made  till  New-year's  day;  yet,  during  the  whole  time, 
he  never  uttered  a  groan  or  a  single  complaint :  "  thus 
evincing,"  as  he  says,  "  that  no  suffering  is  too  great 
for  the  grace  of  God  to  enable  us  to  bear  with  resig- 
nation and  quietness." 

This  long  illness  increased  the  number  of  his  debts, 
which  were  numerous  enough  before  his  conversion. 
As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  had  gained  sufficient  strength 
for  the  journey,  he  set  off*  for  Montgomeryshire,  to 
receive  his  little  property,  which  had  hitherto  re- 
mained in  Mr.  Tudor's  hands.  The  thorough  change 
which  had  been  effected  in  so  notorious  a  reprobate, 
astonished  all  who  knew  him  :  when  they  saw  him 
riding  far  and  near,  in  search  of  all  persons  to  whom 
he  was  indebted,  and  faithfully  making  payment  of 
what  the  creditors  never  expected  to  recover,  they 
could  not  doubt  the  sincerity  of  his  reformation,  and 
they  ascribed  it  to  the  grace  of  God.  Tudor  ex- 
plained the  matter  in  a  way  more  satisfactory  to  him- 
self, because  he  could  comprehend  it  better :  he  said 
to  Olivers,  "  Thou  hast  been  so  wicked  that  thou 
hast  seen  the  Devil."  Having  paid  his  debts  in  his 
own  county,  he  returned  by  way  of  Bristol  to  Brad- 
ford, discharged,  in  like  manner,  his  accounts  in  both 


80 


THOJIAS  OLirERS. 


these  places,  and  being  now  clear  of  the  world,  and 
thereby  delivered  from  a  burden  which  had  cost  him. 
as  he  says,  many  prayers  and  tears,  he  set  up  busi- 
ness with  the  small  remains  of  his  money,  and  with  a 
little  credit ;  but,  before  he  was  half  settled,  Wesley 
exhorted  him  to  free  himself  from  all  such  engage- 
ments, and  make  the  work  of  the  gospel  his  whole 
pursuit.  The  advice  of  the  master  was  a  law  to  the 
obedient  disciple.  Olivers  disposed  of  his  effects^ 
wound  up  his  afliiirs,  and  prepared  to  itinerate  in  the 
west  of  England.  "  But  I  was  not  able,"  he  says,  "  to 
buy  another  horse ;  and  therefore,  with  my  boots  on 
my  legs,  my  great-coat  on  my  back,  and  my  saddle- 
bags, with  my  books  and  linen,  across  my  shoulder, 
I  set  out  in  October,  175.1" 

Wesley,  when  he  was  not  the  dupe  ofhis  own  ima- 
gination, could  read  the  characters  of  men  with  a 
discriminating  eye.  He  was  not  deceived  in  Oli- 
vers: the  daring  disposition,  the  fiery  temper,  and 
the  stubbornness  of  this  Welshman,  were  now  subdu- 
ed and  disciplined  into  an  intrepidity,  an  ardour,  and 
a  perseverance,  which  were  the  best  requisites  for 
his  vocation.  It  was  not  long  before  one  of  his  con- 
gregation at  Tiverton  presented  him  with  the  price 
of  a  horse,  as  well  suited  to  him  as  Bucephalus  to 
Alexander;  for  he  was  as  tough  and  as  indefitigable 
as  his  master.  Indeed  the  beast,  as  if  from  sympathy, 
made  the  first  advances,  by  coming  up  to  him  in  a 
field  where  he  was  walking  with  the  owner,  and  lay- 
ing his  nose  upon  his  shoulder.  Pleased  with  this  fa- 
miliarity, Olivers  stroked  the  colt,  which  was  then 
about  two  years  and  a  half  old  ;  and  finding  that  the 
farmer  would  sell  him  for  five  pounds,  struck  the  bar- 
gain, "I  have  kept  him,"  he  says  in  his  memoirs, 
"  to  this  day,  which  is  about  twenty-five  years,  and 
on  him  I  have  travelled  comfortably  not  less  than  an 
hundred  thousand  miles."  On  one  occasion  both  he 
and  his  horse  were  exposed  to  a  service  of  some 
danger  at  Yarmouth.  The  mob  of  that  town  had 
sworn,  that  if  any  Methodist  came  there,  he  should 
never  return  alive.  Olivers,  however,  being  then 
stationed  at  Norwich,  was  resolved  to  try  the  experi- 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


^1 


Oieiit,  and  accordingly  set  out  with  a  companion,  who 
was  in  no  encouraging  state  of  mind,  but  every  now 
and  then  exclaimed  upon  the  road,  1  shall  be  mur- 
dered, and  go  to  hell  this  day;  for  I  know  not  the 
Lord."  With  this  unhappy  volunteer  for  martyrdom, 
Olivers  entered  Yarmouth;  and  having  first  attended 
service  in  the  church,  went  into  the  market-place  and 
gave  out  a  hymn.  The  people  collected,  and  listened 
with  tolerable  quietness  while  he  sung  and  prayed  ; 
but,  as  soon  as  he  had  taken  his  text,  they  began  so 
rude  a  comment  upon  the  sermon,  that  one  of  his 
friends  prudently  pulled  him  down  from  his  perilous 
stand,  and  retreated  with  him  into  a  house,  in  one  of 
those  remarkable  streets  which  are  peculiar  to  Yar- 
mouth, and  are  called  Rows;  and  which  are  so  nar- 
row, that  two  long-armed  persons  may  almost  shake 
hands  across  from  the  windows.  Though  Olivers  had 
rashly  thrust  himself  into  this  adventure,  he  was  pru- 
dent enough  now  to  withdraw  from  it,  and  accordingly 
he  sent  for  his  horse.  The  mob  recognised  the  ani- 
mal, followed  him,  and  filled  the  row.  To  wait  till 
they  dispersed  might  have  been  inconvenient ;  and 
perhaps  they  miglit  have  attacked  the  house  ;  so  he 
came  forth,  mounted  resolutely,  and  making  use  of 
liis  faithful  roadster  as  a  charger  on  this  emergence, 
forced  the  rabble  before  him  through  the  row;  but 
the  women,  on  either  side,  stood  in  the  door-ways, 
some  with  bowls  of  water,  others  with  both  hands 
full  of  dirt,  to  salute  him  as  he  passed.  Having  rode 
the  gauntlet  here,  and  got  into  the  open  street,  a  tre- 
mendous battery  of  stones,  sticks,  apples,  turnips,  po- 
tatoes, and  other  such  varieties  of  mob  ammunition, 
was  opened  upon  him  and  his  poor  comrade:  the 
latter  clapped  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  gallopped  out 
of  town  :  Olivers  proceeded  more  calmly,  and  watch- 
ing the  sticks  and  stones  which  came  near,  so  as  to 
ward  them  otf,  and  evade  the  blow,  preserved,  as  he 
says,  a  regular  retreat. 

Ohvcrs  was  more  likely  led  into  this  danger  by  a 
point  of  honour,  than  by  any  natural  rashness ;  for, 
that  he  had  acquired  a  considerable  share  of  sound 
worldly  prudence,  appears  from  the  curious  account 


88 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


which  he  has  given  of  his  deliberation  concerning 
marriage.  Setting  out,  he  says,  with  a  conviction 
that  in  this  important  concern  "young  people  did 
not  consult  reason  and  the  will  of  God,  so  much  as 
their  own  foolish  inclinations,"  he  inquired  of  him- 
self, in  the  first  place,  whether  he  was  called  to  marry 
at  that  time  ;  and  having  settled  that  question  in  the 
affirmative,  the  next  inquiry  was,  what  sort  of  a  per- 
son ought  he  to  marry  ?  The  remainder  is  too  extra- 
ordinary and  too  characteristic  to  be  given  in  any 
words  but  his  own  : — "  To  this  I  answered  in  gene- 
ral, such  a  one  as  Christ  would  choose  for  me,  sup- 
pose he  was  on  earth,  and  was  to  undertake  that  bu- 
siness. I  then  asked,  but  what  sort  of  a  person  have*'' 
1.  reason  to  believe  he  would  choose  for  me  ?  Here 
I  fixed  on  the  following  properties,  and  ranged  them 
in  the  following  order : — The  first  was  grace  :  I  was 
quite  certain  that  no  preacher  of  God's  word  ought, 
on  any  consideration,  to  marry  one  who  is  not  emi- 
nently gracious.  Secondly,  she  ought  to  have  toler- 
able good  common  sense :  a  Methodist  preacher,  in 
particular,  who  travels  into  all  parts,  and  sees  such  a 
variety  of  company,  ought  not  to  take  a  fool  with  him. 
Thirdly,  as  1  knew  the  natural  warmth  of  my  own 
temper,  I  concluded  that  a  wise  and  Gracious  God 
would  not  choose  a  companion  for  me  who  would 
throw  oil,  but  rather  water  upon  the  fire.  Fourthly, 
I  judged  that,  as  I  was  connected  with  a  poor  people, 
the  will  of  God  was,  that  whoever  I  married  should 
have  a  small  competency,  to  prevent  her  being 
chargeable  to  any."  He  then  proceeds  to  say,  that, 
upon  the  next  step  in  the  inquiry,  who  is  the  person 
in  whom  these  properties  are  found  ?  he  immediately 
turned  his  eyes  on  Miss  Green,  "  a  person  of  a  good 
family,  and  noted  for  her  extraordinary  piety."  He 
opened  his  mind  to  her,  consulted  Mr.  Wesley,  mar- 
ried her ;  and  having,  "  in  this  affair,  consulted  rea- 
son and  the  will  of  God  so  impartially,  had  abundant 
reason  to  be  thankful  ever  afterward^." 

The  small-pox  had  shaken  his  constitution:  for 
eight  years  after  that  dreadful  illness  his  health  con- 
tinually declined  ;  and  he  was  thought  to  be  far  ad- 


THOMAS  OLIVERS. 


89 


xTinced  in  consumption  when  lie  was  appointed  to  the 
York  circuit,  where  he  had  to  take  care  of  sixty  so- 
cieties, and  ride  about  three  hundred  miles  every  six 
weeks.  Few  persons  thought  it  possible  that  he 
<;ould  perform  the  journey  once ;  but,  he  said,  I  am 
determined  to  go  as  far  as  I  can,  and  when  I  can  go 
no  further,  I  will  turn  back.  By  the  time  he  had  got 
half  round,  the  exercise,  and  perhaps  the  frequent 
change  of  air,  restored,  in  some  degree,  his  appetite, 
and  improved  his  sleep;  and,  before  he  reached  the 
end,  he  had  begun  to  recover  flesh  :  but  vt  was  twelve 
years  before  he  felt  himself  a  hale  man.  The  few  fits 
of  dejection  vvitJi  which  he  was  troubled,  seem  to 
have  originated  more  in  bodily  weakness  than  in  the 
temper  of  his  mind.  One  itistance  is  curious,  for  the 
way  in  which  it  affected  others.  While  he  was  din- 
ing one  day  about  noon,  a  thought  came  over  him 
that  he  was  not  called  to  preach  ;  the  food,  therefore, 
with  which  he  was  then  served,  did  not  belong  to 
him,  and  he  was  a  thief  and  a  robber  in  eating  it. — 
He  burst  into  tears,  and  could  eat  no  more  ;  and  hav- 
ing to  officiate  at  one  o'clock,  went  to  the  preaching 
house,  weeping  all  the  way.  He'  went  weeping  into 
the  pulpit,  and  wept  sorely  while  he  gave  out  the 
hymn,  and  while  he  prayed,  and  while  he  preached. 
A  sympathetic  emotion  spread  through  the  congre- 
gation, which  made  them  receive  the  impression  like 
melted  wax  :  many  of  them  "  cried  aloud  for  the  dis- 
quietness  of  their  souls;"  and  Olivers,  who,  looking 
as  usual  for  supernatural  agency  in  every  thing,  had 
supposed  the  doubt  of  his  own  qualifications  to  be 
produced  by  the  tempter,  believed  now  that  the  Lord 
had  brought  much  good  out  of  that  temptation. 

After  serving  many  years  as  a  travelling  preacher, 
he  was  fixed  in  London  as  the  manager  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's printing  ;  an  occupation  which  did  not  interfere 
with  his  preaching,  but  made  him  stationary.  He 
never  laboured  harder  in  his  life,  he  says ;  and  find- 
ing it  good  both  for  body  and  soul,  he  hoped  to  be 
fully  employed  as  long  as  he  lived.  Well  might  this 
man,  upon  reviewing  his  own  eventful  history,  bless 

VOL.  II.  12 


90 


JOHN'  HALMK. 


God  for  the  manifold  mercies  which  he  had  experi- 
enced, and  look  upon  the  Methodists  as  the  instru- 
ments of  his  deliverance  from  sin  and  death. 


CHAPTER  XVin. 

JOHN  HAlMK.  SAMPSON  STANIFORTH.  GFORGE  STORY. 

Among  the  memoirs  of  his  more  eminent  preachers, 
vvhicli  Wesley  published  in  his  magazine,  as  written 
by  themselves  for  general  edification,  is  "  A  short 
Account  of  God's  Dealings  with  Mr.  John  Hairae." 
Satan  has  so  much  to  do  in  the  narrative,  that  this  is 
certainly  a  misnomer.  It  is  accompanied  by  his  por- 
trait, taken  when  he  was  seventy  years  of  age.  What 
organs  a  craniologist  might  have  detected  under  his 
brown  wig  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  Lavater  him- 
self would  never  have  discovered  in  those  mean  and 
c6mmon  features,  the  turbulent  mind,  and  passionate 
fancy,  which  belonged  to  them.  Small  inexpressive 
eyes,  scanty  eye-brows,  and  a  short,  broad,  vulgar 
nose,  in  a  face  of  ordinary  proportions,  seem  to  mark 
out  a  subject  who  would  have  been  content  to  tra- 
vel a  jog-trot  along  the  high-road  of  mortality,  and 
have  looked  for  no  greater  delight  than  that  of  smok- 
ing and  boozing  in  the  chimney-corner.  And  yet 
John  Haime  passed  his  whole  life  in  a  continued 
spiritual  ague. 

He  was  born  at  Shaftesbury  in  1710,  and  bred  up 
to  his  fathers  employment  of  gardening.  Not  liking 
this,  he  tried  button-making;  but  no  occupation 
pleased  him  :  and  indeed  he  appears,  by  his  own  ac- 
count, to  have  been  in  a  state  little  differing  from  in- 
sanity; or  diflTering  from  it  in  this  only,  that  he  had 
BufFicient  command  of  himself  not  to  communicate 
the  miserable  imaginations  by  which  he  was  tor- 
mented. He  describes  himself  as  undutiful  to  his  pa- 
rents, addicted  to  cursing,  swearing,  lying,  and  Sab- 


JOHN  HAIME. 


91 


bath-breaking ;  tempting  with  blasphemous  thoughts, 
and  perpetually  in  fear  of  the  Devil,  so  that  he  could 
find  no  comfort  in  working,  eating,  drinking,  or  even 
in  sleeping.  "  The  Devil,"  he  says,  "  broke  in  upon 
me  with  reasonings  concerning  the  being  of  a  God, 
till  my  senses  were  almost  gone.  He  then  so  strong- 
ly tempted  me  to  blaspheme,  that  I  could  not  withstand. 
He  Ihen  told  me,  •  Thou  art  inevitably  damned ;'  and 
I  readily  believed  him.  This  made  me  sink  into 
despair,  as  a  stone  into  the  mighty  water.  I  now  be- 
gan to  wander  about  by  the  river  side,  and  through 
woods  and  solitary  places ;  many  times  looking  up 
to  heaven  with  a  heart  ready  to  break,  thinking  I  had 
no  part  there.  I  thought  every  one  happy  but  my- 
fself,  the  Devil  continually  telling  me  there  was  no 
mercy  for  me.  I  cried  for  help,  but  found  no  relief; 
BO  I  said  there  is  no  hope,  and  gave  the  reins  to  my 
evil  desires,  not  caring  which  end  went  foremost,  but 
giving  up  myself  to  wicked  company  and  all  their 
evil  ways.  And  I  was  hastening  on,  when  the  great 
tremendous  God  met  me  as  a  lion  in  the  way,  and  his 
holy  Spirit,  whom  I  had  been  so  long  grieving,  re- 
turned with  greater  force  than  ever.  I  had  no  rest 
day  or  night.  I  was  afraid  to  go  to  bed,  lest  the  De- 
vil should  fetch  me  away  before  morning.  I  was 
afraid  to  shut  my  eyes,  lest  I  should  awake  in  hell. 
I  was  terrified  when  asleep ;  sometimes  dreaming  that 
many  devils  were  in  the  room  ready  to  take  me 
away;  sometimes  that  the  world  was  at  an  end.  At 
other  times  I  thought  I  saw  the  world  on  fire,  and  the 
wicked  left  to  burn  therein,  with  myself  amongst 
them ;  and  when  I  awoke,  my  senses  were  almost 
gone.  I  was  often  on  the  point  of  destroying  myself, 
and  was  stopped,  I  know  not  how.  Then  did  1  weep 
bitterly :  I  moaned  like  a  dove,  I  chattered  like  a 
swallow." 

He  relates  yet  more  violent  paroxysms  than  these : 
how,  having  risen  from  his  knees,  upon  a  sudden  im- 
pulse that  he  would  not  pray,  nor  be  beholden  to 
God  for  mercy,  he  passed  the  whole  night  as  if  his 
very  body  had  been  in  a  fire,  and  hell  within  him; 
thoroughly  persuaded  that  tlie  Devil  was  in  the 


92 


JOHN  HAIME. 


room,  and  fully  expecting  every  moment  that  he 
would  be  let  loose  upon  him.  He  says,  that  in  an 
excess  of  blasphemous  frenzy,  having  a  stick  in  his 
hand,  he  threw  it  towards  heaven  against  God  with 
the  utmost  enm-ty;  and,  he  says,  that  this  act  was 
followed  by  what  he  supposed  to  be  a  supernatural 
appearance:  that  immediately  he  saw,  in  the  clear 
sky,  a  creature  like  a  swan,  but  much  larger,  part 
black,  part  brown,  which  flew  at  him,  went  just  over 
his  head,  and  lighting  on  the  ground,  at  about  forty 
yards'  distance,  stood  staring  upon  him.  The  reader 
must  not  suppose  this  to  be  mere  fiction  ;  what  he 
saw  was  certainly  a  bustard,  whose  nest  was  near; 
but  Wesley  publislics  the  story  as  Haime  wrote  it, 
w^ithout  any  qualilying  word  or  observation,  and 
doubtless  believed  it  as  it  was  written.  Had  this 
poor  man  been  a  Romanist,  he  would  have  found 
beads  and  holy  water  effectual  amulets  in  such  ca- 
ses :  anodynes  would  have  been  the  best  palliatives 
in  such  a  disease;  and  he  might  have  been  cured 
through  the  imagination,  when  no  remedy  could  be 
applied  to  the  understanding. 

In  this  extraordinary  state  of  mind  he  forsook  his 
wife  and  children,  and  enlisted  in  the  Queen's  regi- 
ment of  dragoons.  The  life  which  John  Bunyan 
wrote  of  himself,  under  the  title  of  "  Grace  abound- 
ing to  the  Chief  of  Sinners,"  now  fell  into  his  hands. 
He  read  it  with  the  deepest  attention,  finding  that 
the  case  nearly  resembled  his  own :  he  thought  it 
the  best  book  he  had  ever  seen ;  and  it  gave  him 
some  hope  of  mercy.  "  In  every  town  where  we 
staid,"  says  he,  "I  went  to  church;  but  I  did  not 
hear  what  I  wanted  :  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world  !  Being  come  to 
Alnwick,  Satan  desired  to  have  me,  that  he  might 
sift  me  as  wheat.  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  came 
upon  me  with  such  weight,  as  made  me  roar  for  very 
anguish  of  spirit.  Many  times  I  stopt  in  the  street, 
afraid  to  go  one  step  further,  lest  I  should  step  into 
hell.  I  now  read  and  fasted,  and  went  to  church, 
and  prayed  seven  times  a  day.  One  day,  as  I  walk- 
ed by  the  Tweed  side,  I  cried  out  aloud,  being  all 


JOHN  HAIME. 


93 


athirst  for  God,  Oh  that  thou  wouldst  hear  my  pray- 
er, and  let  my  cry  come  up  before  thee  !  The  Lord 
heard :  he  sent  a  gracious  answer :  he  Hfted  me 
up  out  of  the  dungeon;  he  took  away  all  my  sor- 
row and  fear,  and  tilled  my  soul  with  peace  and  joy. 
The  stream  glided  sweetly  along,  and  all  nature 
seemed  to  rejoice  with  me."  But  left  as  he  was, 
wholly  to  his  own  diseased  imagination,  tlie  hot  and 
cold  fits  succeeded  each  other  with  little  interval  of 
rest.  Being  sent  to  London  with  the  camp-equi- 
page, he  went  to  hear  one  of  Whitefield's  preachers, 
and  ventured,  as  he  was  coming  back  from  the  meet- 
ing, to  tell  him  the  distress  of  his  soul.  The  preach- 
er, whose  charity  seems  to  have  been  upon  a  par 
with  his  wisdom,  made  answer,  "  The  work  of  the 
Devil  is  upon  you,'"  ajid  rode  away.  "It  was  of  the 
tender  mercies  of  God,"  says  poor  Haime,  "  that  I 
did  not  put  an  end  to  my  life." 

"  Yet,"  he  says,  "I  thouglit  if  I  must  be  damned 
myself,  I  will  do  what  I  can  that  others  may  be  sav- 
ed;  so  I  began  to  reprove  open  sin  wherever  I  saw 
or  heard  it,  and  to  warn  the  ungodly  that,  if  they  did 
not  repent,  they  would  surely  perish  :  but,  if  I  found 
any  that  were  weary  and  heavy  laden,  I  told  them 
to  wait  upon  the  Lord,  and  he  would  renew  their 
strength;  yet  I  found  no  strength  myself."  He  was, 
however,  lucky  enough  to  hear  Charles  Wesley,  at 
Colciiester,  and  to  consult  him  when  the  service  Mas 
over.  Wiser  tlian  the  Calvinistic  preacher,  Charles 
Wesley  encouraged  him,  and  bade  him  go  on  with- 
out fear,  and  not  be  dismayed  at  any  temptation. 
These  Avords  sank  deep,  and  were  felt  as  a  blessing 
to  him  for  many  years.  His  regiment  was  now  or- 
dered to  Flanders;  and  writing  from  thence  to  Wes- 
\ey  for  comfort  and  counsel,  he  was  exhorted  to  per- 
severe in  his  calling.  "It  is  but  a  little  thing,"  said 
Wesley,  "  that  man  should  be  against  you,  while  you 
know  God  is  on  youi*side.  If  he  give  you  any  com- 
panion in  the  narrow  way,  it  is  well ;  and  it  is  well  if 
he  does  not :  but  by  all  means  miss  no  opportunity — 
speak  and  spare  not;  declare  what  God  has  done 
for  your  soul :  regard  not  worldly  prudence.   Be  not 


94 


JOHN  HAIME. 


ashamed  of  Christ,  or  of  his  word,  or  of  his  work, 
or  of  his  servants.  Speak  the  truth  in  love,  even  in 
the  midst  of  a  crooked  generation." — "  I  did  speak," 
he  says,  "  and  not  spare."  He  was  in  the  battle  of 
Dettiiigen,  and  being  then  in  a  state  of  hope,  he  de- 
scribes himself  as  in  the  most  exahed  and  enviable 
state  of  mind,  while,  during  seven  hours,  he  stood 
the  fire  of  the  enemy.  He  was  in  a  new  world,  and 
his  heart  was  filled  with  love,  peace,  and  joy  more 
than  tongue  could  express.  His  faith,  as  well  as 
his  courage,  was  put  to  the  trial,  and  both  were 
found  proof 

Returning  into  Flanders  to  take  up  their  winter 
quarters,  as  they  marched  beside  the  Maine,  they 
"  saw  the  dead  men  lie  in  the  river,  and  on  the 
banks,  as  dung  for  the  earth  :  for  many  of  the  French, 
attempting  to  pass  the  river  after  the  bridge  had 
been  broken,  had  been  drowned,  and  cast  ashore 
where  there  was  none  to  bury  them."  During  the 
winter,  he  found  two  soldiers  who  agreed  to  take  a 
room  with  him,  and  meet  every  night  to  pray  and 
read  the  Scriptures:  others  soon  joined  them:  a  j 
society  was  formed ;  and  Methodism  was  organized 
in  the  army  with  great  success.  There  were  three 
hundred  in  the  society,  and  six  preachers  beside 
Haime.  As  soon  as  they  were  settled  in  a  camp,  j 
they  built  a  tabernacle.  He  had  generally  a  thou-  ' 
sand  hearers,  officers  as  well  as  common  soldiers ; 
and  he  found  means  of  hiring  others  to  do  his  duty, 
that  he  might  have  more  leisure  for  carrying  on  the 
spiritual  war.  He  frequently  walked  between  twen- 
ty and  thirty  miles  a  day,  and  preached  five  times 
a  day  for  a  week  together.  "  I  had  three  armies 
against  me,"  he  says  :  "  the  French  army,  the  wicked 
English  army,  and  an  army  of  Devils;  but  I  feared 
them  not."  It  was  not,  indeed,  likely  that  he  should 
go  on  without  some  difficulties,  his  notions  of  duty 
not  being  always  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the 
established  rules  of  military  discipline.  An  officer 
one  day  asked  him  what  he  preached  ;  and  as  Haime 
mentioned  certain  sins  which  he  more  particularly 
denounced,  and  which  perhaps  touched  the  inquirer 


JOHN  HAIME. 


95 


a  little  too  closely,  the  officer  swore  at  him,  and 
said,  that,  if  it  were  in  his  power,  he  would  have  him 
flogged  to  death.    "  Sir,"  replied  Haiine,  "  you  have 
a  commission  over  men ;  but  I  have  a  commission 
f  rom  God  to  tell  you,  you  must  either  repent  of  your 
sins,  or  perish  everlastingly."     His  commanding 
officer  asked  him  how  he  came  to  preach  ;  and  being 
answered,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  constrained  him  to 
call  his  fellow-sinners  to  repentance,  told  him,  that 
then  he  must  restrain  that  spirit.    Haime  replied, 
he  would  die  first.    It  is  to  the  honour  of  his  officers 
that  they  manifested  no  serious  displeasure  at  lan- 
guage like  this.    His  conduct  toward  one  of  his  com- 
rades might  have  drawn  upon  him  much  more  un- 
pleasant consequences.  This  was  a  reprobate  fellow, 
who,  finding  a  piece  of  money,  after  some  search, 
which  he  thought  he  had  lost,  threw  it  on  the  table, 
and  exclaimed,  "  There  is  my  ducat ;  but  no  thanks 
to  God,  any  more  than  to  the  Devil."    Haime  wrote 
down  the  words,  and  brought  him  to  a  court-martial. 
Being  then  asked  what  he  had  to  say  against  him, 
he  produced  the  speech  in  writing;  and  the  offi^'er 
having  read  it,  demanded  if  he  was  not  ashamed  to 
take  account  of  such  matters.    "  No,  Sir,"  replied 
the  enthusiast;  "  if  I  had  heard  such  words  spoken 
against  His  Majesty  King  George,  would  not  you 
have  counted  me  a  villain  if  I  had  concealed  them.''" 
The  only  corporal  pain  to  which  officers  were  sub- 
jected by  our  martial  law,  was  for  tliis  offijnce.  Till 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  they  were  Hable  to  have 
their  tongues  bored  with  a  hot  iron  ;  and,  mitig.ited 
as  thfe  law  now  was,  it  might  stil!  have  exposed  the 
culprit  to  serious  punishment,  if  the  officer  had  not 
sought  to  end  the  matter  as  easily  as  he  could  ;  and 
therefore,  after  telling  the  soldier  that  !ie  was  worthy 
of  death,  by  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  asked  the 
prosecutor  what  he  wished  to  have  done  ;  jrivihg  hira 
thus  an  opportunity  of  atoning,  by  a  little  discretion, 
ibr  the  excess  of  his  zeal.    Haime  answered,  thr^t  he 
only  desired  to  be  parted  from  liim ;  and  thus  it  ter- 
minated.   It  was  well  for  him  tlint  tfiis  man  was  not 
of  a  malicious  temper,  or  he  might  easily  have  made 


96 


JOHN  HAIME. 


the  zealot  be  regarded  by  all  his  fellows  in  the  odious 
light  of  a  persecutor  and  an  informer. 

While  he  was  quartered  at  Bruges,  General  Pon- 
sonby  granted  him  the  use  of  the  English  church, 
and,  by  help  of  some  good  singing,  they  brought 
together  a  large  congregatiorh  In  the  ensuing  spring 
the  battle  of  Fotiteuoy  was  fought.  The  Methodist 
soldiers  were  at  this  time  wrought  up  to  a  high  pitch 
of  fanaticism.  One  of  them  being  fully  prepossessed 
with  a  bi'lief  that  he  should  fall  in  the  action,  danced 
for  joy  before  he  went  into  it ;  exclaiming,  that  he 
was  going  to  rest  in  the  bosom  of  Jesus.  Others, 
when  mortally  wounded,  broke  out  into  rapturous 
expressions  of  hope  and  assured  triumph,  at  the  near 
prospect  of  dissolution,  Haime  himself  was  under 
the  not  less  comfortable  persuasion  that  the  French 
had  no  ball  m;ide  which  would  kill  him  that  day. 
His  horse  was  killed  under  him.  "  Where  is  your 
God  now,  Haime?"  said  an  officer,  seeing  him  fall. 
"  Sir,  he  is  here  with  me,"  replied  the  soldier,  "  and 
he  will  bring  me  out  of  the  battle."  Before  Haime 
coulJ  extricate  himself  from  the  horse,  which  was 
lying  upon  him,  a  cannon  ball  look  off  the  ofiicer's 
head.  Three  of  his  fellow-preachers  were  killed  in 
this  battle,  a  fourth  went  to  the  hospital,  having  both 
arms  broken ;  the  other  two  began  to  preach  the 
pleasant  doctrine  of  Antinomianism,  and  professed 
that  they  were  always  happy;  in  which  one  of  them, 
at  least,  was  sincere,  being  frequently  drunk  twice 
a  day.  Many  months  had  not  passed  before  Haime 
himself  relapsed  into  his  old  miserable  state.  "  I 
was  off  my  watch,"  he  says.  "  and  fell  by  a  grievous 
temptation.  It  came  as  quick  as  lightning.  I  knew 
not  if  I  was  in  my  senses  ;  but  I  fell,  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  departed  from  me.  Satan  was  let  loose,  and 
followed  me  by  day  and  by  night.  The  agony  of  my 
mind  weighed  down  my  body,  and  threw  me  into  a 
bloody  flux.  I  was  carried  to  a  hospital,  just  drop- 
ping into  hell :  but  the  Lord  upheld  me,  with  an 
unseen  hand,  quivering  over  the  great  gulf  Before 
my  fall,  my  sight  was  so  strong,  that  I  could  look 
steadfastly  on  the  sun  at  noon-day  ;  but,  after  it,  I 


JOHN  IJAIME. 


97 


could  not  look  a  man  in  the  face,  nor  bear  to  be  in 
any  company.  The  roads,  the  hedgjes,  the  trees, 
every  thing  seemed  cursed  of  God.  Nature  appear^ 
ed  void  of  God,  and  in  the  possession  of  the  Devil. 
The  fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field,  all 
appeared  in  a  league  against  me.  I  was  one  day 
drawn  out  into  the  vyoods,  lamenting  my  forlorn  state, 
and  on  a  sudden  I  began  to  weep  bitterly  :  from 
weeping  I  fell  to  howling,  like  a  wild  beast,  so  that 
the  woods  resounded ;  yet  could  I  say,  notwith- 
standing my  bitter  cry,  my  stroke  is  heavier  than  my 
groaning  ;  nevertheless,  I  could  not  say,  '  Lord  have 
mercy  upon  me !'  if  I  niight  have  purchased  heaven 
thereby.  Very  frequently  Judas  was  represented  to 
me  as  hanging  just  before  me.  So  gi'eat  was  the  dis- 
pleasure of  God  against  me,  that  he,  in  great  mea- 
sure, took  away  the  sight  of  my  eyes:  I  could  not 
see  the  sun  for  more  than  eight  months  :  even  in  the 
clearest  summer  day,  it  always  appeared  to  me  like 
a  mass  of  blood.  At  the  same  tinie  I  lost  the  use  of 
my  knees.  I  couid  truly  say,  '  Thou  hast  s^ent  fire 
into  my  bones.'  I  was  often  as  hot  as  if  I  was  burning 
to  death  ;  many  times  I  looked  to  see  if  my  clothes 
were  not  on  fire.  I  have  gone  into  a  river  to  cool 
myself;  but  it  was  all  the  same;  for  what  could 
quench  the  wrath  of  his  indignation  that  was  let 
loose  upon  me  ?  At  other  times,  in  the  midst  of 
summer,  I  have  been  so  cold,  that  I  knew  not  how  to 
bear  it;  all  the  clothes  I  could  put  on  had  no  etfect: 
but  my  flesh  shivered,  and  my  very  bones  quaked." 

As  a  mere  physical  case,  this  would  be  very  cu- 
rious; but,  as  a  psychological  one,  it  is  of  the  highest 
interest.  For  seven  years  he  continued  m  this  mise- 
rable sJate,  without  one  comfortable  hope,  "  angrj  at 
God,  angry  at  himself,  angry  at  the  Devil,"  and 
fancying  himself  possessed  with  more  devils  than 
Mary  Magdalene.  Only  while  he  was  preaching 
to  others  (for  he  still  continued  to  preach)  his 
distress  was  a  little  abated.  "  Some  may  inquire," 
says  he,  "  what  could  move  me  to  preach  while 
I  was  in  such  a  forlorn  condition  ?  They  must 
ask  of  God,  for  I  cannot  tell.     After  some  years 

VOL.  n.  1.*^ 


98 


JOHN  HAIME. 


I  attempted  again  to  pray.  With  this  Satan  was 
not  well  pleased ;  for  one  day,  as  I  was  walk- 
ing alone,  and  faintly  crying  for  mercy,  suddenly 
such  a  hot  blast  of  brimstone  flashed  in  my  face, 
as  almost  took  away  my  breath  ;  and  presently 
after  an  invisible  power  struck  up  my  heels,  and 
threw  mc  violently  upon  my  face.  One  Sunday,  I 
went  to  church  in  Holland,  when  the  Lord's  sup- 
per was  to  be  administered.  1  had  a  great  desire 
to  partake  of  it;  but  the  enemy  came  in  like  a  flood 
to  hinder  me,  pouring  in  temptations  of  every  kind. 
I  resisted  him  with  my  might,  till,  through  the  agony 
of  my  mind,  the  blood  gushed  out  at  my  mouth  and 
nose.  However,  I  was  enabled  to  conquer,  and  to 
partake  of  the  blessed  elements.  I  was  much  dis- 
tressed with  dreams  and  visions  of  the  night.  1  dreamt 
one  night  that  I  was  in  hell ;  another,  that  I  was  on 
Mount  Etna;  that,  on  a  sudden,  it  shook  and  trem- 
bled exceedingly;  and  that,  at  last,  it  split  asunder 
in  several  places,  and  sunk  into  the  burning  lake,  all 
but  that  little  spot  on  which  1  stood.  Oh  how  thank- 
ful was  I  for  my  preservation ! — I  thought  that  I  was 
worse  than  Cain.  In  rough  weather  it  was  often  sug- 
gested to  me,  '  this  is  on  your  account !  See,  the 
earth  is  cursed  for  your  sake  ;  and  it  will  be  no  bet- 
ter till  you  are  in  hell  I'  often  did  I  wish  that  1  had 
never  been  converted  :  often,  that  1  had  never  been 
born.  Yet,  I  preached  every  day,  and  endeavoured 
to  appear  open  and  free  to  my  brethren.  I  encou- 
raged them  that  were  tempted.  I  thundered  out  the 
terrors  of  the  law  against  the  ungodly.  I  was  often 
violently  tempted  to  curse  and  swear  before  and  af- 
ter, and  even  while  I  was  preaching.  Sometimes, 
when  I  was  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation,  1  could 
hardly  refrain  from  laughing  aloud;  yea,  from  utter- 
ing all  kind  of  ribaldry  and  filthy  conversation.  Fre- 
quently, as  I  was  going  to  preach,  the  Devil  has 
set  upon  me  as  a  lion,  tellitig  me  he  would  have 
me  just  then,  so  that  it  has  thrown  me  into  a  cold 
sweat.  In  this  agony  I  have  caught  hold  of  the  Bi- 
ble, and  read,  'If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate 
with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  !'    I  have 


JOHN  MAIME. 


99 


said  to  the  enemy,  'This  is  the  word  of  God,  and 
thou  canst  not  deny  it!'  Thereat  he  would  be  like 
a  man  that  shrunk  back  from  the  thrust  of  a  SM^ord. 
But  he  would  be  at  me  again.  I  again  met  him  in 
the  same  way;  till  at  last,  blessed  be  God!  he  fled 
from  me.  And  even  in  the  midst  of  his  sharpest  as- 
saults, God  gave  me  just  strength  enough  to  bear 
them.  When  he  has  strongly  suggested,  just  as  I  was 
going  to  preach,  '  I  will  have  thee  at  last,'  I  have  an- 
swered, (sometimes  with  too  much  anger,)  '  I  will 
have  another  out  of  thy  hand  first !'  And  many, 
while  I  was  myself  in  the  deep,  were  truly  convinced 
and  converted  to  God." 

Having  returned  to  England,  and  obtained  his  dis- 
charge from  the  army,  he  was  admitted  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley as  a  travelling  preacher.  This,  however,  did 
not  deliver  him  from  his  miserable  disease  of  mind : 
he  could  neither  be  satisfied  with  preaching  nor  with- 
out it ;  wherever  he  went  he  was  not  able  to  remain, 
but  was  continually  wandering  to  and  fro,  seeking  rest, 
but  finding  none.  "  I  thought,"  he  says,  "  if  David 
or  Peter  had  been  living,  they  would  have  pitied 
me."  Wesley,  after  a  while,  took  him  as  a  compan- 
ion in  one  of  his  rounds,  knowing  his  state  of  mind, 
and  knowing  how  to  bear  with  it,  and  to  manage  it. 
"  It  was  good  for  him,"  he  said,  to  be  in  the  fiery  fur- 
nace ;  he  should  be  purified  therein,  but  not  consum- 
ed." Year  after  year  he  continued  in  this  extraor- 
dinary state,  till,  in  the  year  1766,  he  was  persuaded 
by  Mr.  Wesley  to  go  and  dwell  with  a  person  at  St. 
Ives,  in  Cornw^all,  who  wanted  a  worn-out  preacher 
to  live  with  him,  take  care  of  his  family,  and  pray 
with  him  morning  and  evening.  Here  he  was,  if  pos- 
sible, ten  times  worse  than  before;  and  it  seemed  to 
him,  that,  unless  he  got  some  relief,  he  must  die  in 
despair.  "  One  day,"  he  says.  "  I  retired  into  the 
hall,  fell  on  my  face,  and  cried  for  mercy  ;  but  got 
no  answer.  I  got  up,  and  walked  up  and  down  the 
room,  wringing  my  hands,  and  crying  like  to  break 
my  heart ;  begging  of  God  for  Christ's  sake,  if  there 
was  any  mercy  for  me  to  help  me ;  and  blessed  be 
his  name,  all  on  a  sudden,  I  found  such  a  change 


iou  SAMPbOM  STAMFORTJJ. 

through  my  soul  and  body,  as  is  past  description.  I 
was  afraid  I  should  alarm  the  wliole  house  with  the! 
expressions  of"  my  joy.  1  had  a  full  witness  from  the 
Spirit  of  God  that  I  should  not  find  that  bondage  any 
more.  Glory  be  to  God  for  all  his  mercy."  Twenty 
years  the  disease  had  continued  upon  him  ;  and  it 
now  left  him,  by  his  own  account,  as  instantaneously 
as* it  came:  and  his  account  is  credible;  for  he  ac- 
knowledges that  he  had  not  the  same  faith  as  in  his 
former  state  :  the  age  of  rapture  was  over,  and  the 
fierceness  of  his  disposition  was  spent,  though  its 
i-estlessnesEs  was  unabated.  Though  his  chaplainship 
with  Mr.  Hoskins  had  every  thing  Vvhich  could  ren- 
der* such  a  situation  comfortable,  he  could  not  be  at 
ease  till  he  was  again  in  motion,  and  had  resumed 
his  Itinerant  labours.  He  lived  till  the  great  age  of 
seventy-eight,  aiid  died  of  a  fever,  vvhich  was  more 
than  twelve  months  consuming  him,  and  which  wore 
him  to  the  bone  before  he  Went  to  rest.  But  though 
his  latter  days  were  pain,  they  were  not  sorrow. — i 
"  tie  preached  as  long  as  he  was  able  to  speak,  and 
longer  than  he  could  stand  without  support."  Somfe 
of  hib  last  words  were,  "  O  Lord,  in  thee  have  I  trust- 
ed, lind  have  not  been  confounded  ;"  and  he  expired 
in  ftlli  confidence  that  a  convoy  of  angels  were  ready 
to  conduct  his  soul  to  the  paradise  of  God. 

VVhatever  may  be  thought  of  John  Haime's  quali- 
ticatiorjs  for  preaching  the  gospel,  there  was  one  man 
at  least  who  had  reason  to  bless  him  as  his  greatest 
earthly  benefactor:  this  was  SAivirsoN  Stamforth, 
who  served  at  the  same  time  as  a  private  in  the  army. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  cutler  at  Sheffield,  and  grew  up 
without  any  moral  or  i^eligious  instruction,  so  that  he 
had  "  no  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes,  no  thought  of 
his  providence,  of  his  saving  mercy,  nor  indeed  of  liis 
having  any  thing  to  do  with  the  world."  Why  he  was 
born  into  the  world;  what  was  his  business  in  it,  or 
where  he  was  to  g6  M'hen  this  life  Uas  over,  were 
considerations,  he  says,  which  tiever  entered  into  his 
mind  ;  and  he  grew  up  in  a  Course  of  brutal  vices, 
being  as  utterly  without  God  in  the  world  as  the 
beasts  that  perish.  He  describes  himself  as  not  only 


iSAMPSON  STANIFORTH. 


101 


fierce  and  passionate,  but  also  sullen  and  malicious, 
without  any  feelint^  of  humanity;  and  disposed,  in- 
stead of  weeping  with  those  who  wept,  to  rejoice  in 
their  sufferings  This  hopeful  subject  enlisted  as  a 
soldier  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  in  spite  of  the  teprs  and 
entreaties  of  his  mother ;  and,  after  some  hair-breadtfi 
escapes  from  situations  into  which  he  was  led  by  his 
own  rashness  and  profligacy,  he  joined  the  army  in 
Germany  a  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Dettingen. — 
While  they  were  encamped  at  Worms,  orders  were 
read  at  the  head  of  every  regiment,  that  no  soldier 
should  go  above  a  mile  from  the  camp  on  pain  of 
death,  which  was  to  be  executed  immediately,  with- 
out the  forms  of  a  court-martial.  This  did  not  deter 
Staniforth  from  straggling ;  and  he  was  drinking  with 
some  of  his  comrades  in  a  small  town  to  the  left  of 
the  camp,  when  a  captain,  with  a  guard  of  horse, 
came  to  take  them  up,  being  appointed  to  seize  all 
he  could  find  out  of  the  lines,  and  hang  up  the  first 
man  without  delay.  The  guard  entered  the  town  and 
shut  the  gates.  He  saw  them  in  time,  ran  to  a  wicket 
in  the  great  gate,  which  was  only  upon  the  latch,  and 
before  the  gate  itself  could  be  opened  to  let  the 
horsemen  follow  him,  got  into  the  vineyards,  and 
there  concealed  himself  by  lying  down.  He  had  a 
still  narrower  escape  not  long  afterwards: — many 
complaints  had  been  made  of  the  marauders  in  the 
English  army ;  and  it  was  proclaimed  that  the  guard 
would  be  out  every  night,  to  hang  up  the  first 'offend- 
ers who  were  taken.  This  fellow  listened  to  the 
proclamation,  and  set  out,  as  soon  as  the  officer  who 
read  it  had  turned  away,  upon  a  plundering  party, 
with  two  of  his  companions.  They  stole  four  bul- 
locks, and  Were  met  by  an  officer  driving  them  to  the 
camp.  Staniforth  said  they  had  bought  them,  and 
the  excuse  passed.  On  the  next  day  the  owner's 
came  to  the  camp  to  make  their  complaint;  and 
three  of  the  beasts,  which  had  been  sold,  but  not 
slaughtered,  were  identified.  Orders  were  of  course 
given  to  arrest  the  tliieves.  That  very  morning 
Staniforth  had  been  sent  to  some  distance  on  an  out^ 


102 


SAMPSON  STA>'irORrH. 


party,  and  thus  Providence  again  preserved  him  from 
a  shameful  death. 

There  was  in  the  same  company  with  him  a  native 
of  Barnard-Castle,  by  name  Mark  Bond,  a  man  of  a 
melancholy  but  religious  disposition,  who  had  enlist- 
ed in  the  hope  of  being  killed.  "  His  ways,"  says 
Staniforth,  "  were  not  like  those  of  other  men:  out 
of  his  little  pay  he  saved  money  to  send  to  his  friends. 
We  could  never  get  him  to  drink  with  us;  but  he 
was  always  full  of  sorrow :  he  read  much,  and  was 
much  in  private  prayer."  The  state  of  his  mind 
arose  from  having  uttered  blasphemy  when  he  was  a 
little  boy,  and  the  thought  of  this  kept  him  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  wretchedness  and  despair.  A  Roman- 
ist might  here  observe,  that  a  distressing  case  like 
this  could  not  have  occurred  in  one  of  his  persua- 
sion ;  and  one  who  knows  that  the  practice  of  con- 
fession brings  with  it  evils  tenfold  greater  than  those 
which  it  palliates,  may  be  allowed  to  regret  that,  in 
our  church,  there  should  be  so  little  intercourse  be- 
tween the  pastor  and  the  people.  This  poor  man 
might  have  continued  his  whole  life  in  misery,  if  John 
Haime  had  not  taken  to  preaching  in  the  army:  he 
went  to  hear  him,  and  found  what  he  wanted ;  his 
peace  of  mind  was  restored ;  and  wishing  that  others 
should  partake  in  the  happiness  which  he  experi- 
enced, he  could  think  of  no  one  who  stood  more  in 
need  of  the  same  spiritual  medicine  than  his  comrade 
Staniforth.  He,  as  might  be  expected,  first  wonder- 
ed at  his  conversation,  and  afterwards  mocked  at  it. 
Bond,  however,  was  not  thus  to  be  discouraged :  he 
met  hlra  one  day  when  he  was  in  distress,  having  nei- 
ther food,  money,  nor  credit,  and  asked  him  to  go 
and  hear  the  preaching.  Staniforth  made  answer, 
"  You  had  better  give  me  something  to  eat  and  drink, 
for  I  am  both  hungry  and  dry."  Bond  did  as  he  was 
requested ;  took  him  to  a  sutler's,  and  treated  him, 
and  persuaded  him  afterwards,  reluctant  as  he  was, 
to  accompany  him  to  the  preaching.  Incoherent  and 
rhapsodical  as  such  preaching  would  be,  it  was  bet- 
ter suited  to  such  auditors  than  any  tiling  more  tem- 
perate would  have  been :  it  was  level  to  their  capa- 


SAMPSON  STANIFORTH. 


103 


cities;  and  the  passionate  sincerity  with  which  it 
was  delivered,  found  the  readiest  way  to  their  feel- 
ings. Staniforth,  who  went  with  great  unwillingness, 
and  who  was  apparently  in  no  ways  prepared  for 
such  an  effect,  was,  by  that  one  sermon,  suddenly  and 
effectually  reclaimed  from  a  state  of  habitual  brutal- 
ity and  vice.  He  returned  to  his  tent  full  of  sorrow, 
thoroughly  convinced  of  his  miserable  state,  and 
"  seeing  all  his  sins  stand  in  battle-array  against  him." 
The  next  day  he  went  early  to  the  place  of  meeting : 
some  soldiers  were  reading  there,  some  sir)ging 
hymns,  and  others  were  at  prayer.  One  came  up  to 
him,  and  after  inquiring  how  long  he  had  attended 
the  preachers,  said  to  him,  "Let  us  go  to  prayer;" 
and  Staniforth  was  obliged  to  confess  that  he  could 
not  pray,  for  he  had  never  prayed  in  his  life,  neither 
had  he  ever  read  in  any  devotional  book.  Bond  iiad 
a  piece  of  an  old  Bible,  and  gave  it  him,  saying,  "  I 
can  do  better  without  it  than  you."  This  was  o  true 
friend.  He  tbund  that  Staniforth  was  in  debt ;  and 
telling  him  that  it  became  Christians  to  be  first  just, 
and  then  charitable,  said,  "  We  will  put  both  our 
pays  together,  and  live  as  hard  as  we  can,  and  what 
we  spare  will  pay  the  debt."  Such  practice  must 
have  come  strongly  in  aid  of  the  preaching. 

From  that  time  Staniforth  shook  off"  all  his  evil 
courses :  though  till  then  an  habitual  swearer,  he  ne- 
ver afterwards  swore  an  oath  :  though  addicted  to 
drinking,  he  never  was  intoxicated  again:  though  a 
gambler  from  his  youth  up,  he  left  off"  gaming;  and 
having  so  often  risked  his  neck  for  the  sake  of  plun- 
der, he  would  not  now  gather  an  apple  or  a  bunch 
of  grapes.  Methodism  had  wrought  in  him  a  great 
and  salutary  work  ;  but  it  taught  him  to  expect  an- 
other change  not  less  palpable  to  himself:  he  was  in 
bitter  distress  under  the  weight  of  his  sins,  and  he 
was  taught  to  look  for  a  full  and  entire  sense  of  de- 
liverance from  the  burden.  His  own  efforts  were 
not  wanting  to  bring  on  this  spiritual  crisis,  and,  af- 
ter some  months,  he  was  successful.  The  account 
which  he  gives  must  be  explained  by  supposing  that 
strong  passion  made  the  impression,  of  what  was  ei- 


104 


SAMPSON  STANIFORTH, 


ther  a  sleeping  or  a  waking  dream,  strong  as  reali^ 
ty  ; — a  far  more  probable  solution  than  would  be  af- 
forded by  ascribing  it  to  any  wilful  exaggeration  or 
deliberate  falsehood.  "From  twelve  at  night  till 
two,"  he  says,  "  it  was  my  turn  to  stand  sentinel  at  a 
dangerous  post.  I  had  a  fellow-sentinel,  but  1  desir- 
ed him  to  go  away,  which  he  willingly  did.  As  soon 
as  I  was  alone,  I  knelt  down,  and  determined  not  to 
rise,  but  to  continue  crying  and  wrestling  with  God, 
till  he  had  mercy  on  me.  How  long  I  was  in  that 
agony  I  cannot  tell ;  but,  as  1  looked  up  to  Heaven, 
I  saw  the  clouds  open  exceeding  bright,  and  I  saw 
Jesus  hanging  on  the  cross.  At  the  same  moment 
these  words  were  applied  to  my  heart,  '  Thy  sins 
are  forgiven  thee.'  All  guilt  was  gone,  and  my  soul 
was  filled  with  unutterable  peace  :  the  fear  of  death 
and  hell  was  vanished  away.  I  was  filled  with  won- 
der and  astonishment.  I  closed  my  eyes,  but  the  im- 
pression was  still  the  same  ;  and,  for  about  ten  weeks, 
while  I  was  awake,  let  me  be  where  I  would,  the 
same  appearance  was  still  before  my  eyes,  and  the 
same  impression  upon  my  heart,  'Thy  sins  are  for- 
given thee.'  "  It  may  be  believed  that  Staniforth  felt 
wiiat  he  describes,  and  imagined  what  he  appeared 
to  see;  but  to  publish  such  an  account  as  Wesley 
did,  without  one  qualifying  remark,  is  obviously  to 
encourage  wild  and  dangerous  enthusiasm. 

Staniforth's  mother  had  bought  him  ofF once  when 
he  enlisted,  and  sent  him  from  time  to  time  money, 
and  such  things  as  he  wanted  and  she  could  provide 
for  him.  He  now  wrote  her  a  long  letter,  asking  par- 
don of  her  and  his  father  for  all  his  disobedience; 
telling  them  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  had  forgiven 
him  his  sins,  and  desiring  her  not  to  send  him  any 
more  supplies,  which  he  knew  must  straiten  her,  and 
which  he  no  longer  wanted,  for  he  had  learned  to  be 
contented  with  his  pay.  This  letter  they  could  not 
very  well  understand  ;  it  was  hatided  about  till  it  got 
into  the  hands  of  a  dissenting  minister,  and  of  one  of 
the  leading  Methodists  at  Sheffield  :  the  latter  sent 
Staniforth  a  "  comfortable  letter"  and  a  hymn-book  ; 
the  former  a  letter  also,  and  a  Bible,  which  was  more 


SAMPSON  STANIFORTH. 


105 


precious  to  him  than  gold ;  as  was  a  prayer-book 
also,  which  his  mother  sent  him.  He,  as  well  as 
Haime,  came  safe  out  of  the  battle  of  Fontenoy, 
where  Bond  was  twice  preserved  in  an  extraordinary 
manner,  one  musket-ball  having  struck  some  money 
in  one  of  his  pockets,  and  another  havirjg  been  re- 
pelled by  a  knife.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  drafted 
into  the  artillery,  and  ordered  back  to  England  on 
account  of  the  rebellion  in  1745.  He  was  now  quar- 
tered at  Deptfbrd,  and  from  thence  was  able,  twice 
a-week,  to  attend  upon  Wesley's  preaching  at  the 
Foundry,  or  at  West-street  Chapel.  At  Deptford 
also  there  was  a  meeting,  and  there  he  found  a  wo- 
man who,  being  of  the  same  society,  was  willing  to 
take  him  for  a  husband  if  he  were  out  of  the  army. — 
On  his  part,  the  match  appears  to  have  been  a  good 
one  as  to  worldly  matters :  she  was  persuaded  to 
marry  him  before  his  discharge  was  obtained :  and, 
on  his  wedding-day,  he  was  ordered  to  embark  im- 
mediately for  Holland. 

The  army  which  he  joined  in  Holland  was  under 
the  command  of  Prince  Charles  of  Lorrain  ;  and 
as  they  soon  came  within  sight  of  the  enemy,  Stani- 
forth  had  too  much  spirit  to  apply  for  his  discharge, 
"  lest  he  should  seem  afraid  to  fight,  and  so  bring  a 
disgrace  upon  the  Gospel."  Near  Maestricht,  two 
English  regiments,  of  which  his  was  one,  with  some 
Hanoverians  and  Dutch,  in  all  about  12,000  men,  be- 
ing advanced  in  front  of  the  army,  had  a  sharp  action. 
The  Prince,  according  to  this  account,  forgot  to  send 
them  orders  to  retreat,  being  busy  with  his  cups  and 
his  ladies;"  and  it  appears,  indeed,  as  he  says, that 
many  brave  lives  were  vilely  thrown  away  that  day 
by  his  gross  misconduct.  Among  them  was  poor 
Bond :  a  ball  went  through  his  leg,  and  he  fell  at 
Stan iforth's  feet.  "  I  and  another,"  says  he,  "took 
him  in  our  arms,  and  carried  him  out  of  the  ranks, 
while  he  was  exhorting  me  to  stand  fast  in  the  Lord. 
We  laid  hi.m  down,  took  our  leave  of  him,  and  fell 
into  our  ranks  again."  In  their  further  retreat,  Sta- 
niforih  again  met  with  him,  when  he  had  received 
another  ball  through  his  thigh,  and  the  French 


lOG  SAMPSON  STANIFOKTH. 

pressed  upon  tliem  at  that  time  so  closely,  that  he 
was  compelled  to  leave  him,  thus  mortally  wounded, 
*'but  with  his  heart  full  of  love,  and  his  eyes  full  of 
Heaven."—'-  There,"  says  lie,  "  fell  a  great  Chrislian, 
a  good  soldier,  and  a  faiiljfu!  friend." 

When  the  army  went  into  winter  quarters,  Stani- 
forth  obtained  his  discharge  for  fiftet  i;  guineas,  which 
his  wife  remitted  him.  He  now  settled  at  Dcptfbrd, 
became  a  leading  man  among  the  Methodists  there, 
and  fiHally  a  preacher  in  his  own  neighbourhood, 
and  in  and  about  London.  And  however  li(tle  it  was 
to  be  expected  from  the  early  part  of  his  life,  and  the 
school  in  which  lie  was  trained,  his  life  was  honour- 
able to  himself  and  beneficial  to  others.  "I  made  it 
a  rule,"  he  says,  "  I'rom  the  beginning,  to  bear  my 
own  expenses;  this  cost  me  ten  or  twelve  pounds  a 
year  ;  and  I  bless  God  I  can  bear  it.  Beside  visiting 
the  class  and  band,  and  visiting  the  sick,  1  preach 
five  or  six  times  in  the  week.  And  the  Lord  gives 
me  (o  rejoice  in  that  1  can  still  say,  these  hands  have 
ministered  to  my  necessities."  His  preaching  was 
so  well  liked,  that  he  was  more  than  once  invited 
to  leave  the  Connexion,  and  lake  care  of  a  separate 
congregation,  with  a  salary  of  forty  or  fifty  pounds 
a-year:  but  he  was  attached  to  Methodism  :  he  saw 
that  it  was  much  injured  by  such  separation  ;  he  was 
not  weary  of  his  labour  ;  and  as  to  pccuniai  y  consi- 
derations, they  had  no  weight  with  him.  The  course 
of  his  life,  and  the  happy  state  of  his  mind,  are  thus 
described  by  himself:  ''  I  pray  with  my  wife  before 
I  go  out  in  the  morning,  and  at  breakfast-time  with 
ray  family  and  all  who  are  in  the  house.  The  for- 
mer part  of  the  day  I  spend  in  my  business  ;  my  spare 
hours  in  reading  and  private  exercise.  Most  even- 
ings I  preach,  so  that  I  am  seldom  at  home  before 
nine  o'clock;  but.  though  I  am  so  much  out  at  nights, 
and  generally  alone,  God  keeps  me  both  from  evil 
men  and  evil  spirits :  and  many  times  I  am  as  fresh 
when  I  come  in  at  night,  as  1  was  when  I  went  out  in 
the  morning.  I  conclude  the  day  in  reading  the 
Scriptures,  and  in  praying  with  my  family.  I  am  now 
in  the  sixty-third  year  of  my  age,  and,  glory  be  to 


GEOiiGE  STORY. 


107 


God,  I  am  not  weary  of  well-doing.  I  find  my  de- 
sires after  God  stronger  than  ever;  my  understand- 
ing is  more  clear  in  the  things  of  God;  and  my  heart 
is  united  more  than  ever  botlj  to  God  and  his  people. 
I  know  their  religion  and  mine  is  the  gift  of  God 
througli  Christ,  and  the  work  of  God  by  his  Spirit; 
it  is  revealed  in  Scripture,  and  is  received  and  re- 
tained l)y  faith,  in  the  use  of  all  gospel  ordinances. 
It  consists  in  an  entire  deadness  to  the  world  and 
to  our  own  will;  and  an  entire  devotedness  of  our 
souls,  bodies,  time,  and  substance,  to  God,  through 
Christ  Jesus.  In  other  words,  it  is  the  loving  the 
Lord  our  God  with  all  our  hearts,  and  all  mankind 
for  God's  sake.  This  arises  from  a  knowledge  of  his 
love  to  us  :  We  love  him,  because  ice  know  he  first  loved 
us ;  a  sense  of  which  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by 
tlie  Holy  Ghost  that  is  given  to  us.  From  the  little 
hereof  that  I  have  experienced,  I  know,  he  that  ex- 
periences this  religion  is  a  happy  man." 

No  man  found  liis  way  into  the  Methodist  connex- 
ion in  a  quieter  manner,  nor  brought  with  him  a 
finer  and  more  reasonable  mind  than  George  Story, 
a  native  of  Harthill,  in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire. 
The  circumstances  of  his  boyhood  were  favourable 
to  his  disposition :  his  parents  taught  him  early  the 
fear  of  the  Lord ;  and  though  their  instructions,  he 
says,  were  tedious  and  irksome,  yet  the  impression 
which  they  made  was  never  lost,  and  often  recurred 
wlien  he  was  alone,  or  in  places  of  temptation.  The 
minister  of  ths  parish  also  was  a  pious  and  venera- 
ble man  :  the  solemnity  with  wliich  he  performed  his 
duty  impr'^ssed  the  boy  with  an  awful  sense  of  the 
Divine  presence ;  and,  when  he  listened  to  the  bu- 
rial-service, he  had  a  distant  prospect  of  judgment 
and  eternity.  Thunder  and  liglitning  filled  him  with  a 
solemn  delight,  as  a  manifestation  of  the  majesty  and 
power  of  the  Almighty.  His  heart,  as  well  as  his 
imagination,  vvas  open  to  all  wholesome  influences ; 
and  having  one  day  killed  a  young  bird  by  throwing 
a  stone  at  it,  grief  and  remorse  for  the  pain  which  he 
had  inflicted,  kept  him  waking  during  several  nights  ; 


108 


GEORGF-  STORY. 


arid  tears  and  prayers  to  God  for  pardon  were  the 
only  means  wherein  he  could  find  rehef.  After  a  de- 
cent school  education,  he  was  placed  with  a  country 
bookseller.  Here,  being  surrounded  with  books, 
he  read  with  insatiable  and  indiscriminate  avidity: 
histories,  novels,  plays,  and  romances,  were  perused 
by  dozens.  He  studied  short-hand,  and  improved 
the  knowledge  which  he  had  learned  at  school  of 
geometry  and  trigonometry;  picked  up  something 
of  geography,  astronomy,  botany,  anatomy,  and  other 
branches  of  physical  science  ;  and  tired  himself  with 
the  Statutes  at  Large.  The  lives  of  the  heathen  phi- 
losophers delighted  him  so  much,  that  at  one  time 
he  resolved  to  take  them  for  his  models ;  and  Tho- 
mas Taylor  or  John  Fransham  would  then  have 
found  him  in  a  fit  state  to  have  received  the  myste- 
ries of  Paganism.  He  frequently  read  till  eleven  at 
night,  and  began  ngain  at  four  or  five  in  the  morning; 
and  he  always  had  a  book  before  him  while  he  was 
at  his  meals. 

From  the  shop  he  entered  the  printing-oflice,  and, 
applying  himself  sedulously  to  the  business,  learned 
to  despatch  it  with  much  regularity,  so  that  he  had 
plenty  of  time  both  for  study  and  recreation.  One 
summer  he  was  an  angler,  the  next  he  was  a  florist, 
and  cultivated  auriculas  and  polyanthuses.  These 
pursuits  sooti  became  insipid.  He  tried  cards,  and 
found  them  only  implements  for  unprofitably  consum- 
ing time  ;  and,  when  led  into  drinking,  in  the  midst  of 
that  folly  he  saw  its  madness,  and  turned  from  it  with 
abhorrence.  He  hoped  that  horse-racing  might  be 
Toinid  a  more  manly  and  rational  amusement ;  so  he 
attended  the  races  at  Doncaster,  with  tlic  most  flat- 
tering expectations  of  the  happiness  he  shoulil  iind 
that  week.  "The  first  day,"  says  he,  "vanished 
away  without  any  satisfaction:  the  second  was  still 
worse.  As  I  passed  through  the  company  dejected 
and  disappointed,  it  occurred  to  my  n)ind.  What  is 
all  this  immense  midtilude  assembled  here  for.^  to 
see  a  few  horses  gallop  two  or  three  times  round  the 
course,  as  if  the  devil  were  both  in  them  and  their 
riders!    Certainly,  , we  arc  all  mad.  \\v  are  fit  for 


OEORGE  STORY. 


109 


Bedlam,  if  we  imagine  that  the  Almightj  made  us 
for  no  other  purpose  but  to  seek  happiness  in  such 
senseless  amusements.  I  was  ashamed  and  con- 
founded, and  determined  never  to  be  seen  there  any 
more." 

At  this  time  he  had  risen  to  the  management  of 
the  printing-office  :  he  had  to  publish  a  weekly 
newspaper,  select  the  paragraphs  from  other  papers, 
prepare  the  advertisements,  correct  the  press,  and 
superintend  the  journeymen  and  apprentices  ;  an 
employment,  he  says,  which  flattered  his  vanity,  in- 
creased his  native  pride,  and  consequently  led  him 
further  from  God.  For  now,  in  the  course  of  his 
desultory  reading,  he  fell  in  with  some  of  those  per- 
nicious writers  who  have  employed  themselves  in 
sapping  the  foundations  of  human  happiness.  "  1 
read  and  reasoned,"  says  he,  "  till  the  Bible  grew 
not  only  dull,  but,  I  thought,  full  of  contradictions. 
I  staggered  first  at  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  at 
length  gave  up  the  Bible  altogether,  and  sunk  into 
Fatalism  and  Deism."  In  this  state  of  mind,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty,  he  went  to  liOndon,  in  full  hope  of 
there  finding  the  happiness  of  which  he  was  in  search. 
But  new  things  soon  became  old  :  they  palled  upon 
him ;  and,  instead  of  happiness,  an  unaccountable 
anguish  of  spirit  followed  whenever  his  mind  sunk 
back  upon  itself  He  would  gladly  have  gone  abroad, 
for  the  sake  of  continual  change,  but  it  was  a  time  of 
war.  He  resolved  to  try  if  religion  would  afford  him 
relief,  and  went  to  several  places  of  worship;  "  but 
even  this,"  says  he,  "  was  in  vain ;  there  was  some- 
thing dull  and  disagreeable  wherever  I  turned  my 
eyes,  and  I  knew  not  that  the  malady  was  in  myself. 
At  length  I  found  Mr.  Whitefield's  chapel,  in  Totten- 
ham-Court-Road, and  was  agreeably  entertained 
with  his  manner  of  preaching:  his  discourses  were 
so  engaging,  that,  when  I  retired  to  my  lodgings, 
I  wrote  down  the  substance  of  them  in  my  journal, 
and  frequently  read  them  over  with  pleasure ;  but 
still  nothing  reached  my  case,  nor  had  I  any  light 
into  the  state  of  my  soul.  Meantime,  on  the  week 
nights,  I  went  to  the  theatres,  nor  could  I  discern  any 


110 


GEORGE  STORY. 


difference  between  Mr.  Whitefield's  preaching,  and 
seeing  a  good  tragedy." 

Weary  of  every  thing,  and  all  places  being  alike 
to  him,  lie  yielded  to  the  persuasion  of  his  friends, 
returned  into  the  country,  and  thinking  himself  too 
young  and  inexperienced  to  enter  into  business  for 
himself,  as  they  would  fain  have  had  him  do,  under- 
took, once  more,  t'ae  management  of  a  printing-office. 
He  wanted  for  nothing,  he  had  more  money  than  he 
knew  what  to  do  with,  yet,  in  his  own  words,  he  was 
as  wretched  as  he  could  hve,  without  knowing  either 
the  cause  of  this  misery,  or  any  way  to  escape  from  it. 
For  some  years  he  had  attempted  to  regulate  his 
conduct  according  to  reason  ;  but  even  at  that  bar 
he  stood  condemned.  His  temper  was  passionate  ; 
he  struggled  against  this,  having  thus  far  profited  by 
the  lessons  of  the  Stoics  ;  and  greatly  was  he  pleased 
when  he  obtained  a  victory  over  his  own  anger  ;  but, 
upon  sudden  temptation,  all  his  resolutions  were 
"  as  a  thread  of  tlax  before  the  fire."  He  mixed 
with  jovial  company,  and  endeavoured  to  catch  their 
spirit ;  but,  in  the  midst  of  levity,  there  w^as  a  weight 
and  hollowness  within  him  :  experience  taught  him 
that  this  laughter  was  madness  ;  and  when  he  return- 
ed to  sober  thoughts,  he  found  into  how  deep  a  melan- 
choly a  stimulated  mirth  subsides.  He  wandered  to 
difTerent  places  of  worship,  and  found  matter  of  dis- 
quiet at  all ;  at  length  he  forsook  them  all,  and  shut 
himself  up  on  Sundays,  or  went  into  the  solitude  of 
a  neighbouring  wood.  "  Here,"  says  he,  "  I  con- 
sidered, with  the  closest  attention  I  was  able,  the 
arguments  for  and  against  Deism.  I  would  gladly 
have  given  credit  to  the  Christian  revelation,  but 
could  riot.  My  reason  leaned  on  the  Avrong  side, 
and  involved  me  in  endless  perplexities.  I  likewise 
endeavoured  to  fortify  myself  with  stronger  argu- 
ments and  firmer  resolutions  against  my  evil  tempers  ; 
for,  since  I  could  not  be  a  Christian,  1  wished,  how- 
ever, to  be  a  good  moral  Heathen.  Internal  anguish 
frequently  compelled  me  to  supplicate  the  Divine 
Being  for  mercy  and  truth.  I  seldom  gave  over  till 
my  heart  was  melted,  and  I  felt  something  of  God's 


GEORGE  STORY. 


Ill 


presence ;  but  I  retained  those  gracious  impressions 
only  for  a  short  time." 

It  so  happened  that  he  was  employed  to  abridge 
and  print  the  life  of  Eugene  Aram,  a  remarkable 
man,  who  was  executed  for  a  case  of  murder,  in  a 
strange  manner  brought  to  light  long  after  the  com- 
mission of  the  crime.  The  account  of  this  person's 
extraordinary  attainments  kindled  Story  with  emu- 
lation, and  he  had  determined  to  take  as  much  pains 
himself  in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge,  when  some 
thoughts  fastened  upon  his  mind,  and  broke  in  pieces 
all  his  schemes.  "  The  wisdom  of  this  world,"  said 
he  to  himsel.C  "  is  foolishness  with  God.  What  did 
this  man's  wiiidom  profit  him  }  It  did  not  save  him 
from  being  a  thief  and  a  murderer; — no,  nor  from 
attempting  his  own  life.  True  wisdom  is  foolishness 
with  men.  He  that  will  be  wise,  must  first  become 
a  fool  that  he  may  be  wise.  I  was  like  a  man  awa- 
kened out  of  sleep,"  he  continues  :  I  was  astonish- 
ed ;  I  felt  myself  w  rong ;  I  was  conscious  I  had  been 
pursuing  a  vain  shadow,  and  that  God  only  could 
direct  me  into  the  right  path.  I,  therefore,  applied 
to  him  with  earnest  importunity,  entreating  him  to 
show  me  the  true  way  to  happiness,  which  1  was  de- 
termined to  follow,  liowever  difficult  or  dangerous." 
Just  at  this  time  Methodism  began  to  flourish  in  his 
native  village :  his  mother  joined  the  Society,  and 
sent  him  a  message,  entreating  him  to  converse  with 
persoris  of  this  description.  To  gratify  her,  being 
an  obedient  son,  he  called  accordingly  at  a  Metho- 
dist's house,  and  the  persons  who  were  assembled 
there  went  to  prayer  with  him,  and  for  him,  a  con- 
siderable time.  The  result  w  as,  as  might  be  expect- 
ed,— he  looked  upon  them  as  well-meaning  ignorant 
people,  and  thought  no  more  about  the  matter. 
After  a  few  days  they  desired  he  would  come  again; 
and  he,  considering  that  it  was  his  mother's  request, 
went  without  hesitation,  though  perhaps  not  very 
desirous  of  being  prayed  for  a  second  time.  On  this 
occasion,  however,  argument  w  as  tried  ;  and  he  dis- 
puted with  them  for  some  hours,  till  they  were  fairly 
wearied,  without  having  produced  the  slightest  im- 


JI2 


GEORGE  STORV. 


pression  upon  him.  To  attack  him  on  the  side  of 
his  reason,  was  not  indeed  the  way  by  which  such 
reasoners  were  hkely  to  prevail ;  such  a  proceeding 
would  serve  only  to  stimulate  his  vanity  and  provoke 
his  pride ;  and,  accordingly,  he  was  about  to  with- 
draw, not  a  little  elevated  with  the  triumph  which 
he  had  obtained,  when  a  woman  of  the  company  de- 
sired to  ask  him  a  few  questions.  The  first  was, 
"  Are  you  happy  ?"  His  countenance  instantly  fell, 
and  he  honestly  answered,  "  No." — "  Are  you  not 
desirous  of  finding  happiness  she  pursued.  He 
replied,  that  he  was  desirous  of  obtaining  it  on  any 
terms,  and  had  long  sought  for  it  in  every  way,  but 
in  vain.  She  then  told  him,  that  if  he  sought  the 
Lord  with  all  his  heart,  he  would  certainly  find  in 
him  that  peace  and  pleasure  which  the  world  could 
not  bestov/.  The  right  string  had  now  been  touch- 
ed :  every  word  sunk  deep  into  his  mind  ;  and  he 
says,  that  from  that  moment  he  never  lost  his  reso- 
lution of  being  truly  devoted  to  God. 

The  books  which  had  misled  him  he  cast  into  the 
fire  ;  and  willing  as  he  now  was  to  be  led  astray  in  a 
different  direction  by  his  new  associates,  his  happy 
disposition  preserved  him.  Not  having  the  horrible 
fears,  and  terrors,  and  agonies,  which  others  declared 
they  had  experienced  in  the  new-birth,  and  of  which 
exhibitions  were  frequently  occurring,  he  endea- 
voured to  bring  himself  into  the  same  state,  but  never 
could  succeed  in  inducing  these  throes  of  spiritual 
labour.  Yet  thinking  it  a  necessary  part  of  the  pro- 
cess of  regeneration,  and  not  feeling  that  conscious- 
ness of  sanctification  which  his  fellows  professed, 
doubts  came  upon  him  thick  and  thronging.  Some- 
times he  fell  back  toward  his  old  skepticism  :  some- 
times inclined  to  the  miserable  notion  of  predestina- 
tion ;  plunging,  as  he  himself  expresses  if,  into  the 
blackness  of  darkness.  He  found  at  length  the  folly 
of  reasoning  himself  into  despair,  and  the  uiu'eason- 
ableness  of  expecting  a  miraculous  manifestation  in 
his  own  bodily  feelings;  and  he  learned,  in  the  true 
path  of  Christian  humility,  to  turn  from  all  presump- 
tuous reasonings,  and  staying  his  mind  upon  God, 


PROVISION  FOR  THE  LAY-PREACHERS,  &C.  113 

to  repose  and  trust  in  him  with  a  child-like  entire- 
ness  of  belief  and  love.  This  was  at  first  mortifying 
to  his  proud  reason  and  vain  imagination ;  but  it 
brought  with  it  at  length  "  an  ever-permanent 
peace,  which  kept  his  heart  in  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  God ;"  not  the  overflowing  joys  which  he 
expected,  and  had  been  taught  to  expect,  by  en- 
thusiastic men ;  but  that  pieace  which  God  himself 
hath  assured  to  all  who  seek  him  in  humility  and 
truth,  and  which  passeth  all  understanding.  There 
is  not,  in  the  whole  hagiography  of  Methodism  a 
more  interesting  or  more  remarkable  case  than  this: 
—living  among  the  most  enthusiastic  Methodists, 
enrolled  among  them,  and  acting  and  preaching 
with  them  for  more  than  fifty  years,  George  Storj 
never  became  an  enthusiast :  his  nature  seems  not 
to  have  been  susceptible  of  the  contagion. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PROVISION  FOR  THE     LAV-PREACHERS   AND   THEIR  FAMI- 
LIES. KINGSWOOD   SCHOOL  THE  COXFERENCE. 

At  first  there  was  no  provision  made  for  the  lay- 
preachers.  The  enthusiasts  who  offered  themselves 
to  the  work  literally  took  no  thought  for  the  morrow 
what  they  should  eat,  nor  what  they  should  drink, 
nor  yet  for  the  body  what  they  should  put  on.  They 
trusted  in  Him  who  feedeth  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
and  who  sent  his  ravens  to  Elijah  in  the  wilderness. 
"  He  who  had  a  staff,"  says  one  of  these  first  intine- 
rants,  "  might  take  one ;  he  who  had  none  might  go 
without."  They  were  lodged  and  fed  by  some  of 
the  Society  wherever  they  went ;  and  when  they 
wanted  clothes,  if  they  were  not  supplied  by  indivi- 
dual friends,  they  represented  their  necessity  to  the 
stewards.  St.  Francis  and  his  followers  did  not  com- 
mit themselves  with  more  confidence  to  the  care  of 

VOL.  II.  J.') 


IM        PROVISION  KOR  THE  LAY-PREACHERS,  &C. 

Providence,  nor  with  a  more  entire  disregard  of  all 
human  means.  But  the  Friars  Minorite  were  mark- 
ed by  their  habit  for  privileged,  as  well  as  peculiar 
persons ;  and  as  they  professed  poverty,  the  poorer 
and  the  more  miserable  their  appearance,  the  great- 
er was  the  respect  which  they  obtained  from  the 
people.  In  England  rags  were  no  recommendation; 
and  it  was  found  a  great  inconvenience  that  the  po- 
pular itinerants  should  be  clothed  in  the  best  appa- 
rel, while  the  usefulness  of  their  fellows,  who  were 
equally  devoted  to  the  cause,  was  lessened  by  the 
shabbiness  of  their  appearance.  To  remedy  this 
evil  it  was  at  length  agreed,  that  every  circuit  should 
allow  its  preacher  three  pounds  per -quarter  to  pro- 
vide himself  with  clothing  and  books.  Not  long  af- 
ter this  arrangement  had  been  made,  Mr.  Wesley 
proposed  that  Mather  should  go  with  hira  into  Ire- 
land on  one  of  his  preaching  expeditions,  and  pro- 
mised that  his  wife  should  be  supported  during  his 
absence.  Mather  cheerfully  consented  ;  but  when 
he  came  to  talk  with  his  friends  upon  the  subject, 
they  cautioned  him  to  beware  how  he  relied  for  his 
w  ife's  support  upon  a  mere  promise  of  this  kind  ;  for, 
Avhen  Mr.  Wesley  was  gone,  the  matter  would  rest 
with  the  stewards.  Upon  this  Mather  thought  it  ne- 
cessary to  talk  with  the  stewards  himself:  they  ask- 
ed him  how  much  would  be  sufficient  for  his  wife  ; 
and  when  he  said  four  shillings  a  week,  they  thought 
it  more  than  could  be  afforded,  and  Mather,  there- 
fore, refused  to  undertake  the  journey.  However, 
in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  year,  the  necessity  of 
making  some  provision  for  the  wives  of  the  itinerants 
was  clearly  perceived,  and  the  reasonableness  of  Ma- 
ther's demand  was  acknowledged.  He  was  called 
upon  to  travel  accordingly,  and  from  that  time  the 
stated  allowance  was  continued  for  very  many  years 
at  the  sum  which  he  had  fixed.  A  further  allowance 
was  made  of  twenty  shillings  a  quarter  for  every 
child  ;  and  when  a  preacher  was  at  home,  the  wife 
was  entitled  to  eighteen-pence  a  day  for  his  board  ; 
the  computation  being  four-pence  for  breakfast,  six- 
pence for  dinner,  and  four-pence  each  for  tea  and 


PROVISION  FOR  THE  LAY-PREACHERS,  &C.  l\5 

bupper;  with  the  condition,  that  whenever  he  was 
invited  out,  a  deduction  was  to  be  made  for  the 
meal. 

But  further  rehef  was  still  necessary  for  those  mar- 
ried preachers  who  gave  themselves  up  wholly  to 
the  service  of  Methodism.  Their  boys,  when  they 
grew  too  big  to  be  under  the  mother's  direction, were 
in  a  worse  state  than  other  children,  and  were  ex- 
posed to  a  thousand  temptations,  having  no  father  to 
control  and  instruct  them.  "  Was  it  fit,"  said  Wes- 
ley, "  that  the  children  of  those  who  leave  wife, 
home,  and  all  that  is  dear,  to  save  souls  from  death, 
should  want  what  is  needful  either  for  soul  or  body.'* 
Ought  not  the  Society  to  supply  what  the  parent 
could  not,  because  of  his  labours  in  the  Gospel.'* — 
The  preacher,  eased  of  this  weight,  would  go  on  the 
more  cheerfully,  and  perhaps  many  of  these  children 
might,  in  time,  fill  up  the  place  of  those  who  should, 
have  rested  from  their  labours."  The  obvious  reme- 
dy was  to  found  a  school  for  the  sons  of  the  preach- 
ers; and  thinking  that  the  wealthier  members  of  the 
Society  would  rejoice  if  an  opportunity  were  given 
them  to  separate  their  children  from  the  contagion 
of  the  world,  he  seems  to  have  hoped  that  the  ex- 
penses of  the  eleemosynary  part  of  the  institution 
might  in  great  measure  be  detiayed  by  their  means. 

Some  tracts  upon  education  had  led  him  to  consi- 
der the  defects  of  English  schools ;  the  mode  of 
teaching,  defective  as  that  is,  he  did  not  regard;  it 
was  the  moral  discipline  which  fixed  his  attention ; 
and  in  founding  a  seminary  for  his  own  people,  whose 
steady  increase  he  now  contemplated  as  no  longer 
doubtful,  he  resolved  to  provide,  as  far  as  possible, 
against  all  the  evils  of  the  existing  institutions.  The 
first  point  was  to  find  a  situation  not  too  far  from  a  great 
town,  which  would  be  very  inconvenient  for  so  large 
a  household  as  he  was  about  to  establish,  nor  yet 
too  near,  and  much  less  in  it.  For  in  towns,  the 
boys  whenever  they  went  abroad,  would  have  too 
many  things  to  engage  their  thoughts,  which  ought, 
he  said,  to  be  diverted  as  little  as  possible  from  the 
objects  of  their  learning;  and  they  would  have  too 


KINGSWOOD  SCHOOL. 


many  other  children  round  about  them,  some  oi 
whom  they  were  liable  to  meet  every  day,  whose  ex- 
ample would  neither  forward  them  in  learning  nor  in 
religion.  He  chose  a  spot,  three  miles  from  Bristol^ 
in  the  middle  of  Kingsvvood,  on  the  side  of  a  small 
hill,  sloping  to  the  west,  sheltered  from  the  east  and 
north,  and  affording  room  for  large  gardens.  At  that 
lime  it  was  quite  private  and  remote  from  all  high- 
ways :  now  the  turnpike  road  passes  close  beside  it, 
and  it  is  surrounded  by  a  filthy  population.  He 
built  the  house  of  a  size  to  contain  fifty  children,  be- 
sides masters  and  servants,  reserving  one  room  and 
a  little  study  for  his  own  use. 

In  looking  for  masters  he  had  the  advantage  of 
being  acquainted  with  every  part  of  the  nation;  and 
yet  he  found  it  no  easy  thing  to  procure  such  as  h^ 
desired, — men  of  competent  acquirements,  "  who 
were  truly  devoted  to  God,  who  sought  nothing  on 
earth,  neither  pleasure,  nor  ease,  nor  profit,  nor 
the  praise  of  men."  The  first  rule  respecting  scho^ 
lars  was,  that  no  child  should  be  admitted  after  he 
was  twelve  years  old  ;  before  that  age,  it  w  as  thought 
he  could  not  well  be  rooted  either  in  bad  habits  or 
ill  principles;  he  resolved  also,  not  to  receive  any 
that  came  to  hand,  but,  if  possible,  "  only  such  as  had 
some  thoughts  ofGod,  and  some  desire  of  saving  their 
souls ;  and  such,  whose  parents  desired  they  should 
not  be  almost,  but  altogether  Christians."  The  pro-' 
posed  object  was,  "  to  answer  the  design  of  Christian 
education,  by  framing  their  minds,  through  the  help 
of  God,  to  wisdom  and  holiness,  by  instilling  the 
principles  of  true  religion,  speculative  and  practical, 
and  training  them  up  in  the  ancient  way,  that  thej 
might  be  rational,  scriptural  Christians."  Accord- 
ingly he  proclaimed,  that  the  children  of  tender  pa- 
rents had  no  business  there,  and  that  no  child  should 
be  received,  unless  his  parents  would  agree  that  he 
should  observe  all  the  rules  of  the  house^  and  that 
they  wotdd  not  take  him  from  school,  no,  not  for  a 
day,  till  they  took  him  for  good  and  all.  "  The  rea- 
sonableness of  this  uncommon  rule,"  says  Wesley, 
is  shown  by  constant  experience ;  for  children  may 


KINGSWOOD  SCHOOL. 


117 


Unlearn  as  much  in  one  week,  as  they  have  learned 
in  several ;  nay,  and  contract  a  prejudice  to  exact 
discipline  which  never  can  be  removed."  Had  Wes- 
ley been  a  father,  he  would  have  perceived  that  such 
a  rule  is  unreasonable,  and  felt  that  it  is  abominable  : 
uncommon,  unhappily  it  is  not,  for  it  makes  a  part  of 
the  Jesuit  establishments,  and  was  adopted  also  by 
Buonaparte  as  part  of  his  plan  for  training  up  an  ar- 
my of  Mamelukes  in  Europe  :  no  rule  could  better 
forward  the  purpose  of  those  who  desire  to  enslave 
mankind. 

The  children  were  to  rise  at  four,  winter  and  sum- 
mer :  this,  Wesley  said,  he  knew  by  constant  ob- 
servation, and  by  long  experience,  to  be  of  admira- 
ble use  either  for  preserving  a  good,  or  improving  a 
bad  constitution ;  and  he  affirmed,  that  it  was  of  pe- 
culiar service  in  almost  all  nervous  complaints,  both 
in  preventing  and  in  removing  them.  They  were  to 
spend  the  time  till  five  in  private,  partly  in  reading, 
partly  in  singing,  partly  in  prayer,  and  in  self-exami- 
nation and  meditation,  those  that  were  capable  of  it. 
Poor  boys !  they  had  better  have  spent  it  in  sleep. 
From  five  till  seven  they  breakfasted  and  walked,  or 
worked,  the  master  being  with  them;  for  the  master 
M'as  constantly  to  be  present ;  and  there  were  no 
holidays,  and  no  play  on  any  day.  Wesley  had 
learnt  a  sour  German  proverb,  saying, "  he  that  plays 
when  he  is  a  child,  will  play  when  he  is  a  man  ;"  and 
he  had  forgotten  an  English  one,  proceeding  from 
good  nature  and  good  sense,  which  tells  us  by  what 
kind  of  discipline  Jack  may  be  made  a  dull  boy: 
"  Why,"  he  asks,  "  should  he  learn  now  what  he 
must  unlearn  by  and  by  .'^"  W'hy.'^ — for  the  same 
reason  that  he  is  fed  with  milk  when  a  suckling,  be- 
cause it  is  food  convenient  for  him.  They  were  to 
work  in  fair  weather,  according  to  their  strength,  in 
the  garden :  on  rainy  days,  in  the  house,  always  in 
presence  of  a  master;  for  tliey  were  never,  day  or 
night,  to  be  alone.  This  part  of  his  system  Wesley 
adopted  from  the  great  school  at  Jena,  in  Saxony ;  it 
is  the  practice  of  Catholic  schools,  and  may,  perhaps, 
upon  a  comparison  of  evils,  be  better  than  the  oppo- 


118 


KINGSWOOD  SCirOOL. 


site  extreme,  which  leaves  the  boys,  during  the 
jrreater  part  dftheii-  time,  wholly  without  superinten- 
dance.  At  a  great  expense  of"  instinct  and  enjoy- 
ment, and  of  that  freedom  of  character,  without  which 
the  best  character  can  only  obtain  from  us  a  cold  es- 
teem, it  gets  rid  of  much  vice,  much  cruelty,  and 
much  unhappiness.  The  school  hours  were  from 
seven  to  eleven,  and  from  one  to  five:  eight  was  the 
hour  for  going  to  bed  ;  they  slept  in  one  dormitory, 
each  in  a  separate  bed  ;  a  master  lay  in  the  same 
room,  and  a  lamp  was  kept  burning  there.  Their 
food  was  as  simple  as  possible,  and  two  days  in  the 
week  no  meat  was  allowed. 

The  things  to  be  taught  there  make  a  formidable 
catalogue  in  tljp  founders  plan ;  reading,  writing, 
arithmetic;  English,  French,  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew ; 
history,  geography,  chronology,  rhetoric,  logic,  eth- 
ics ;  geometry,  algebra ;  natural  philosophy,  and 
metaphysics.  No  Roman  author  was  to  be  read 
who  had  lived  later  than  the  Augustan  age,  except 
certain  selections  from  Juvenal,  Persius,  and  Mar- 
tial. This  was  carrying  classical  puritanism  to  an 
extreme;  and  it  indicates  no  very  sound  judgment 
that  Wesley  should  have  preferred  a  few  of  the  mo-* 
dern  Latin  w  riters  to  supply  the  place  of  those  whom 
he  rejected.  The  classics  which  were  retained  were 
to  be  carefully  expurgated:  there  had  been  a  time 
when  he  was  for  interdicting  them  altogether,  as  im- 
proper to  be  used  in  the  education  of  Christian  youth, 
but  this  folly  he  had  long  outgrown. 

He  was  enabled  to  establish  the  school  by  the 
bounty  of  Lady  Maxwell,  one  of  his  few  converts  in 
high  life.  She  was  of  the  family  of  the  Brisbanes, 
in  Ayrshire  ;  was  married  to  Sir  Walter  Maxwell  at 
the  age  of  17;  at  19  was  left  a  widow;  and,  six 
weeks  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  lost  her  son 
and  only  child.  From  that  hour  she  was  never 
known  to  mention  either.  Weaned  from  the  world 
by  these  severe  dispensations,  she  looked  for  com- 
fort to  Him  who  giveth  and  who  taketh  away ;  and 
what  little  of  her  diary  has  appeared,  shows  more  of 
high  enthusiastic  devotion,  unmingled  and  undebased, 
than  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  composition  of  the 


KINGSWOOD  SCHOOL. 


119 


kind.  Slie  used  to  say,  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
Methodists,  she  should  never  have  had  those  enjoy- 
ments in  religion  to  which  she  had  attained  ;  because 
it  is  seldom  or  never  that  we  go  further  than  our  in- 
structors teach  us.  It  was,  however,  many  years 
before  she  formally  joined  them,  and  she  never  for- 
sook the  church  of  Scotland.  She  lived  to  be  the 
oldest  member  of  the  Society.  The  school  was 
founded  long  before  she  became  a  member ;  but 
Wesley  had  no  sooner  mentioned  his  design  to  her, 
than  she  presented  him  with  bank  notes  to  the 
amount  of  500/.  and  told  him  to  begin  immediately. 
After  some  time  she  asked  how  the  building  was 
going  on,  and  whether  he  stood  in  need  of  further 
assistance;  and  hearing  that  a  debt  of  300/.  had 
been  incurred,  though  he  desired  that  she  would  not 
consider  herself  under  any  obligation  in  the  business, 
she  immediately  gave  him  the  whole  sum. 

The  school  was  opened  in  1748  :  in  two  or  three 
months  there  were  twenty-eight  scholars,  notwith- 
standing the  strictness  of  the  discipline  ;  and  so  little 
was  economy  in  education  understood  in  those  days, 
that  there  was  an  establishment  of  six  masters  for 
them.  "  From  the  very  beginning,"  says  Wesley, 
"  I  met  with  all  sorts  of  discouragements.  Cavillers, 
and  prophets  of  evil,  were  on  every  side.  An  hun- 
dred objections  were  made,  both  to  the  whole  design, 
and  every  particular  branch  of -it,  especially  by  those 
from  whom  I  had  reason  to  expect  better  things. 
Notwithstanding  which,  through  God's  help,  I  went 
on  ;  wrote  an  English,  a  Latin,  a  Greek,  a  Hebrew, 
and  a  French  grammar ;  and  printed  Prailcctiones 
Puerilcs\  with  many  other  books,  for  the  use  of  the 
school."  In  making  his  grammars,  Wesley  rejected 
much  of  the  rubbish  witli  which  such  books  are  en- 
cumbered :  they  might,  have  been  simplified  still 
further;  but  it  was  reserved  for  Dr.  Bell,  the  friend 
of  children,  to  establish  the  principle  in  education, 
that  every  lesson  should  be  made  perfectly  intelli- 
gible to  the  child. 

Upon  visiting  the  school  a  year  after  its  establish- 
ment, he  found  that  several  rules  had  been  habituallv 


120 


THE  CONFERENCE- 


neglected;  and  he  judged  it  necessary  to  send  auay 
some  of  the  children,  and  suffer  none  to  remain  who 
were  not  clearly  satisfied  with  them,  and  determined 
to  observe  them  all.  By  the  second  year  the  scho- 
lars had  been  reduced  from  twenty-eight  to  eighteen  : 
it  is  marvellous  indeed  that  any  but  the  sons  of  the 
preachers  should  have  remained ;  that  any  parents 
should  have  suffered  their  children  to  be  bred  up  in 
a  manner  which  would  inevitably,  in  ninety-nine 
cases  out  of  an  hundred,  either  disgust  them  with 
religion,  or  make  them  hypocrites.  "  I  wonder," 
says  he,  "  how  I  am  withheld  from  dropping  the 
whole  design,  so  many  difficulties  have  continually 
attended  it;  yet  if  this  counsel  is  of  God  it  shall 
stand,  and  all  hinderances  shall  turn  into  blessings." 
The  house  was  in  a  state  of  complete  anarchy.  One 
of  the  masters  was  so  rough  and  disobliging,  that  the 
children  were  little  profited  by  him :  a  second,  though 
honest  and  diligent,  was  rendered  contemptible  by 
his  person  and  manner :  the  third  had  been  useful, 
till  the  fourth  set  the  boys  against  him ;  and  the  two 
others  were  weighed  down  by  the  rest,  who  neither 
observed  the  rules  in  the  school  nor  out  of  it.  To 
crown  all,  the  housekeeper  neglected  her  duty, 
being  taken  up  with  thoughts  of  another  kind;  and 
the  four  maids  were  divided  into  two  parties.  This 
pitiful  case  he  published  for  the  information  of  the 
Society,  and  cut  down  the  establishment  to  two  mas- 
ters, a  housekeeper,  and  a  maid.  Two  of  the  elder 
boys  were  dismissed  as  incorrigible,  out  of  four  or 
five  who  were  "  very  uncommonly  wicked,"  (a  very 
uncommon  proportion  of  wicked  boys  out  of  eighi- 
teen,)  and  five  more  soon  went  away.  Still  it  went 
on  badly  :  four  years  afterwards  he  speaks  of  endea- 
vouring once  more  to  bring  it  into  order.  "  Surely," 
he  says,  "  the  importance  of  this  design  is  apparent, 
even  from  the  difficulties  that  attend  it.  I  spent  more 
money,  and  time,  and  care  on  this  than  almost  any 
design  I  ever  had  ;  and  still  it  exercises  all  the  pa- 
tience I  have.    But  it  is  worth  all  the  labour." 

Provision  had  thus  been  made  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  preachers'  families,  and  the  education  of  their 
sons.    A  Conference,  to  which  Wesley,  in  the  year 


THE  CONPEREMCE. 


121 


1744,  invited  his  brother  Charles,  four  other  clergj- 
men,  who  co-operated  with  him,  and  lour  of  his  lay 
preachers,  was  from  that  time  held  annually,  and  be- 
came the  general  assembly,  in  which  the  affairs  of 
the  Society  were  examined  and  determined.  They 
began  their  first  meeting  by  recording  their  desire, 
"  that  all  things  might  be  considered  as  in  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  God  ;  that  they  might  meet  with 
a  single  eye,  and  as  little  children  who  had  every 
thing  to  learn ;  that  every  point  which  was  proposed 
might  be  examined  to  the  foundation ;  that  every 
person  might  speak  freely  whatever  w  as  in  his  heart ; 
and  that  every  question  which  might  arise  should  be 
thoroughly  debated  and  settled."  There  was  no 
reason,  they  said,  to  be  afraid  of  doing  this,  lest  they 
should  overturn  their  first  principles:  for  if  they 
were  false,  the  sooner  they  were  overturned  the  bet- 
ter; if  they  were  true,  they  would  bear  the  strictest 
examination.  They  determined,  in  the  intermediate 
hours  of  this  Conference,  to  visit  none  but  the  sick, 
and  to  spend  all  the  time  that  remained  in  retire- 
ment ;  giving  themselves  to  prayer  for  one  another, 
and  for  a  blessing  upon  this  their  labour.  With  re- 
gard to  the  judgment  of  the  majority,  they  agreed 
that,  in  speculative  things,  each  could  only  submit  so 
far  as  his  judgment  should  be  convinced;  and  that, 
in  every  practical  point,  each  wou!;l  submit,  so  far  as 
he  could,  w  ithout  wounding  his  conscience.  Fgrther 
than  this,  they  maintained,  a  Christian  could  not  sub- 
mit to  any  man  or  number  of  men  upon  earth  ;  either 
to  council,  bishop,  or  convocation.  And  this  was 
that  grand  principle  of  private  judgment  on  wliich 
all  the  reformers  proceeded.  Every  man  must  judge 
for  himself;  because  every  man  must  give  an  account 
for  himself  to  God."  But  this  principle,  if  followed 
to  its  full  extent,  is  as  unsafe  and  as  untenable  as  the 
opposite  extreme  of  the  Romanists.  The  design  of 
this  meeting  was  to  consider  what  to  teach,  how  to 
teach,  and  what  to  do ;  in  other  words,  how  to  re- 
gulate their  doctrines,  disciplitie,  and  practice.  Here, 
therefore,  it  will  be  convenient  to  present  a  connected 
account  of  each. 

VOL.    IT.  If) 


CHAPTER  XX. 


•Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 

Wesley  never  departed  willingly  or  knowingly 
from  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England,  in 
which  he  had  been  trained  np^  and  with  which  he 
was  conscientiously  satisfied  after  full  and  free  in- 
quiry. Upon  points  which  have  not  been  revealed, 
but  are  within  the  scope  of  reason,  he  formed  opi- 
nions for  himself,  which  were  generally  clear,  con- 
sistent with  the  (  hristian  system,  and  creditable,  for 
the  most  part,  both  to  his  feelings  and  his  judgment. 
But  he  laid  no  stress  upon  them,  and  never  proposed 
them  for  more  than  they  were  worth.  In  the  follow- 
ing connected  view  of  his  scheme,  care  has  been  ta- 
ken to  preserve  his  ow  n  words,  as  far  as  possible,  for 
the  sake  of  fidelity. 

The  moral,  or,  as  he  sometimes  calls  it,  the  Ada- 
mic  law,  he  traced  beyond  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  to  that  period,  unknown  indeed  to  men,  btit 
doubtless  enrolled  in  the  annals  of  eternity,  when  the 
morning  stars  first  sang  together,  being  newly  called 
into  existence.  It  pleased  the  Creator  to  make  these 
His  first-born  sons  intelligent  beings,  that  they  might 
know  Him  who  created  them.  For  this  end  he  en- 
dued them  with  understanding  to  diecern  truth  from 
falsehood,  good  from  evil ;  arid,  as  a  necessary  re- 
sult of  this,  with  liberty, — a  cajiacity  of  choosing  the 
one  and  refusing  the  other.  By  this  they  were  like- 
wise enabled  to  offer  Him  a  free  and  willing  service;  a 
service  rewardable  in  itself,  as  well  as  most  ac- 
ceptable to  their  gracious  Master.  The  law  which 
He  gave  them  was  a  complete  model  of  all  truth,  so 
far  as  was  intelligible  to  a  finite  being;  and  of  .all 
good,  so  far  as  angelic  natures  were  capable  of  em- 
bracing it.  And  it  was  His  design  herein  to  make 
way  for  a  continued  increase  of  their  happiness,  see- 
ing every  instance  of  obedience  to  that  law  would 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  123 


both  add  to  tlie  perfection  of  their  nature,  and  entitle 
them  to  a  higlier  reward,  which  the  righteous  Judge 
would  give  in  its  season.  In  like  manner  when  God, 
in  His  appointed  time,  had  created  a  new  order  of 
intelligent  beings,  when  He  had  raised  man  from  the 
dust  ot'  the  earth,  breathed  into  him  the  breath  of 
life,  and  caused  him  to  become  a  living  soul,  He  gave 
to  this  free  intel  igent  creature  the  same  law  as  to 
his  first-born  children  ;  not  written,  indeed,  upon  ta- 
bles of  stone,  or  any  corruptible  substance,  but  en- 
graven on  his  heart  by  the  linger  of  God,  written  in 
the  inmost  spirit  both  of  men  and  angels,  to  the  in- 
tent it  might  never  be  afar  off,  never  hard  to  be  un- 
derstood, but  always  at  hand,  and  always  shining 
wilh  clear  light,  even  as  the  snti  in  the  midst  of  hea- 
ven. Such  was  the  original  of  the  law  of  God.  With 
regard  to  man,  it  was  coeval  with  his  nature;  but 
with  regard  to  the  elder  sons  of  God,  it  shone  in  its 
full  splendour,  "or  ever  the  mountains  were  brought 
forth,  or  the  earth  and  the  round  world  were  made." 

Man  was  made  holy,  as  he  that  created  him  is  ho- 
ly :  perfect  as  his  Father  in  Heaven  is  perfect.  As 
God  is  love,  so  man,  dwelling  in  love,  dwelt  in  God, 
and  God  in  him.  God  made  him  to  be  an  image  of 
his  own  eternity.  To  man  thus  perfect,  God  gave  a 
perfect  law,  to  which  He  required  a  full  and  perfect 
obedience.  Fie  required  full  obedience  in  every 
point.  No  allowance  was  made  for  any  falling  short : 
there  was  no  need  of  any,  man  being  altogether 
equal  to  the  task  assigned  him.  iMan  disobeyed  this 
law,  and  from  tiiat  moment  he  died.  God  had  told 
him,  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  of  that  fruit  thou 
shalt  surely  die."  Accordingly  on  that  day  he  did 
die:  he  died  to  God,  the  most  dreadful  of  all  deaths. 
He  lost  the  life  of  God  :  he  was  separated  from  Him 
in  union  with  v.  hom  his  spiritual  life  consisted.  His 
soul  died.  The  body  dies  when  it  is  separated  from 
the  soul ;  the  soul  when  it  is  separated  from  God  :  but 
this  separation  Adam  sustained  in  the  day — the  hour 
when  he  ate  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  The  threat  can- 
not be  understood  of  temporal  death,  without  im- 
peaching the  veracity  of  God.     It  must  therefore  be 


124 


WESLEV'S  DOCTRINES   AND  OPINIONS. 


understood  of  gpiritiial  death,  the  loss  of  the  life  and 
Image  of  God.  His  body  likewise  became  corrupti- 
ble and  mortal;  and  being  already  dead  in  the  spi- 
rit, dead  to  God,  dead  in  sin,  he  hastened  on  to 
death  everlasting,  to  the  destruction  both  of  body 
and  soul,  in  the  lire  never  to  be  quenched. 

Why  was  this  ?  Why  are  there  sin  and  misery  in 
the  world  ?  Because  man  was  created  in  the  image 
of  God  :  because  he  is  not  mere  matter,  a  clod  of 
earth,  a  lum}>  of  clay,  without  sense  or  understand- 
ing, but  a  spirit  like  his  Creator;  a  being  endued 
not  only  with  sense  and  understanding,  but  also  with 
a  will.  Because,  to  crown  the  rest,  he  was  endued 
with  liberty,  a  power  of  directing  his  own  affections 
and  actions,  a  capacity  of  determining  for  himself,orof 
choosing  good  or  evil.  Had  not  man  been  endued 
with  this,  all  the  rest  would  have  been  of  no  use. — 
Had  he  not  been  a  free,  as  well  as  an  intelligent  be- 
ing, his  understanding  would  have  been  as  incapable 
of  holiness,  or  any  kind  of  virtue,  as  a  tree  or  a  block 
of  marble.  And  having  this  power  of  choosing  good 
or  evil,  he  chose  evil.  But  in  Adam  all  died,  and 
this  was  the  natural  consequence  of  his  faW.  He  was 
more  than  the  representative  or  federal  head  of  the 
human  race, — the  seed  and  souls  of  all  mankind  were 
contained  in  him,  and  therefore  partook  of  the  cor- 
ruption of  his  nature.  From  that  time  every  man 
who  is  born  into  the  world  bears  the  image  of  the 
devil,  in  pride  and  self-will, — the  image  of  the  beast, 
in  sensual  appetites  and  desires.  All  his  posterity 
were,  by  his  act  and  deed,  entitled  to  error,  guilt, 
sorrow,  fear,  pain,  disease,  and  death,  and  tlicse  they 
have  inherited  for  their  portion.  The  cause  has  been 
revealed  to  us,  and  the  efTects  are  seen  over  the 
whole  world,  and  felt  in  the  heart  of  every  individual. 
But  this  is  no  ways  inconsistent  with  the  justice  and 
goodness  of  God,  because  all  may  recover  through 
the  Second  Adam,  whatever  they  lost  through  the 
first.  Not  one  child  of  man  finally  loses  thereby,  un- 
less by  his  own  choice.  A  remedy  has  been  pro- 
vided which  is  adequate  to  the  disease.  Yea,  more 
than  this,  mankind  have  gained  by  the  fiiil  a  capa- 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


125 


city,  first,  of  being  more  holy  and  happy  on  earth ; 
and,  secondly,  of  being  more  happy  in  heaven  than 
otherwise  they  could  have  been.  For  if  man  had 
not  fallen,  there  must  have  been  a  blank  in  our  faith 
and  in  our  love.  There  could  have  been  no  such 
thing  as  faith  in  God  so  loving  the  world,  that  he 
gave  his  only  Son  for  us  men  and  for' our  salvation;" 
no  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  as  loving  as  and  giving 
himself  for  us;  no  faith  in  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  renew- 
ing the  image  of  God  in  our  hearts,  or  raising  us  from 
the  death  of  sin  unto  the  life  of  righteousness.  And 
the  same  blank  must  likewise  have  been  in  our  love. 
We  could  :iot  have  loved  the  Father  under  the  near- 
est and  dearest  relation,  as  delivering  up  his  Son  for 
us  :  we  could  not  have  loved  the  Son.  as  bearing  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  and  by  that  one  ob- 
lation of  himself  once  offered  making  a  full  oblation, 
sacrifice,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world  :  we  could  not  have  loved  the  Holy  Ghost,  as 
revealing  to  us  the  Father  and  the  Son,  as  opening 
the  eyes  of  our  understandings,  bringing  us  out  of 
darkness  into  his  marvellous  light,  renewing  the 
image  of  God  in  our  soul,  and  sealing  us  unto  the  day 
of  redemption.  So  that  what  is  now  in  the  sight  of 
God  pure  religion  and  undefiled,  would  then  have 
had  no  being. 

The  fall  of  man  is  the  very  foundation  of  revealed 
religion.  If  this  be  taken  away,  the  Christian  system 
is  subverted,  nor  will  it  deserve  so  honourable  an  ap- 
pellation as  that  of  a  cunningly  devised  fable.  It  is 
a  scriptiiral  doctrine :  many  plain  texts  directly 
teacTTit,  It  is  a  rational  doctrine,  thoroughly  con- 
sistent with  sound  reason,  though  there  may  be  some 
circumstances  relating  to  it  which  human  reason  can- 
not fathom.  It  is  a  practical  doctrine,  having  the 
closest  connexion  with  the  life,  power,  and  practice 
of  religion.  It  leads  man  to  the  foundation  of  all 
Christian  practice,  the  knowledge  of  himself,  and 
thereby  to  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  Christ  cru- 
cified. It  is  an  experimental  doctrine.  The  sincere 
Christian  carries  tne~proof  of  it  in"  his  own  bosom. — 
Thus  Wesley  reasoned  ;  and.  from  the  corruption  of 


126 


WESLKy's  doctrines  Ai\D  OPINIONS. 


man's  nature,  or  in  his  own  view  of  the  doctrine, 
from  the  death  of  the  soul,  he  inferred  the  necessity 
of  a  New  Birth.  He  had  made  that  expression  ob- 
noxious in  the  season  of  his  eiittiusiasm,  and  it  was 
one  of  those  things  which  embarrassed  him  in  his 
sober  and  maturer  years  ;  but  he  had  committed  him- 
self too  far  to  retract,  and,  therefore,  when  he  saw, 
and  in  his  own  cool  judgment  disapproved,  the  ex- 
travagancies to  w  hicli  tiie  abuse  of  the  term  had  led, 
he  still  continued  to  use  it,  and  even  pursued  the  me- 
taphor through  all  its  bearings,  with  a  wantonness  of 
ill-directed  fancy,  of  which  this  is  the  only  instance 
in  ail  his  writings.  And  in  attempting  to  reconcile 
the  opinion  which  he  held  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church,  he  entangled  himself  in  contradictions,  like 
a  man  catchitig  at  all  arguments  wlien  defending  a 
cause  which  he  knows  to  be  weak  and  untenable. 

Connected  with  his  doctrine  of  the  New  Birth  was 
that  of  Justification,  which  he  atfirmed  to  be  insepa- 
rable from  it,  yet  easily  to  be  distinguished,  as  being 
not  the  same,  but  of  a  widely  difterent  nature.  In 
order  of  time,  neither  of  these  is  before  the  other;  in 
the  moment  we  are  justified  by  the  grace  of  God, 
through  tfic  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus,  we  arc  also 
born  of  llie  Spirit;  but,  in  order  of  thinking,  as  it  is 
ternied,  Justification  precedes  the  New  Birth.  We 
first  conceive  his  wrath  to  be  turned  away,  and  then 
his  Spirit  to  work  in  our  hearts.  Justification  implies 
only  a  relative,  the  New  Birth  a  real  chatige.  God, 
in  justifjing  us,  does  something/or  us ;  in  begetting 
us  again.  He  does  the  work  in  us.  The  former 
changes  our  outward  relation  to  God,  so  that  of  ene- 
mies we  become  children.  By  the  latter  our  inmost 
souls  are  changed,  so  that  of  sinners  we  become 
saints.  Tlie  one  restores  us  to  the  favour,  the  other 
to  the  image  of  God.  Justification  is  another  word 
for  pardon.  It  is  the  forgiveness  of  all  our  sins,  and, 
what  is  necessarily  implied  therein,  our  acceptance 
with  God.  The  immediate  effects  are  tlie  peace  of 
God;  a  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding,  and  a 
"  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  with  joy  un- 
speakable and  full  of  glory."    And  at  the  same  time 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


127 


that  we  are  justified,  yea,  inJliat  very  rpomcntj_sanc- 
tification  begins.    In  that  instant  we  are  born  agafn  ; 
and  when  we  are  born  again,  then  our  sanctification 
begins,  and  thenceforward  we  are  gradually  to  "  grow 
up  in  him  who  is  our  head.''    This  expression,  says 
Wesley,  points  out  the  exact  analogy  there  is  be- 
tween natural  and  spiritual  things.    A  child  is  born 
of  a  woman  in  a  moment,  or,  at  least,  in  a  very  short 
time.    Afterwards,  he  gradually  and  slowly  grows, 
till  he  attains  to  the  stature  of  a  man.    In  like  man- 
ner a  person  is  born  of  God  in  a  short  time,  if  not  in 
a  moment ;  but  it  is  by  slow  degrees  that  he  after- 
wards grows  up  to  the  measure  of  the  full  stature  of 
Christ.    The  same  relation,  therefore,  whicii  there  is 
between  our  natural  birth  and  our  growth,  tliere  is 
also  between  our  New  Birth  and  our  Sanctification. 
And  saiictifiration,  though  in  some  degree  the  imme- 
diate fruit  of  justification,  is  a  di.^tiiict  git\  of  God, 
and  of  a  totally  different  nature.    The  one  implies 
what  God  does  for  us  through  hi?  Son ;  the  other 
what  he  works  in  us  by  his  Spirit.    Men  are  no  more 
able  of  themselves  to  think  one  good  thought,  to  speak 
one  good  word,  or  do  one  good  work,  after  justifica- 
tion, than  before  they  were  justified.    When  the 
Lord  speaks  to  our  hearts  the  second  time,  "  he  clean,'''' 
then  only  the  evil  root,  the  carnal  mind  is  destroyed, 
and  sin  subsists  no  more.    A  deep  conviction  that 
there  is  yet  in  us  a  carnal  mind,  shows,  beyond  all 
V  possibility  ofdoubt.  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  further 
change.    If  there  be  no  such  second  change,  if  there 
be  no  instantaneous  deliverance  after  justification,  if 
there  be  none  but  a  gradual  work  of  God,  then  we 
must  be  content,  as  well  as  we  can,  to  remain  full  of 
sin  till  death;  and  if  so,  we  must  remaiit  guilty  till 
death,  continually  deserving  punishment.  Thus  Wes- 
ley explains  a  doctrine  which,  in  his  old  age,  he  ad- 
mitted that  he  did  not  find  a  profitable  subject  lor  an 
unawakencd  congregation. 

This  deliverance,  he  acknowledged,  might  be  gra- 
dually wrought  in  some'.^  I  mean,  he  says,  in  this 
sense,  tliey  do  not  advert  to  the  particular  moment 
wherein  sin  ceases  to  be.    But  it  is  infinitely  desiia- 


128 


WESLEV'S  DOCTRINES   AND  OPINIONS. 


ble,  were  it  the  will  of  God,  that  it  should  be  done 
instantaneously;  that  the  Lord  should  destroy  sin  in 
a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  And  so  he 
generally  does.  This,  Wesley  insisted,  was  a  plain 
fact,  of  which  there  was  evidence  enough  to  satisfy 
any  unprejudiced  person.  And  why  might  it  not  be 
irsstantaneous  ?  he  argued.  A  moment  is  to.  Him 
the  same  as  a  thousand  years.  He  cannot  want 
more  time  to  accomplish  whatever  is  his  will :  and 
he  cannot  wait  or  stay  for  more  worlhiness  or  /ifness  in 
the  persons  he  is  pleased  to  honour.  Whatever  may 
be  thought  of  the  doctrine  and  of  its  evidence,  it  was 
a  powerful  one  in  W esley's  hands.  To  the  confi- 
dence, he  says,  that  God  is  both  able  and  AA  illing  to 
vsanctify  us  nciv,  there  needs  to  be  added  one  thing 
more,  a  divine  evidence  and  conviction  that  he  doth 
it.  In  that  hour  it  is  done.  "  Tho?(,  therefore,  look 
for  it  every  moment :  you  can  be  no  worse,  if  you  are 
no  better  for  that  expectation  ;  for  were  you  to  be 
disappointed  of  your  hope,  still  you  lose  nothing. 
But  you  shall  not  be  disappointed  of  your  hope;  it 
will  come,  it  will  not  tarry.  Look  for  it  then  every 
day,  every  hour,  every  moment.  Why  not  this  hour  ? 
this  moment.^  Certaitdy  you  may  look  for  it  now, 
if  you  believe  it  is  by  faith.  And  hy  this  token  you 
may  surely  know  whether  you  seek  it  by  faith  or 
works.  If  by  works,  you  want  something  to  be  done 
first,  before  you  are  sanctified.  You  think  I  must  first 
be,  or  do  thus  or  thus.  Then  you  are  seeking  it  by 
works  unto  this  day.  If  you  seek  it  by  faith,  you 
may  expect  it  as  you  are;  then  expect  it  now.  It  is 
of  importance  to  observe,  that  there  is  an  insepara- 
ble connexion  between  these  three  points — expect 
it  by  faith,  expect  it  as  you  are,  and  expect  it  now. 
To  deny  one  of  them  is  to  deny  them  all:  to  allow 
one,  is  to  allow  them  all.  Do  you  believe  we  are 
sanctified  by  faith  }  Be  true  then  to  your  principle, 
and  look  for  this  blessing  just  as  you  are,  neither 
better  nor  worse;  as  a  poor  sinner,  that  has  nothing 
to  pay,  nothing  to  plead,  but  '  Ckrist  died.''  And  if 
you  look  for  it  as  you  are,  Ihen  expect  it  now.  Stay 
for  nothing  !    Why  should  you  }  Christ  is  ready,  and 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  129 


he  is  all  you  want.  He  is  waiting  for  you  !  he  is  at 
the  door.  Whosoev'cr  thou  art  who  desirest  to  be 
forgiven,  first  believe.  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  then  thou  shalt  do  all  things  well.  Say 
not,  I  cannot  be  accepted  yet,  because  I  am  not  good 
enough.  Who  is  good  enough,  who  ever  was,  to 
merit  acceptance  at  God's  hands  ?  Say  not,  '  I  am 
not  contrite  enough  :  I  am  not  sensible  enough  of  my 
sins.'  I  know  it.  I  would  to  God  thou  wert  more 
sensible  of  them,  and  more  contrite  a  thousand  fold 
than  thou  art !  But  do  not  stay  for  this.  It  may  be 
God  will  mcike  thee  so;  not  before  thou  beiievest, 
but  by  believing.  It  may  be  thou  wilt  not  weep 
much,  till  thou  lovest  much,  because  thou  hast  had 
much  forgiven." 

Upon  these  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  New 
Birth  and  Justification  by  Faith,  he  exhorted  his  dis- 
ciples to  insist  with  all  boldness,  at  all  times,  and  in 
all  places;  in  public,  those  who  were  called  thereto; 
and  at  all  opportunities  in  private.  But  what  is 
faith  .'^  "  Not  an  opinion,"  said  Wesley,  "  nor  any 
number  of  opinions  put  together,  be  they  ever  so 
true.  A  string  of  opinions  is  no  more  Christian  faith, 
than  a  string  of  beads  is  Christian  holiness.  It  is 
not  an  assent  to  any  opinion,  or  any  number  of 
opinions.  A  man  may  assent  to  three,  or  three-and- 
twenty  creeds :  he  may  assent  to  all  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  (at  least  as  far  as  he  understands 
them,)  and  yet  have  no  Christian  faith  at  all.  The^ 
faith  by  which  the  promise  is  attained  is  represented 
by  Christianity  as  a  power  wrought  by  the  Almighty 
in  an  immortal  spirit,  inhabiting  a  house  of  clay,  to 
see  through  that  veil  into  the  world  of  spirits,  into 
things  invisible  and  eternal :  a  power  to  discern 
those  things  which,  with  eyes  of  flesh  and  blood,  no 
man  hath  seen,  or  can  see  ;  either  by  reason  of  their 
nature,  which  (though  they  surround  us  on  every 
side)  is  not  perceivable  by  these  gross  senses ;  or 
by  reason  of  their  distance,  as  being  yet  afar  oflTin 
the  bosom  of  eternity.  It  showeth  what  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  could  it  before  enter 
into  our  heart  to  conceive ;  and  all  this  in  the  clear- 

▼OL.  II.  17 


130         a^'esley's  doctrines  a;\d  opiiVioK?. 


est  light,  with  the  fullest  certainty  and  evidence. 
Fot  it  does  not  leave  us  to  receive  our  notice  by 
raere  reflection  from  the  dull  glass  of  sense,  but  re- 
solves a  thousand  enigmas  of  the  highest  concern, 
by  giving  faculties  suited  to  things  invisible.  It  is 
the  eye  of  the  new  born  soul,  whereby  every  true 
believer  seeth  Him  who  is  invisible."  It  is  the  ear 
of  the  soul,  whereby  the  sinner  "  hears  the  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God  and  lives;"  the  palate  of  the  soul, 
(if  the  expression  maybe  allowed,)  whereby  a  be- 
liever "  tastes  the  good  word  and  the  powers  of  the 
World  to  come ;"  the  feeling  of  the  soul,  whereby, 
*'  through  the  power  of  the  Highest  overshadowing 
him,"  he  perceives  the  presence  of  Him  in  whom  he 
lives,  and  moves,  and  has  his  being,  and  feels  the 
love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  his  heart.  It  is  the  in- 
ternal evidence  of  Christianity,  a  perpetual  revela- 
tion, equally  strong,  equally  new,  through  all  the 
centuries  which  have  elapsed  since  the  incarnation, 
and  passing  now,  even  as  it  lias  done  from  the  be- 
ginning, directly  from  God  into  the  believing  soul. 
Do  you  suppose  time  will  ever  dry  up  this  stream? 
Oil  no  !    It  shall  never  be  cut  off — 

Labitur  ct  labetur  in  omne  volubilis  avum. 
It  flows,  and  as  it  flows,  for  ever  will  flow  on, 

The  historical  evidence  of  revelation,  strong  and 
clear  as  it  is,  is  cognizable  by  men  of  learning  alone  ; 
but  this  is  plain,  simple,  and  level  to  the  lowest  ca- 
pacity. The  sum  is,  "  One  thing  I  know  ;  I  was 
blind,  but  now  I  see :"  an  argument  of  which  a  pea- 
sant, a  woman,  a  child,  may  feel  all  the  force.  Tlie 
traditional  evidence  gives  an  account  of  what  was 
transacted  far  away  and  long  ago.  The  inward  evi- 
dence is  intimately  present  to  all  persons,  at  all 
times,  and  in  all  places.  "  It  is  nigh  thee  in  thy 
mouth  and  in  thy  heart,  if  thou  believest  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  This,  then,  is  the  record,  this  is  the 
evidence,  emphatically  so  called,  fhat  God  kat/i  giten 
unto  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son. 
Why,  then,  have  not  all  men  this  faith  ?  Because? 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  731 


no  man  is  able  to  work  it  in  himself:  it  is  a  work  of 
omrjipotence.  It  requires  no  less  power  thus  to 
quicken  a  dead  soul,  than  to  raise  a  body  that  lies  in 
the  grave.  It  is  a  new  creation ;  and  none  can  create 
a  soul  anew,  but  he  who  at  first  created  the  heavens 
and  the  e- nh.  May  not  your  own  experience  teach 
you  this  ?  said  Wesley.  Can  you  give  yourself  this 
faith  ?  Is  it  in  your  power  to  see,  or  hear,  or  taste,  or 
feel  God  ?  to  raise  in  yourself  any  perception  of  God, 
or  of  an  invisible  world?  to  open  an  intercourse  be- 
tween yourself  and  the  world  of  spirits?  to  discern 
either  them  or  Him  that  created  them?  to  burst  the 
veil  that  is  on  your  heart,  and  let  in  the  light  of  eter- 
nity ?  You  know  it  is  not.  You  not  only  do  not.  but 
cannot  (by  your  own  strength,)  thus  believe.  The 
more  you  labour  so  to  do,  the  more  you  will  be  con- 
vinced it  is  the  gift  of  God.  It  is  the  Jree  gift  of  God, 
which  he  bestows  not  on  those  who  are  worthy  of  his 
favour,  not  on  such  as  are  previously/  holy,  and  so  Jit  to 
be  crowned  with  all  the  blessings  of  his  goodness;  but 
on  the  ungodly  and  unholy ;  on  those  who,  till  that 
hour,  were  Jit  only  for  everlasting  destruction ;  those 
in  whom  was  no  good  thing,  and  whose  only  plea  was, 
God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner  !  No  merit,  no  good- 
ness in  man,  precedes  the  forgiving  love  of  God. 
His  pardoning  mercy  supposes  nothing  in  qs  but  a 
sense  of  mere  sin  and  misery ;  and  to  all  who  see 
and  feel,  and  own  their  wants,  and  their  utter  inabi- 
lity to  remove  them,  God  freely  gives  faith,  for  the 
sake  of  him  "  in  whom  he  is  always  well  pleased." 
Whosoever  thou  art,  O  man,  who  hast  the  sentence 
of  death  in  thyself,  unto  thee  saith  the  Lord,  not, 
"  Do  this,  perfectly  obey  all  my  commands,  and  live ;" 
but  "believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved." 

Without  faith,  a  man  cannot  be  justified,  even 
though  he  should  have  every  thing  else;  with  faith,  he 
cannot  but  be  justified,  though  every  thing  else  should 
be  wanting.  This  justifying  faith  implies  not  only 
the  personal  revelation,  the  inward  evidence  of 
Christianity,  but  likewise  a  sijre  and  firm  comidence 
in  the  individual  believer  that  Christ  died  for /u.sf  sins 


132 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opiniok!> 


loved  /im,  and  gave  his  life  for  him.  And  at  what 
time  soever  a  sinner  thus  believes,  God  justifieth  hina- 
Repentance,  indeed,  must  have  been  given  him  be- 
fore; but  that  repentance  was  neither  more  nor  less 
than  a  deep  sense  of  the  want  of  all  good,  and  the 
presence  of  all  evil ;  and  whatever  good  he  hath  or 
doth  from  that  hour  when  he  first  believes  in  God 
through  Christ,  faith  does  not  Jitid,  but  bring.  Both 
repentance,  and  fruits  meet  for  repentance,  are  in 
some  degree  necessary  to  justification :  but  they  are 
not  necessary  in  the  same  sense  with  faith,  nor  in  the 
same  degree.  Not  in  the  same  degree,  for  these  fruits 
are  only  necessary  conditionally,  if  there  be  time 
and  opportunity  for  them.  Not  in  the  same  sense; 
for  repeiitance  and  its  fruits  are  only  remMely  neces- 
sary— necessary  in  order  to  faith ;  whereas  faith  is 
immediately  and  directly  necessary  to  justification. 
In  like  manner,  faith  is  the  only  condition  of  sanctifi- 
cation.  Every  one  that  believes  is  sanctified,  what- 
ev  er  else  he  has,  or  has  not.  In  other  words,  no  man 
can  be  sanctified  till  he  believes;  every  man  when 
he  believes  is  sanctified. 

Here  Wesley  came  upon  perilous  ground. — We 
must  be  holy  in  heart  and  life,  before  we  can  be 
conscious  that  we  are  so.  But  we  must  love  God 
before  we  can  be  holy  at  all.  We  cannot  love  Him 
till  we  know  that  He  loves  us ;  and  this  we  cannot 
know  till  his  Spirit  witnesses  it  to  our  spirit.  The 
testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God  must  therefore,  he  ar- 
gued, in  the  very  nature  of  things,  be  antecedent  to 
the  testimony  of  our  own  spirit.  But  he  perceived 
that  many  had  mistaken  the  voice  of  their  own  ima- 
gination for  this  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  presumed 
that  they  were  children  of  God,  while  they  were  do- 
ing the  works  of  the  Devil.  And  he  was  not  sur- 
prised that  many  sensible  men,  seeing  the  effects  of 
this  delusion,  should  lean  toward  another  extreme, 
and  question  whether  the  witness  of  the  spirit 
whereof  the  apostle  speaks,  is  the  privilege  of  ordi- 
nary Christians,  and  not  rather  one  of  those  extraor- 
dinary gifts,  which  they  suppose  belonged  only  to  the 
apostle's  age.    Yet,  when  he  asks,  "  How  may  one. 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  133 


who  has  the  real  witness  in  himself,  distinguish  it 
from  presumption  ?"  jhejiyades^  the_.difficulty,  and  of- 
fers a  declamatory  reply,  "  How,  I  pray,  do  you  dis- 
tinfj;uish  day  from  night  ?  How  do  you  distinguish 
light  from  darkness  ?  or  the  light  of  a  star  or  of  a 
glimmering  taper,  from  the  light  of  the  noon-day 
sun  ?"  This  is  the  ready  answer  of  every  one  who 
has  been  crazed  by  enthusiasm.  But  Wesley  re- 
garded the  doctrine  as  one  of  the  glories  of  his  peo- 
ple, as  one  grand  part  of  the  testimony  which  God, 
he  said,  had  given  them  to  bear  to  all  mankind.  It 
was  by  this  peculiar  blessing  upon  them,  confirmed 
by  the  experience  of  his  children,  tliat  this  great 
evangelical  truth,  he  averred,  had  been  recovered, 
Avliich  had  been  for  many  years  well  nigh  lost  and 
forgotten. 

These  notions  led  to  the  doctrine  of  Assurance. 
which  he  had  defended  so  pertinaciously  against  his 
brother  Samuel.    But  upon  this  point  his  fervour  had 
abated,  and  he  made  a  fairer  retraction  than  was 
to  be  expected  from  the  founder  of  a  sect.    "  Some," 
said  he,  "  are  fond  of  the  expression ;  I  am  not :  I 
hardly  ever  use  it.    But  I  will  simply  declare  (hav- 
ing neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  draw  the  sword 
of  controversy  concerning  it)  what  are  my  present 
sentiments  with  regard  to  the  thing  which  is  usually 
1  meant  thereby.    I  believe  a  few,  l3ut  very  few  Chris- 
,>1ians,  have  an  assurance  from  God  of  everlasting  sal- 
ivation :  and  that  is  the  thing  which  the  apostle  terms 
the  plerophory,  or  full  assurance  of  hope.    I  believe 
more  have  such  an  assurance  of  being  now  in  the  fa- 
vour of  God,  as  excludes  all  doubt  and  fear:  and  this, 
if  I  do  not  mistake,  is  what  the  apostle  means  by  the 
plerophory,  or  full  assurance  of  faith.    I  believe  a 
vconsciousness  of  being  in  the  favour  of  God  (which 
I  do  not  term  plerophory,  or  full  assurance,  since  it  is 
frequently  weakened,  nay,  perhaps  interrupted  by 
returns  of  doubt  or  fear)  is  the  common  privilege  ol 
Christians,  fearing  God,  and  working  righteousness. 
Yet  I  do  not  affirm  there  are  no  exceptions  to  this 
general  rule.    Possibly  some  may  be  in  tlie  favour  of 
Godj  and  yet  go  mourning  all  the  day  long.    (But  1 


134 


Wesley's  i>octrl\es  and  opinions. 


believe  this  is  usually  owing  either  to  disorder  of 
body,  or  ignorance  of  the  gospel  promises.)  There- 
fore I  have  not,  for  niany  years,  thought  a  conscious- 
ness of  acceptance  to  be  essential  to  justifying  faith. 
And  after  I  have  thus  explained  myself  once  for  all, 
I  think,  without  any  evasion  or  ambiguity,  I  am  sure 
without  any  self-contradiction,  I  hope  all  reasonable 
men  will  be  satisfied  :  and  whoever  will  still  dispute 
with  rae  on  this  head,  must  do  it  for  disputing's 
sake." 

The  doctrine  of  Perfection  is  not  less  perilous, 
sure  as  the  expression  was  to  be  mistaken  by  the 
ignorant  people  to  whom  his  discourses  were  ad- 
dressed. This,  too,  was  a  doctrine  which  he  had 
preached  with  inconsiderate  ardour  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  career ;  and  which,  as  he  grew 
■  older,  cooler,  and  wiser,  he  modified  and  softened 

J down,  so  as  almost  Jto  explain  it  away.  He  defined 
it  to  be  a  constant  comnTunion  with  God,  which  fills 
the  heart  with  humble  love ;  and  to  this,  he  insisted, 
that  every  believer  might  attain.  Yet,  he  admitted, 
tfiat  it  did  not  include  a  power  never  to  think  an  use- 
less thought,  nor  speak  an  useless  word.  Such  a 
perfection  is  inconsistent  with  a  corruptible  body, 
which  makes  it  impossible  always  to  think  right :  if, 
therefore,  Christian  perfection  implies  this,  he  admit- 
ted that  Ave  must  not  expect  it  till  after  death : — to 
one  of  his  female  disciples,  who  seems  to  have  writ- 
ten to  him  under  a  desponding  sense  of  her  imper^ 
fection,  he  replied  in  these  terms.  I  want  you,"  he 
added,  "  t^_be_a/L4»y^-  This  is  the  perfection  I  be- 
lieve and  teach ;  and  this  perfection  is  consistent 
with  a  thousand  nervous  disorders,  which  that  high- 
strained  perfection  is  not.  Indeed  my  judgment 
is,  that  (in  this  case  particularly)  to  overdo  is 
to  undo ;  and  that  to  set  perfection  too  high, 
is  the  most  effectual  way  of  driving  it  out  of  the 
world."  In  like  manner  he  justified  the  word  to 
Bishop  Gibson,  by  explaining  it  to  mean  l«%s  than 
it  expressed ;  so  that  the  Pishop  replied  to  him, 
"  Why,  Mr.  VVesley,  if  this  is  what  you  mean  by  per- 
fection, who  can  be  against  it     "  Man,"  he  says,  "  in 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinioks* 


135 


his  present  state,  can  no  more  attain  Adamic  than 
angelic  perfection.  The  jierfection  of  \^i)ich  man  is 
capable,  while  he  dwells  in  a  corruptible  body,  is  the 
complying  with  that  kind  command,  '  My  son,  give 
me  thy  heart!'  It  is  the  loving  the  Lord  his  God, 
with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all  his  soid,  and  with  all 
his  mind."  But  these  occasional  explanations  did 
not  render  the  general  use  of  the  word  less  mischiev- 
ous, or  less  reprehensible.  Ignorant  hearers  took 
it  for  what  it  appeared  to  mean ;  and  w  hat,  from  the 
mouths  of  ignorant  instructors,  it  was  intended  to 
mean.  It  flattered  their  vanity  and  their  spiritual 
pride,  and  became  one  of  the  most  .popiiiar  Jeneta.of 
the  Methodists,  precisely  because  it  is  one  of  the 
most  obiectionahle.  Wesley  himself  rej5ea_tg.d ly  iiads 
fault  with  his  preachers  if  they  neglected  to  enforce 
a  doctrine  so  well  adapted  to  gratify  their  hearers. 
In  one  place  he  says,  "  the  more  I  converse  with  the 
believers  in  Cornwall,  the  more  am  1  convinced  that 
they  have  sustained  great  loss  for  w^ant  of  hearing 
the  doctrine  of  Christian  Perfection  clearly  and 
strongly  enforced,  I  see  wherever  this  is  not 
done,  the  believers  grow  dead  and  cold.  Nor  can 
this  be  prevented,  but  by  keeping  up  in  them  an 
hourly  expectation  of  being  perfected  in  love.  I  say 
an  hourly  expectation;  for  to  expect  it  at  death,  of 
some  time  hence,  is  much  the  same  as  not  expecting 
it  at  all."  And  on  another  occasion  he  writes  thus: 
"Here  I  found  the  plain  reason  why  the  work  ofGod 
had  gained  no  ground  in  this  circuit  all  the  yer^r. 
The  preachers  had  given  up  the  Methodist  te.sti.nu- 
ny.  Either  they  did  not  speak  of  perfection  ^il  all, 
(the  peculiar  doctrine  committed  to  our  trust.)  or 
they  spoke  of  it  only  in  general  terms,  without  urg- 
ing the  believers  to  go  on  to  perfection,  and  to  ex- 
pect it  every  moment:  and  wherever  this  is  not 
earnestly  done,  the  work  of  God  does  not  prosper. 
As  to  the  word  perfection,"  said  lie,  it  is  scrip- 
tural, therefore  neither  you  nor  {  can,  in  conscience, 
object  to  it,  unless  we  would  send  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
school,  and  teach  Him  to  speak  who  made  the 
tongue."    Thus  it  was  that  he  attempted  to  justify 


136 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


to  others,  and  to  himself  also,  the  use  of  language, 
for  persevering  in  which,  after  the  intemperance  of 
his  enthusiasm  had  abated,  there  can  be  no  excuse, 
seeing  that  all  he  intended  to  convey  by  the  obnox- 
ious term  might  have  been  expressed  without  offend- 
ing the  judicious,  or  deluding  the  ignorant  and  indis- 
creet. 

Wesley  was  not  blind  to  the  tendency  of  these 
doctrines.  The  true  gospel,"  said  he,  "  touches 
the  very  edge  both  of  Calvinism  and  Antinomianism, 
so  that  nothing  b^Jhe^mightj  powe^^^^^ 
vent  our  sliding  either  into  the  one  or  the  other." 
Many  of  his  associates  and  followers  fell  into  both. 
He  always  declared  himself  clearly  and  strongly 
gainst  both ;  though  at  the  expense  of  some  incon- 
sistency, when  he  preached  of  a  sanctification  which 
left  the  subject  liable  to  sin,  of  an  assurance  which 
was  not  assured,  and  of  an  imperfect  perfection. 
But  his  real  opinion  could  not  be  mistaken  ;  and  few 
men  have  combated  these  pestilent  errors  with  more 
earnestness  or  more  success.  He  never  willingly  en- 
gaged in  those  subtle  and  unprofitable  discussions 
which  have  occasioned  so  much  dissention  in  the 
Christian  world  ;  but  upon  those  points  in  which 
speculation  is  allowable,  and  error  harmless,  he  free- 
ly indulged  his  imagination. 

It  was  his  opinion  that  there  is  a  chain  of  beings 
advancing  by  degrees  from  theJowest  to  the  highest 
point, — from  an  atom  of  unorganized  matter,  to  the 
highest  of  the  archangels;  an  opinion  consonant  to 
the  philosophy  of  the  bards,  and  confirmed  by  sci- 
ence, as  far  as  our  physiological  knowledge  extends. 
He  believed  in  the  ministry  both  of  good  and  evil 
angels  ;  but  whether  every  man  had  a  guardian  an- 
gel to  protect  him,  as  the  Romanists  hold,  and  a  ma- 
lignant demon  continually  watching  to  seduce  him 
into  the  ways  of  sin  and  death,  this  he  considered  as 
undetermined  by  revelation,  and  therefore  doubtful. 
Evil  thoughts  he  held  to  be  infused  into  the  minds  of 
men  by  the  evil  principle;  and  that  "  as  no  good  is 
done,  or  spoken,  or  thought  by  any  man,  without  the 
assistance  of  God  working  together  m  and  icith  those 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  137 


that  believe  in  him;  so  there  is  no  evil  done,  or 
spoken,  or  (honght,  without  the  assistance  of  the 
Devil,  "  who  worketh  with  energy  in  the  children  of 
unbelief.  And  certainly,"  said  he,  "  it  is  as  easy 
for  a  spirit  to  speak  to  our  heart,  as  for  a  man  to 
speak  to  our  ears.  But  sometimes  it  is  exceedingly 
diilicult  to  distinguish  the  thoughts  which  he  infuses 
from  our  own  thoughts,  Uiose  which  he  injects  so 
exactly  rrsembhng  those  which  naturally  arise  in 
our  own  minds.  Sometimes,  indeed,  we  may  distin- 
guish one  from  the  other  by  this  circumstance:  the 
thoughts  which  naturally  arise  in  our  minds  are 
generally,  if  not  always,  occasioned  by,  or,  at  least, 
connected  with  some  inward  or  outward  circum- 
stance that  went  before  ;  but  those  that  are  preter- 
naturally  suggested,  have  frequently  no  relation  to, 
or  connexion  (at  least  none  that  we  are  able  to  dis- 
cern) with,  any  thing  which  preceded.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  shoot  in,  as  it  were,  across,  and  thereby 
show  that  they  are  of  a  different  growth." 

His  notions  of  diabolical  agency  went  further  than 
this:  he  imputed  to  it  many  of  the  accidents  and 
discomforts  of  life, — disease,  bodily  hurts,  storms  and 
earthquakes,  and  nightmare :  he  believed  that  epi- 
lepsy was  often,  or  always,  the  effect  of  possession, 
and  that  most  madmen  were  demoniacs.  A  belief 
in  witchcraft  naturally  followed  from  these  premises ; 
but,  after  satisfying  his  understanding  that  super- 
natural acts  and  appearances  are  consistent  with  the 
order  of  the  universe,  sanctioned  by  Scripture,  and 
proved  by  testimony  too  general  and  too  strong  to  be 
resisted,  he  invalidated  his  own  authority,  by  listen- 
ing to  the  most  absurd  tales  with  implicit  credulity, 
and  recording  them  as  authenticated  facts.  He  ad- 
hered to  the  old  opinion,  that  the  devils  were  the 
gods  of  the  heathen ;  and  he  maintained,  that  the 
words  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  have  been  ren- 
dered evil,  mean,  in  the  original,  the  ivicked  one,  "  em- 
phatically so  called,  the  prince  and  god  of  this  world, 
who  works  with  mighty  power  in  the  children  of 
disobedience." 

VOL.  II.  18 


138         "wesl'ky's  doctrines  and  opikions. 

One  of  Ins  most  singular  notions  M'as  concerning 
the  day  of  judgment.  He  thought  it  probable  that 
its  duration  would  be  several  thousand  years,  that 
the  place  would  be  above  the  earth,  and  that  the 
circumstances  of  every  individual's  life  would  then 
be  brougiit  forth  in  full  view,  together  with  all  their 
tempers,  and  all  the  desires,  thoughts,  and  intents 
of  their  hearts.  This  he  thought  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  full  display  of  the  glory  of  Cod,  for  the 
clear  and  perfect  manifestation  of  his  wisdom,  jus- 
tice, power,  and  mercy.  "  Then  only,"  he  argued, 
"  when  God  hath  brought  to  light  all  the  hidden 
things  of  darkness,  \\\\]  it  be  seen  that  wise  and  good 
were  all  his  ways  ;  that  he  saw  through  the  thick 
cloud,  and  governed  all  things  by  the  wise  counsel 
of  his  own  will ;  that  nothing  was  left  to  chance  or 
the  caprice  of  men,  but  God  disposed  all  strongly, 
and  wrought  all  into  one  connected  chain  of  justice, 
mercy,  and  truih."  Whether  the  earth  and  the  ma- 
terial heavens  would  be  consumed  by  the  general 
conllagration,  and  pass  away,  or  be  transmuted  by 
the  (ire  into  that  sea  of  glass  like  unto  crystal,  which 
is  desctibcd  in  the  Apocalypse  as  extending  before 
the  throne,  we  could  neither  affirm  nor  deny,  he 
said  ;  but  w<^  should  know  hereafter.  He  held  the 
doctrine  of  tljc  iiiHlcnnium  to  be  scriptural;  but  he 
never  fell  into  tlios'e  wild  and  extiavagant  fancies, 
in  wliich  speculations  of  this  kind  so  frequently  end. 
The  Apocalypse  is  the  favourite  study  of  crazy  re- 
ligionists ;  but  Wesley  says  of  it,  "  Oh,  how  little  do 
we  knovv  of  this  deep  book  !  at  least,  how  little  do  / 
know  !  1  can  barely  conjecture,  not  affirm,  any  one 
point  concerning  that  part  of  it  which  is  vet  unful- 
tilicd.-' 

He  entertained  some  interesting  opinions  concern- 
ing the  brute  creation,  and  derived  whatever  evils 
inferior  creatureFendure,  or  indict  upon  each  other, 
from  the  consequence  of  the  Fall.  In  Paradise  they 
existed  in  a  state  of  happiness,  enjoying  will  and 
li'oerty  :  their  passions  and  aflTections  were  regular, 
and  their  choice  always  guided  by  their  understand- 
ing, which  was  periect  in  its  kind.    "  What,"  says 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions.  lii^ 


he,  "  is  the  barrier  between  men  and  brutes — the 
line  which  they  cannot  pass?  It  is  not  re_as_QlJ.  Set 
aside  that  ambiguous  terra;  exchange  it  for  the  plain 
word  mLderslaiiding,  and  who  can  deny  that  brutes 
have  this  ?  We^iy  as  well  deny  that  they  have 
sight  or  hearing.  But  it  is  this  :  man  is  capable  of 
God ;  the  inferior  creatures  arc  not.  We  have  no 
ground  to  believe  that  they  are  in  any  degree  capa- 
ble of  knowing,  loving,  or  obeying  God.  This  is  the 
specific  diflTcrence  between  man  and  brute — the 
great  gulf  which  they  cannot  pass  over.  And  as  a 
loving  obedience  to  God  was  the  perfection  of  man, 
so  a  loving  obedience  to  man  was  the  perfection  of 
brutes."  While  this  continued,  they  were  happy 
after  their  kind,  in  the  right  state  and  the  right  use 
of  all  their  faculties.  Evil  and  pain  had  not  entered 
into  paradise  ;  and  they  were  immortal ;  for  "  God 
made  not  death,  neither  hath  he  pleasure  in  the 
death  of  any  living."  How  true,  then,  is  that  word, 
"  God  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made,  and  behold 
it  was  very  good." 

But  as  all  the  blessings  of  God  flowed  through 
man  to  the  inferior  creatures,  those  blessings  were 
cut  off  when  man  made  himself  incapable  of  trans- 
mitting them,  and  all  creatures  were  then  subjected 
to  sorrow,  and  pain,  and  evil  of  every  kind.  It  is 
probable  that  the  meaner  creatures  sustained  much 
loss,  even  in  the  lower  faculties  of  their  corporeal 
powers  :  they  suffered  more  in  their  understanding, 
and  still  more  in  their  liberty,  their  passions,  and 
their  will.  The  very  foundations  of  their  nature 
were  turned  upside  down.  As  man  is  deprived  of 
his  perfection,  his  loving  obedience  to  God,  so  brutes 
are  deprived  of  their  perfection,  their  loving  obe- 
dience to  man.  The  far  greater  part  flee  from  his 
hated  presence ;  others  set  him  at  defiance,  and  de- 
stroy him  when  they  can  ;  a  few  only  retain  more  or 
loss  of  their  original  disposition,  and,  through  the 
mercy  of  God,  still  love  him  and  obey  him.  And  in 
consequence  of  the  first  transgression,  death  came 
upon  the  whole  creation;  and  not  death  alone,  but 
all  its  train  of  preparatory  evils,  pain,  and  ten  thou- 


110 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


sand  sufferings;  nor  these  only,  but  likewise  those 
irregular  passions,  all  those  unlovely  tempers,  which 
in  man  are  sins,  and  even  in  brutes  are  sources  of 
misery,  passed  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
and  remain  in  all,  except  the  children  of  God.  In- 
ferior creatures  torment,  persecute,  and  devour  each 
other,  and  all  are  tormented  and  persecuted  by  man. 
But,  says  Wesley,  will  the  creature^  will  even  the  brute 
creation  always  remain  in  this  deplorable  condition? 
God  forbid  that  we  should  affirm  this,  yea,  or  even 
entertain  such  a  thought. — While  the  whole  creation 
groaneth  together,  whether  men  attend  or  not,  their 
groans  are  not  dispersed  in  idle  air,  but  enter  into 
the  ears  of  Him  that  made  them.  Away  with  vulgar 
prejudices,  and  let  ihe  plain  w  ord  of  God  take  place  ! 
"  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears:  and  there  shall  be 
no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying.  Neither 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain  ;  for  the  former  things 
are  passed  away."  This  blessing  shall  take  place; 
not  on  men  alone,  ((here  is  no  such  restriction  in  the 
text,)  but  on  every  creature  according  to  its  capacity. 
The  whole  brute  creation  will  then  undoubtedly  be 
restored  to  all  that  they  have  lost,  and  with  a  large 
increase  of  faculties.  They  will  be  delivered  from 
all  unruly  passions,  from  all  evil,  and  all  suffering. — 
And  what  if  it  should  then  please  the  all-wise,  the 
all-gracious  Creator,  to  raise  them  higher  in  the  scale 
of  beings?  What  if  it  should  please  Him,  when  he 
makes  us  equal  to  angels,  to  make  them  what  we  are 
now,  creatures  capable  of  God,  capable  of  knowing, 
and  loving,  and  enjoying  the  author  of  their  being.'"' 
Some  teacher  of  materialism  had  asserted,  that  if 
man  had  an  immaterial  soul,  so  had  the  brutes ;  as  if 
this  conclusion  reduced  that  opinion  to  a  manifest 
absurdity.  "  I  will  not  quarrel,"  said  Wesley,  "  with 
any  that  think  they  have.  Nay,  I  wish  he  could 
prove  it ;  and  surely  1  would  rather  allow  them  souls, 
than  I  would  give  up  my  own."  He  clierishedihis 
opinion,  because  it  furnished  a  full  answer  to  a  pJau- 
sible  olijection  against  the  justice  of  God.  That 
justice  might  seem  to  be  impugned  by  the  sufferings 
to  which  brute  animals  are  subject ;  those,  especially. 


Wesley's  doctriises  and  opinions. 


141 


who  are  under  the  tyranny  of  brutal  men.  But  the 
objection  vanish ss,  if  we  consider  that  something 
better  remains  after  death  for  these  poor  creatures 
also.  This  good  end,  he  argued,  was  answered  by 
thus  speculating  upon  a  subject  which  we  so  imper- 
fectly understand;  and  such  speculations  might  soften 
and  enlarge  our  hearts. 

The  kindness  of  Wesley's  nature  is  apparent  in 
this  opinion,  and  ihat  same  kindness  produced  in  him 
a  degree  of  charity,  which  has  seldom  been  found  in 
those  who  aspire  to  reform  a  church  or  to  establish  a 
sect.  "We  may  die,"  he  says,  without  the  know- 
ledge of  many  truths,  and  yet  be  carried  into  Abra- 
ham's bosom  ;  but  if  we  die  without  love,  what  will 
knowledge  avail  ?  Just  as  much  as  it  avaih  the  de-__ 
vil  aad  his  angels  !  I  will  not  quarrel  with  you  about 
any  opinion;  only  see  that  your  heart  be  right  to- 
wards God,  that  you  know  and  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  you  love  your  neighbour,  and  walk  as 
your  Master  walked,  and  I  desire  no  more.  I  am  sjck 
of  opinions :  I  am  weary  to  bear  them:  my  soul 
loathes  this  frothy  food.  Give  me  solid  and  substan- 
tial religion  :  give  me  an  humble,  gentle  lover  of  God 
and  man ;  a  man  full  of  mercy  and  good  faith,  without 
partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy;  a  man  laying  him- 
self out  in  the  work  of  faith,  the  patience  of  hope, 
the  labour  of  love.  Let  my  soul  be  with  these 
Christians,  Avheresoever  they  are,  and  whatsoever 
opinion  they  are  of  'Whosoever'  thus  'doth  the 
will  of  my  Father  w  hich  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my 
brother,  and  sister,  and  mother.'  This  temper  of  mind 
led  him  to  judge  kindly  of  the  *  Romanists,  and  of 

*  "  I  read  the  deaths  of  some  of  the  order  of  La  Trappe.  I  am 
amazed  at  the  alloHancc  which  God  makes  for  invincible  ignorance. — 
Notwithstanding  the  mixture  of  superstition  which  appears  in  every  one 
of  these,  yet  what  a  strong  vein  of  piety  runs  through  all !  What  deep 
experience  of  tlie  inward  work  of  God,  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

"  In  riding  from  Evesham  to  Bristol,  I  read  over  that  surprising  book, 
tlie  Life  of  Ignatius  Loyola ;  surely  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  ever 
vas  engaged  in  tlie  support  of  so  bad  a  cause!  I  wonder  any  man' 
ehoidd  judge  him  to  be  an  enthusiast : — no  ;  but  he  knew  the  people 
with  w  hom  he  had  to  do ;  and  setting  out,  like  Count  Zinzendorft".  with 
a  fill!  persuasion  that  he  might  use  guile  to  promote  the  f^Iory  of  God,  <>r 


142   <      Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


*  lieretics  of  every  description,  wherever  a  Christian 
disposition  and  a  virtuous  life  were  found.  He  pub- 
lished the  lives  of  several  Catholics,  and  of  one  fSo- 
cinian,  for  the  edification  of  his  followers.  He 
believed  not  only  tha^^heatJaens,  who  did  their 
duty  according  to  their  knowledge,  were  capable 
of  eternal  life;  but  even  iyhat„a  cpmniu 


(which  he  thought  the  same  thing)  the  interest  of  his  church,  he  acted 
in  all  things  consistent  -with  his  principles." 

*  Of  Pelagius  he  says,  "  by  all  I  can  pick  up  from  ancient  authors,  I 
guess  he  was  both  a  wise  and  a  holy  man  ;  that  we  know  nothing  but  his 
name,  for  his  writings  are  all  destroyed — not  one  line  of  them  left  "  So, 
too,  he  says  of  some  heretics  of  an  earlier  age  ;  "  by  reflecting  on  an  odd 
book  which  I  had  read  in  this  journey,  'The  General  Delusion  of  Chris- 
tians with  regard  to  Prophecy,'  I  was  fully  convinced  of  what  I  had 
long  suspected:  1st,  that  the  Montanists,  in  the  second  and  third  cen- 
turies, were  real  scriptural  Christians  ;  and  2d,  tliat  the  grand  reason 
why  the  miraculous  gifts  were  so  soon  w  ithdrawn,  was  not  only  that 
faith  and  holiness  were  w  ell  nigh  lost,  but  that  dry.  formal,  orthodox 
men  began,  even  then,  to  ridicule  whatever  gifts  they  had  not  themselves, 
and  to  decry  them  all,  as  (  ither  madness  or  imposture."  lie  vindicated 
Scrvetus  also.  "  Being,"  he  says,  "  in  the  Bodleian  library,  1  light  on 
Mr.  Calvin's  account  of  the  case  of  Michael  Servetus,  several  of  whose 
letters  he  occasionally  inserts,  w  herein  Servetus  often  declares  in  terms, 
'  I  believe  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God.' 
Mr.  Calvin,  how  ever,  paints  him  such  a  monster  as  never  was  :  an  Arian, 
a  blasphemer, jind  vvliatnot;  besides  strewing  over  him  his  flowers  of 
dog,  devil,  sivine,  and  so  on,  w  hich  are  the  usual  appellations  he  gives 
to  his  opponents.  But  still  he  utterly  denies  his  being  the  cause  of  Ser- 
vetus's  death.  "  No,"  says  he,  "  I  only  advised  our  magistrates,  as  hav- 
ing a  right,  to  restrain  heretics  by  the  sw  ord,  to  seize  upon  and  try  that 
arch-heretic ;  but,  after  he  was  condemned,  1  said  not  one  word  about 
his  execution." 

He  reverts  to  this  subject  in  his  Remarks  upon  a  Tract  by  Dr.  Erskine. 
"  That  Michael  Scrvetus  was  '  one  of  the  wildest  Anti-Trinitarians  that 
ever  appeared,'  is  by  no  means  clear.  I  doubt  of  it,  on  the  authority  of 
Calvin  himself,  who  certainly  was  not  prejudiced  in  his  favour.  For,  if 
Calvin  does  not  misquote  his  words,  he  was  no  Anti-  f'rinitanan  at  all. 
Calvin  himself  gives  a  quotation  from  one  of  his  letters,  in  which  he  ex- 
pressly declares,  'I  do  believe  the  Father  is  God  the  Son  is  God,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  God  ;  but  I  dare  not  use  the  word  Trinity,  or  person.' 
I  dare,  and  1  tliink  them  very  good  words:  but  I  should  think  it  very 
hard  to  be  burnt  alive  for  not  using  them,  especially  wfith  a  slow  lire, 
made  of  moist  gre(!n  wood.  I  believe  Calvin  was  a  great  instrument  of 
God  ;  and  that  he  was  a  wise  and  pious  man  but  I  cannot  but  advise 
those  who  love  his  memory,  to  le.t  Servetus  alone." 

I  Thomas  Firmin.  AVesley  prefaces  the  life  of  this  good  man  in  his 
magazine  with  these  words:  "I  was  exceedingly  struck  at  reading  the 
following  life,  having  long  settled  it  in  my  mind,  that  the  entertaining 
wrong  notions  concerning  the  Trinity,  was  inconsistent  with  real  pietj-. 
But  I  cannot  argue  against  matter  of  fact.  I  dare  not  deny  that  Mr.  Fir- 
min was  a  pious  man,  although  his  notions  of  the  Trinity  were  quite  er- 
roneous.'' 


Wesley's  doctrines  and  opinions. 


113 


the  spiritual  world  had  sometimes  been  vouchsafed 
them.    Thus,  he  affirmed,  that  the  demon  of  So- 
crates was  a  ministering  angel,  and  that  Marcus 
Antoninus*  received  good  inspirations,  as  he  has  as- 
serted of  himself    And  where  there  was  no  such  in- 
dividual excellence,  as  in  these  signal  instances,  he 
refused  to  believe  that  any  man  could  be  precluded 
from  salvation  by  the  accident  of  his  birth-place. 
Upon  this  point  lie  vindicated  divine  justice,  by  con- 
sidering the  different  relation  in  which  the  Almighty 
istands  to  his  creatures,  as  a  creator  and  as  a  govern- 
or.   As  a  creator,  he  acts  in  all  things  according  to 
his  own  sovereign  will :  in  that  exercise  of  his  power, 
justice  can  have  no  place ;  for  nothing  is  due  to  what 
has  no  being.    According,  therefore,  'o  his  own  good 
pleasure,  he  allots  the  time,  the  place,  the  circum- 
stances for  the  birth  of  each  individual,  ynd  gives 
them  various  degrees  of  understanding  and  of  know- 
ledge, diversified  in  numberless  ways,    "-It  is  hard 
to  say  how  far  this  extends :  what  an  amazing  differ-  • 
ence  tliere  is  between  one  born  and  bred  up  in  a 
pious  English  family,  and  one  born  and  bred  among 
the  Hottentots.    Only  we  are  sure  the  difference 
cannot  be  so  great,  as  to  necessitate  one  to  be  good, 
or  the  other  to  be  evil ;  to  force  one  ij^to  everlasting 
glory,  or  the  other  into  everlasting  burnings."  For, 
as  a  governor,  the  Almighty  cannot  possibly  act  ac- 
cording to  his  own  mere  sovereign  will ;  but,  as  he 
has  expressly  told  us,  according  to  the  invariable 
rules  both  of  justice  and  mercy.    Whatsoever,  there- 
fore, it  hath  pleased  him  to  do  of  his  sovereign  plea- 
sure as  Creator,  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteous- 
ness, and  every  man  therein,  according  to  the  strict- 
est justice.    He  will  punish  no  man  for  doing  any 
thing  which  he  could  not  possibly  avoid ;  neither 

*  "I  read  to-day,  part  of  the  meditations  of  Mnrciis  Antoninus.  What 
a  strange  emperor !  and  what  a  strange  heath*  n  !  givinj;  thanks  to  God 
lor  all  the  good  things  ho  enjoyed  !  iu  particular  for  bis  good  inspira- 
tions, and  for  twice  revealing  to  him  in  dreams  tilings  whereby  lie  "vas 
cured  of,  othrrwise  incurable,  dii-tcmpers.  I  make  ni>  donbt  b-it  this  is 
one  of  those  viamf  who  shall  cnnie  from  the  East  and  the  W-^r  and  sit 
down  with  Jlhraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  while  the  children  of  the  kingdom  , 
nominal  Christians,  are  shut  out. 


J  41  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 

for  omitting  any  thing  which  he  could  not  possibly 
do." 

Wesley  was  sometimes  led  to  profess  a  different 
doctrine,  in  consequence  of  discussing  questions 
whicli  serve  rather  to  sharpen  the  disputatious  facul- 
ties tlian  to  improve  a  Christian  disposition.  Thus, 
he  has  affirmed,  in  the  Minutes  of  Conference,  that  a 
Heathen,  a  Papist,  or  a  Church-of-England-man,  if 
they  die  without  being  sanctified,  according  to  his 
notions  of  sanctification,  cannot  see  the  Lord.  And 
to  the  question.  Can  an  unbehever,  whatever  he  be 
in  other  respects,  challenge  any  thing  of  G  od's  justice  ? 
The  answer  is,  "  absolutely  nothing  but  hell."  But 
the  humaner  opinion  was  more  congenial  to  his  tem- 
per, and  in  that  better  opinion  he  rested. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

DISCIl'LtNE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 

It  is  less  surprising  that  Wesley  should  have  ob- 
tained so  many  followers,  than  that  he  should  have 
organized  them  so  skilfully,  and  preserved  his  power 
over  them  without  diminution,  to  the  end  of  his  long 
life.  Francis  of  Assissi,  and  Ignatius  Loyola,  would 
have  produced  little  effect,  marvellous  enthusiasts  as 
they  were,  unless  their  enthusiasm  had  been  assisted 
and  directed  by  wiser  heads.  Wesley,  who  in  so  ma- 
ny other  respects  may  be  compared  to  these  great 
agents  in  the  Catliolic  world,  stands  far  above  them  in 
this.  He  legislated  for  the  sect  which  he  raised,  and 
exercised  an  absolute  supremacy  over  his  people. 
"  The  power  I  liave."  says  he,  "  I  never  .sought :  it 
was  the  undesired,  unexpected  result  of  the  work 
God  was  pleased  to  work  by  me.  1  have  a  thousand 
times  sought  to  devolve  it  on  others;  but  as  yet  I 
cannot ;  I  therefore  suffer  it,  till  I  can  find  any  to  ease 
me  of  ray  burden."    That  time  never  arrived.  It 


DISCIPLINE   OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


14j 


was  convenient  for  the  society  that  he  should  be  real- 
ly, as  well  as  ostensibly  their  head  ;  and,  however  he 
inav_have  deceix£iLhiiflselt,  the  love  of  power  was^a 
nniii^.Ji2;Ssi!ay.  in  his  mind. 

The  question  was  asked,  at  one  of  the  Confer- 
ences, what  the  power  was  which  he  exercised  over 
all  (he  Methodists  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  It 
was  evidently  proposed,  that  he  might  have  an  op- 
portunity of  defining  and  asserting  it.  He  began  his 
reply  by  premising,  that  Coui)t  Zinzendorf  loved  to 
keep  all  things  closely,  but  that  he  loved  to  do  all 
things  openly,  and  would  therefore  tell  them  all  he 
knew  of  the  matter.  A  few  persons,  at  the  begin- 
ning, came  to  him  in  London,  and  desired  him  to  ad- 
vise and  pray  with  them :  others  did  the  same  in  va- 
rious parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  they  increased  every 
where.  '-The  desire,''  said  he,  was  on  their  part, 
not  on  mine:  my  desire  was  to  live  and  die  in  re- 
tirement; but  I  did  not  see  that  I  could  refuse  them 
my  help,  and  be  guiltless  before  God.  Here  com- 
menced my  power;  namely,  a  power  to  appoint 
when,  where,  and  how  they  should  meet:  and  to  re- 
move those  whose  life  showed  that  tliey  had  no  desire 
to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  And  this  power  re- 
mained the  same,  whether  the  people  meeting  toge- 
ther were  twelve,  twelve  hundred,  or  twelve  thou- 
sand." In  a  short  time  some  of  these  persons  said 
they  would  not  sit  under  him  for  nothing,  but  would 
subscribe  quarterly.  He  made  answer, lhat  he  would 
have  nothing,  because  he  wanted  nothing;  for  his 
fellowship  supplied  him  with  all,  and  more  than  all 
he  wanted.  But  they  represented  that  money  was 
wanted  to  pay  for  the  lease  of  the  Foundry,  and 
for  putting  it  in  repair.  Upon  that  ground  he  suf- 
fered them  to  subscribe.    "  Then  I  asked,"  said  he 

who  will  take  the  trouble  of  receiving  this  money, 
and  paying  it  where  it  is  needful  One  said,  I  will 
do  it,  and  keep  the  account  for  you :  so  here  was 
the  first  steward.  Afterwards  I  desired  one  or  two 
more  to  help  me  as  stewards;  and,  in  process  of 
time,  a  greater  number.  Let  it  be  remarked,  it  was 
I  myself,  not  the  people,  who  chose  the  stewards, 

vol-.  11.  19 


146 


DISCIPLINE   OF   THE  JIKTHODISTS. 


and  appointed  to  each  the  distinct  work  wherein  he 
was  to  help  me  as  long  as  1  chose."  The  same  pre- 
scription lie  pleaded  with  regard  to  his  authority 
over  the  iay-preac!iers.  Tiie  tirst  of  these  offered 
to  serve  him  as  sons,  as  he  should  think  proper  to 
direct.  "  Observe,"  said  he,  "  these  likewise  de- 
sired 7ne,  not  I  the/n.  And  here  commenced  my 
power  to  appoint  each  of  these,  when,  where,  and 
how  to  labour;  that  is,  while  he  chose  to  continue 
with  me;  for'eacli  had  a  power  to  go  away  when  he 
pleased,  as  I  had  also  to  go  away  from  them,  or  any 
of  them,  if  I  sa'.v  sutficient  cause.  The  case  conti- 
nued the  same  when  the  number  of  preachers  in- 
creased. !  had  just  the  same  power  still  to  appoint 
when,  and  where,  and  how  each  should  help  me  : 
and  to  tcil  ativ,  if  I  saw  cause,  '  I  do  not  desire  your 
help  any  longer.'  On  these  terms,  and  no  other,  we 
joined  at  tirst;  on  these  we  continue  joined.  They 
do  me  no  favour  in  being  directed  hy  me.  It  is  true 
my  reward  is  with  the  Lord;  but  at  present  I  have 
nothing  Irom  it  but  trouble  and  care,  and  often  a 
burden  I  scarce  know  how  to  bear." 

His  power  over  tlie  Conference  he  rested  upon 
the  same  plea  of  prescription;  but  it  had  originated 
with  himself;  not  like  his  authority  over  the  preach- 
ers and  the  laity,  in  a  voluntary  ofter  of  obedience. 
He,  of  his  own  impulse,  had  invited  several  clergy- 
men, who  acted  with  him,  and  all  the  lay-preachers 
M'lio  at  tfiat  time  served  him  as  sons  in  the  gospel,  to 
meet  and  advise  with  hini.  "  llicy  did  not  desire 
the  meeting,''  said  he,  "  but  /  did,  knowing  that,  in  a 
multitude  of  counsellors,  there  is  safety.  And  when 
their  number  iiicreased,  so  that  it  was  neither  need- 
ful nor  convenient  to  invite  them  ail,  for  several 
years,  I  wrote  to  those  with  whom  I  desired  to  con- 
fer, and  these  only  met  at  the  place  appointed ;  till 
at  lengtii  i  gave  a  general  permission,  thnt  all  who 
desired  it  might  come.  Observe:  I  myself  sent  for 
these,  of  my  own  free  choice  ;  and  I  sent  for  them  to 
advise,  not  govern  me.  Neither  did  I,  at  any  of 
those  times,  divest  myself  of  any  part  of  tliat  power 
which  the  providence  of  God  had  cost  upon  me. 


DISCIPLINE   OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


147 


witliout  any  design  or  choice  of  mine.  What  is  that 
power?  It  is  a  power  ofadmitting  into,  and  excluding 
t'rom,  the  societies  under  my  care:  of  choosing  and 
removing  stewards  ;  of  receiving,  or  not  receiving 
helpers;  of  appointing  them  when,  where,  and  how 
to  help  me  ;  and  of  desiring  any  of  them  to  meet  me, 
when  1  see  good.  And  as  it  was  merely  in  obe- 
dience to  the  providence  of  God,  and  for  the  good 
of  the  people,  (hat  I  at  first  accepted  this  power, 
which  I  never  sought;  nay,  a  hundred  times  labour- 
ed to  throw  off;  so  it  is  on  the  same  considerations, 
not  for  profit,  honour,  or  pleasure,  that  I  use  it  at 
this  day." 

In  reference  to  himself,  as  the  person  in  wliomthe 
whole  and  sole  authority  was  vested,  Wesley  called 
his  preachers  by  the  name  of  helpers  ;  and  desig- 
nated as  assistants  those  among  them  who,  for  the 
duties  which  tliey  discharge,  have  since  been  deno- 
minated superintendents.  It  soon  became  expedient 
to  divide  the  country  into  circuits.  There  were,  in 
the  year  1749,  twenty  in  England,  two  in  Wales,  two 
in  Scotland,  and  seven  in  Ireland.  In  1791,  the  year 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  death,  they  liad  increased  to  seventy- 
two  in  England,  three  in  Wales,  seven  in  Scotland, 
and  twenty-eight  in  Ireland.  Every  circuit  had  a 
certain  number  of  preachers  appointed  to  it,  more 
or  less,  according  to  its  extent,  under  an  assistant, 
whose  office  it  was  to  admit  or  expel  members,  take 
lists  of  the  societies  at  Easter,  Iiold  quarterly  meet- 
ings, visit  the  classes  quarterly,  keep  watch-nights 
and  love-feasts,  superintend  the  other  preachers, 
and  regulate  t!ie  whole  business  of  the  circuit,  spi- 
ritual and  temporal. 

The  helpers  were  not  admitted  indiscriminately: 
gifls^  as  well  as  grace  for  the  work,  were  required. 
An  aspirant  was  first  examined  concerning  his  theo- 
logical knowledge,  that  it  might  be  seen  whether  his 
opinions  were  sound  :  he  was  tlien  to  exhibit  his  gift 
of  utterance,  by  preachi-ng  before  Mr.  Wesley  ;  and 
afterwards  to  give,  either  orally  or  in  writing,  his 
reasons  for  thinking  that  he  was  called  of  God  to  the 
ministry.    The  best  proof  of  this  was,  that  some 


148 


DiSCIi'LINE  OF   THE  METHODISTS. 


persons  should  have  been  convinced  of  sin,  and  con- 
verted by  his  preachiiig.  II'  a  right  belief  and  a 
ready  utterance  were  I'ound,  and  these  fruits  had 
followed,  the  concurrence  of  the  tliree  marks  was 
deemed  suflicient  evidence  of  a  divine  call:  he  was 
admitted  on  probation;  with  a  caution,  that  he  was 
not  to  ramble  up  and  down,  but  to  go  where  the  as- 
sistant should  direct,  and  there  only;  and,  at  the 
ensuing  conference,  he  might  be  received  into  full 
conn(.xion.  After  a  while  the  time  of  probation  was 
found  too  short,  and  was  extended  to  four  years. 

The  rules  of  a  helper  are  strikingly  characteristic 
of  Wesley,  both  in  their  manner  and  tlieir  spirit. 

"  1.  Be  diligent.  Never  be  unemployed  a  mo- 
ment :  never  be  triflingly  employed.  Never  while 
away  time  ;  neither  spend  any  more  time  at  any  place 
than  is  strictly  necessary. 

2.  Be  serious.  Let  your  motto  be.  Holiness  to 
the  Lord.  Avoid  all  lightness,  jesting,  and  foolish 
talking. 

3.  Converse  sparingly  and  cautiously  with  women  ; 
particularly  with  young  women  in  private. 

4.  Take  no  step  towards  marriage  without  first  ac- 
quainting us  with  your  design. 

5.  Belicve  eyil.pf  one^  urdessyou  see  it  done, 
take  heecT'fiow  you  credit  it.  Piitjlhe  bestjcfliigtruc- 
tion  on  every  thing:  you  know  the  judge  is  always 
suppdsedTo  be  on  the  prisoner's  side. 

6.  Speak  evil  of  no  one ;  elseyo?«-  word,  especial- 
ly, would  eat  as  doth  a  canker.  Keep  your  thoughts 
within  your  own  breast,  till  you  come  to  the  person 
concerned. 

7.  Tell  every  one  what  you  think  wrong  in  him, 
and  that  plainly,  and  as  soon  as  may  be,  else  it  will 
fester  in  your  heart.  Make  all  haste  to  cast  the  fire 
out  of  your  bosom. 

8.  Do  not  affect  the  gentleman.  You  have  no 
more  to  do  with  this  character  than  with  that  of  a 
dancing-master.  A  preacher  of  the  gospel  is  the 
servant  of  all. 

9.  Be  ashamed  of  nothing  but  sin ;  not  of  fetching 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


^vood  (if  time  permit)  or  of  drawing  water;  not  of 
cleaning  your  own*  shoes,  or  your  neighbours. 

10.  Be  punctual.  Do  every  thing  exactly  at  the 
time  :  and,  in  general,  do  not  mend  our  rules,  but 
keep  them ;  not  lor  wrath,  but,  for  conscience  sake. 

11.  You  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  save  souls. 
Therefore  spend  and  be  spent  in  this  work.  And 
go  always,  not  only  to  those  who  want  you,  but  to 
those  who  want  you  most. 

--^12.  Act  in  all  things,  not  according  to  your  own 
will,  but  as  a  son  in  the  gospel.^-  As  such,  it  is  your 
part  to  employ  your  time  in  the  manner  which  we  di- 
rect; partly  in  preaching  and  visiting  the  llock  from 
house  to  house;  partly  in  readitig,  meditation,  and 
prayer.  Above  all,  if  you  labour  with  us  in  our 
Lord's  vineyard,  it  is  needful  that  you  should  do  i'laf: 
part  of  the  work  which  we  advise,  at  (hose  times  and 
places  wiiich  we  judge  most  for  his  glory  " 

Thus  did  Wesley,  who  had  set  so  bad  an  exam- 
ple of  obedience,  exact  it  from  his  own  followers  as 
rigidly  as  the  founder  of  a  monastic  order.  Like 
those  founders,  also,  he  invited  his  disciples  to  enter 
upon  a  course  of  life  which  it  required  no  small  de- 
gree of  enthusiasm  and  of  resolution  to  embrace. 
The  labour  was  hard,  the  provision  scanty,  and  the 
prospect  for  those  who  w  ere  superannuated,  or  worn 
out  in  the  service,  was,  on  tljis  side  the  grave,  as 
cheerless  as  it  well  could  be.  When  a  preacher  was 
admitted  into  full  connexion,  he  paid  one  guinea, 
and  i'rom  that  time  half  a  guinea  annually,  toward 
the  preachers'  fund.     If  he  w  ithdrew  from  the  con- 

*  "  Respecting  these  golden  rules,"  says  Mr.  Crowther,  "  it  may  be 
proper  to  observe,  '  afi(;cting  the  gentleman'  was  not  dosis;ned  to  coun- 
tenance clownishness,  or  any  thing  contrary  to  true  Christian  courtesy. 
And  wiien  it  is  said,  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  is  the  servant  of  a!!, "it 
certainly  was  not  meant  to  insinuate  that  a  preacher  was  to  be  set  to 
do  the  lowest  and  most  slavish  drudgery  which  any  person  could  find 
for  him  to  do.  I  presume  the  servant  of  God  is  the  servant  of  all  in 
gospel  labours,  and  in  nothing  else.  And  though  he  may  not  be  asham- 
ed of  cleaning  his  own  shoes,  or  the  shoes  of  others,  yet.  I  apprehend, 
they  ought  to  be  '  ashamed'  who  would  expect  or  suffer  him  so  to  do, 
especially  such  as  are  instructed  and  profited  by  his  ministerial  labours. 
And  surely  they  ought  to  feel  some  shame  also,  who  would  suffer  the 
preacher  to  go  from  place  to  place,  day  after  day,  with  his  shoes  and 
boots  uncleaned." 

Portraiture  of  Methodism,  p.  277. 


150 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  BIETHODISTS. 


nexion,  all  that  he  had  subscribed  was  returned  to 
him;  but  if  lie  lived  to  be  disabled,  he  received  from 
the  fund  an  annuity,  which  should  not  be  less  than 
ten  pounds;  and  his  widow  was  entitled  to  a  sum, 
according;  to  the  exigence  of  the  case,  but  not  ex- 
ceeding forty. 

Sonic  of  the  itinerant  preachers,  at  one  time,  en- 
tered into  trade;  the  propriety  of  this  was  discussed 
in  Conference  :  it  was  pronounced  evil  in  itself,  and 
in  its  consequences,  and  they  were  advised  to  give 
up  every  husiness,  except  the  ministry,  to  which  they 
were  pledged.  There  was  another  more  easy  and 
tempting  way  of  eking  out  their  scanty  stipends,  by 
printing  their  own  spiritual  effusions,  and  availing 
tlicmsGSvcs  of  the  opportunities  afforded,  by  the  sys- 
tem of  itip.crancy,  for  selling  tliem.  But  Mr.  Wesley 
was  iiirnsc^lf  a  most  vo'umiii-jus  author  and  compiler: 
the  j)rofils  arising  fi'om  iiis  publications  were  applied 
in  aid  of  the  expenses  of  the  society,  which  increased 
faster  than  their  means:  the  Methodists,  for  the  most 
part,  had  neither  time  to  spare  for  reading,  nor  mo- 
ney for  books;  and  the  preachers,  who  consulted 
their  own  individual  advantage,  in  this  manner,  injur- 
ed the  gevioral  fund,  in  proportion  as  they  were  suc- 
cessful; it  v.as  therefore  determined,  in  Conference, 
that  no  preacher  should  prin.tany  tiling  without  Mr. 
Wesley's  consent,  nor  till  it  had  been  corrected  by 
him.  The  productions  which  some  of  them  had  set 
forth, both  in  verse  and  prose,  were  censured  as  having 
brought  a  great  reproach  upon  the  society,  and 
'•much  liindered  the  spreading  of  more  profitable 
books:"  and  a  regulation  was  made,  that  the  profits, 
even  of  those  which  might  be  approved  and  licensed 
by  the  founder,  should  go  into  the  common  stock. 
But  with  reg;ird  to  those  which  he  himself  had  pub- 
lished for  the  benefit  of  the  society,  and  some  of 
which,  he  said,  ought  to  be  in  every  house,  Wesley 
charged  the  preachers  to  exert  themselves  in  finding 
sale  for  th:>m.  "Carry  them  with  you,"  said  he, 
"  tiirougii  every  round.  "  Exert  yourselves  in  this:  be 
not  ashamed  ;  be  not  weary ;  leave  no  stone  unturn- 
ed."   Being  cut  ofT  from  the  resources  of  authorship, 


DISCIPLLNE   OF   THE  METHODISTS. 


some  of  them  began  to  quack*  for  the  body  as  well 
as  the  soul ;  and  this  led  to  a  decision  in  Conference, 
that  no  preacher,  who  would  not  relinquish  his  trade 
of  making  and  vending  pills,  drops,  balsams,  or  me- 
dicines of  any  kind,  should  be  considered  as  a  travel- 
ling preacher  any  longer.  If  their  wives  sold  these 
things  at  home,  it  was  said  to  be  well ;  "  but  it  is  not 
proper  for  any  preacher  to  hawk  them  about.  It  has 
a  bad  appearance;  it  does  not  well  suit  the  dignity 
of  his  calling." 

They  were  restricted  also  from  many  indulgencies. 
It  was  not  in  Wesley's  power,  because  of  the  age 
and  country  in  which  he  lived,  to  bind  liis  preachers 
to  a  prescribed  mode  of  living  by  an  absolute  rule; 
but  he  attempted  to  affect  it,  as  far  as  circumstances 
would  allow.  They  were  on  no  account  to  touch  snuff^ 
nor  to  taste  spiritous  liquors  on  any  pretence^  "  Do 
you,"  said  he,  "  deny  yourselves  every  useless  plea- 
sure of  sense,  imagination,  honour  ?  Are  you  tem- 
perate in  all  things  ?  To  take  one  instance, — in  food  ? 
Do  you  use  only  that  kind,  and  that  degree  whicITls 
best  both  for  the  body  and  soul  ?  Do  you  see  the 
necessity  of  this Do  you  eat  no  flesh  suppers  ?  no 
late  suppers  ?  these  naturally  tend  to  destroy  bodily 
health.  Do  you  eat  only  three  meals  a-day  ?  if  lour, 
are  you  not  an  excellent  pattern  to  the  flock  ?  Do 
you  take  no  more  food  than  is  necessary  at  each  meal.'* 
you  may  know  if  you  do,  by  a  load  at  your  stomach  ; 
by  drowsiness  or  heaviness  ;  and,  in  a  while,  by  weak 
or  bad  nerves.  Do  you  use  only  that  kind  and  that 
degree  of  drink  which  is  best  both  for  your  body  and 
soul?  Do  you  drink  water  Why  not  .-^  Did  you 
ever Why  did  you  leave  it  oflT,  if  not  for  health  ? 
When  will  you  begin  again  ?  to-day  ?  Ho\v  often_do 
you  dijjik  wine  or  ale  ?  Every  day  ?  Do  you  tvant, 
or  waste  it.'*"  He  declared  his  own  purpose,  of  eat- 
ing only  vegetables  on  Fridays,  and  taking  only  toast 

*  The  Baptists  used  to  tolerate  such  quiick(;ry  in  their  ministers. 
Crobby,  iu  his  history  of  that  sect,  contrived  to  inform  the  reader,  that 
h'.;  continued  to  prepare  and  sell  a  certain  wonderful  tincture,  and  cer- 
tain sugar-plumbs  for  children,  "  which  have  been  found  to  bring  from 
li'.cm  many  strange  and  monstrous  worms." — Vol.  iii.  p.  147. 


152 


UISCIFLINK   OK   THE  METHODISTS. 


and  water  in  the  morning ;  and  he  expected  the 
preachers  to  observe  the  same  kind  of  fast. 

The  course  of  life  which  was  prescribed  for  the 
preachers,  left  them  little  opportunity  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  domestic  life.  Home  could  scarcely  be  re- 
garded as  a  resting  place  by  men  who  were  never  al- 
lowed to  be  at  rest.  Wesley  insisted  upon  a  frequent 
and  regular  change  of  preachers,  because  he  well 
knew  that  the  attention  of  the  people  was  always  ex- 
cited by  a  new  performer  in  the  pulpit.  "_lj£cuivvj" 
said  he,  "were  I  to  preach  one  whole  ygaiUJi,<Hie 
pKceTT' should  preach  both  ^^y^G^(^^}}^J^[}J..SQilg£^ 
gatlon  asleep.  Nor  can  I  be^fieviTit^vas  ever  the 
will  of  the  Lord  that  any  congregation  shouTct  haiie^ 
on§  teacher  only.  We  have  found,  by  long  and  con- 
stant experience,  that  a  frequent  chaiig^e  of  teachers 
is  best.  This  preacher  lias  one  talent,  that  another. 
No  one  whom  1  ever  yet  knew  has  all  the  talents 
which  are  needful  for  beginning,  continuing,  and  per- 
fecting the  work  of  grace  in  a  whole  congregation." 
The  institutions  of  the  Jesuits  allowed  an  itinerant 
father  of  the  company  to  remain  three  months  in  a 
place,  unless  any  other  terra  were  specified  in  his  in- 
structions: but  Wesley  went  further,  and  thought  it 
it)jurious  both  to  the  preacher  and  people,  if  one  of 
his  itinerants  should  stay  six  or  eight  weeks  together 
in  one  place.  "  Neither,"  said  he,  "  can  he  find 
matter  for  preaching  every  morning  and  evening; 
nor  will  the  people  come  to  hear  him.  Hence  he 
grows  cold  by  lying  in  bed,  and  so  do  the  people; 
wlicreas,  if  he  never  stays  more  than  a  fortnight  to- 
gether in  one  place,  he  may  find  matter  enough,  and 
the  people  will  gladly  hear  him."  These  frequent 
changes  were  so  gratifying  to  the  people,  that  the 
trustees  of  a  meeting-house  once  expressed  an  appre- 
hensiori  lest  the  Conference  should  impose  one 
preaclier  on  them  for  many  years;  and,  to  guard 
against  this,  a  provision  was  inserted  in  the  deed,  that 
"the  same  preacher  should  not  be  sent,  ordinarily, 
above  o  ie,  never  above  two  years  together."  There 
may.  perhaps,  hive  been  auother  inoiivc  i'l  Wesley's 
mind:  a  preacher,  who  found  himself  comfortably 


DISCIPLINE   OP  THE  MKTH0D1ST9. 


-settled,  with  a  congregation  to  whom  he  had  made, 
himself"  agreeable,  might  be  induced  to  take  root 
there,  throw  off  his  dependence  upon  the  connexion, 
and  set  up  a  meeting  of  his  own.  Instances  of  such 
defection  were  not  wanting,  and  the  frequent  change 
*  of  preachers  was  the  likeliest  means  of  preventing 
them. 

No  preacher,  according  to  a  rule  laid  down  by 
Conference,  was  to  preach  oftener  than  twice  on  a 
week-day,  or  three  times  on  the  Sabbath.  One  of 
these  sermons  was  always  to  be  at  five  in  the  morn- 
ing, whenever  twenty  hearers  could  be  brought  to- 
gether. Asjlie  apostolicElij^  used  to  say  to  stu- 
dents, LoolTTo  it  tliat  ye  be  morning  birds  !  so  Wes- 
ley continually  inculcated  the  duty  of  early  rising,  as 
equally  good  for  body  and  soul.  It  helps  the 
nerves,''  he  said,  "  better  than  a  thousand  medicines  ; 
and  especially  preserves  the  sight,  and  prevents  low- 
ness  of  spirits.  Early  preaching,"  he  said,  "is  the 
glory  of  the  Methodists.  Whenever  this  is  dropped, 
they  will  dwindle  t  away  into  nothing."  He  advised 
his  preachers  to  begin  and  end  always  precisely  at 
the  time  appointed ;  and  always  to  conclude  the  ser- 

*  "  The  people,"  says  Mr.  Crowther,  "  ought  to  gel  great  good  from 
the  constant  change  of  the  preachers ;  for,  to  the  preachers,  it  is  pro- 
ductive of  many  inconveniGiices  and  painful  exercises." 

f  The  importance  which  he  attached  to  this  custom  appears  in  his 
Journal.  "  1  was  surprised  when  1  came  to  Chester,  to  find  that  there 
also  morning  preacliing  was  quite  left  off;  for  this  worthy  reason,  be- 
cause the  people  will  not  come,  or,  at  least,  not  in  the  winter  :  if  so,  the 
Methodists  are  a  fallen  people.  Here  is  proof:  they  have  lost  their  first 
love  ;  and  they  never  will  or  can  recover  it  till  they  do  the  first  works- — 
As  soon  as  I  set  foot  in  Georgia,  I  began  preaching  at  five  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  and  every  communicant,  that  is,  every  serious  person  in  the  towu, 
constantly  attended  throughout  the  year:  I  mean,  came  every  morning 
winter  and  summer,  unless  in  the  case  of  sickness.  They  did  so  till  I 
left  the  province.  In  the  year  1738,  when  God  began  his  great  work  in 
England,  I  began  preaching  at  the  same  hour,  winter  and  summer,  and 
rjever  wanted  a  congregation.  If  they  w  ill  not  attend  now,  they  have 
lost  their  zeal,  and  then,  it  cannot  be  denied,  they  are  a  fallen  people; 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  Ave  are  labouring  to  secure  the  preaching-houses 
to  the  next  generation  !  In  the  name  of  God,  let  us.  if  possible,  securf; 
the  present  generation  from  drawing  hack  fo  perdition.  Let  all  the 
preachers,  that  are  still  alive  to  God,  join  together  as  one  man,  fast  and 
pray,  lift  up  their  voice  as  a  trumpet,  be  instant  io  season,  and  out  of  sea- 
son, to  convince  them  they  are  fallen,  and  exhort  them  instantly  to  re.pfiU 
and  do  the  first  works  :  this  in  particular,  rising  in  the  morning,  without 
which  neither  their  souls  nor  bodies  can  long  remain  in  bcaltii." 
VOL.  II.  20 


154 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


vice  in  about  an  hour :  to  suit  their  subject  to  the 
audience,  to  choose  the  plainest  texts,  and  keep  close 
to  the  text ;  neither  rambling  from  it,  nor  allegorizing, 
nor  spiritualizing  too  much.  More  than  once  in  his 
Journal  he  has  recorded  the  death  of  men  who  were 
martyrs  to  long  and  loud  preaching,  and  he  frequently 
cautioned  his  followers  against  it.  To  one  of  them 
he  says,  in  a  curious  letter  of  advice,  whicli  he  de- 
sired might  be  taken  as  (he  surest  mark  of  love. 
"  Scream  no  more,  at  the  peril  of  your  soul.  God 
now  warns  you  by  me,  whom  he  has  set  over  you. — 
Speak  as  earnestly  as  you  can,  but  do  not  scream. 
Speak  with  all  your  heart,  but  with  a  moderate  voice. 
It  was  said  of  our  Lord,  '  He  shall  not  cry :''  the  word 
properly  means,  '  He  shall  not  scream^  Herein  be 
a  follower  of  me,  as  I  am  of  Christ.  I  often  speak 
loud,  often  vehemently;  but  I  never  scream.  I  never 
strain  myself :  I  dare  not.  I  know  it  would  be  a  sin 
against  God  and  my  own  soul."  They  were  instruct- 
ed also  not  to  pray  above  eight  or  ten  minutes  at 
most,  without  intermission,  unless  for  some  pressing 
reason. 

Before  an  aspirant  was  admitted  upon  trial  as  an 
itinerant,  he  was  exercised  as  a  local  preacher;  and 
many  persons  remained  contentedly  in  this  humbler 
oflice,  which  neither  took  them  from  their  families, 
nor  interfered  with  their  worldly  concerns.  They 
carried  on  their  business,  whatever  that  might  be, 
six  days  in  the  week,  and  preached  on  the  seventh : 
but  no  person  was  admitted  to  this  rank,  unless  he 
were  thought  competent  by  the  preachers  of  the  cir- 
cuit. The  places  which  they  were  to  visit  were  de- 
termined by  the  assistant,  and  their  conduct  under- 
went an  inquiry  every  quarter.  Without  their  aid, 
Methodism  could  not  have  been  kept  up  over  the 
whole  country,  widely  as  it  was  diffused ;  and  all 
that  they  received  from  the  society  was  a  little  re- 
freshment, at  the  cost  of  the  people  to  whom  they 
preached,  and  perhaps  the  hire  of  a  horse  for  the 
day. 

A  still  more  important  part  was  performed  by  the 
leaders,  who  are  to  Methodism  w  hat  the  non-com- 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS, 


155 


missioned  officers  are  in  an  army.  The  leader  was 
appointed  by  the  assistant :  it  was  his  business  regu- 
larly to  meet  his  class,  question  them,  in  order,  as  to 
their  religious  aflfections  and  practice,  and  advise, 
caution,  or  reprove,  as  the  case  might  require.  If  any 
members  absented  themselves  from  the  class-meet- 
ing, he  was  to  visit  them,  and  inquire  into  the  cause; 
and  he  was  to  render  an  account  to  the  officiating 
preacher  of  those  whose  conduct  appeared  suspi- 
cious, or  was  in  any  way  reprehensible.  By  this 
means,  and  by  the  class-paper  for  every  week,  which 
the  leaders  were  required  to  keep,  and  regularly 
produce,  the  preachers  obtained  a -^knowledge  of 
every  individual  member  within  their  circuit ;  and, 
by  the  class-tickets,  wliich  were  renewed  every  quar- 
ter, a  regular  census  of  the  society  was  effected. — 
The  leaders  not  only  performed  the  office  of  drilling 
the  young  recruits,  Ihey  acted  also  as  the  tax-gather- 
ers, and  received  the  weekly  contributions  of  their 
class,  which  they  paid  to  the  local  stewards,  and  the 
local  stewards  to  the  steward  of  the  circuit. 

Thus  far  the  discipline  of  the  Methodists  was  well 
devised:  if  the  system  itself  had  been  unexception- 
able, the  spiritual  police  was  perfect.  But  they  were 
divided  into  bands  as  well  as  classes;  and  this  sub- 
division, while  it  answered  no  one  end  of  possible 
utility,  led  to  something  worse  than  the  worst  prac- 
tice of  the  Romish  church.  The  men  and  the  women, 
and  the  married  and  the  single,  met  separately  in 
these  bands,  for  the  purpose  of  confessing  to  each 
other.  They  engaged  to  meet  once  a-week  at  least, 
and  to  speak,  each  in  order,  freely  and  plainly,  the 
true  state  of  their  souls,  w  ith  the  faults  they  had  com- 
mitted in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  and  the  temptations 
they  had  felt  during  tlie  week.  They  were  to  be  ask- 
ed "  as  many,  and  as  searching  questions  as  may  be, 
concerning  their  state,  sins,  and  temptations :" — 
These  four,  in  particular,  at  every  meeting :  What 
known  sin  have  you  committed  since  our  last  meet- 
ing .^^  What  temptations  have  you  met  \\'\th?  How 
was  you  delivered.''  What  have  you  thought,  said, 
or  done,  of  which  you  doubt  whether  it  be  sin  or 


io6  PISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


h6t  ?  And  before  any  person  entered  into  one  of 
these  bands,  a  promise  of  the  most  unreserved  open- 
ness was  required.  "  Consider,  do  you  desire  we 
ehould  tell  you  whatsoever  we  think,  whatsoever  we 
fean  whatsoever  we  hear,  concerning  you  ?  Do  you 
desire  that,  in  doing  this,  we  should  come  as  close 
laS  possible  that  we  should  cut  to  the  quick,  and 
search  your  heart  to  the  bottom  ?  Is  it  your  desire 
and  design  to  be  on  thisj  and  all  other  occasions,  en- 
tirely open,  so  as  to  speak  every  thing  that  is  in  your 
heart  without  exception,  without  disguise,  and  with- 
out reserve?"  The  nature,  and  the  inevitable  ten- 
dency of  this  mutual  inquisition,  must  be  obvious  to 
every  retiecting  mind  ;  and  it  is  marvellous,  that  any 
man  should  have  permitted  his  wife*  or  his  daughter 
to  enter  into  these  bands,  where  it  is  not  possible  for 
innocence  to  escape  contaminationf. 

The  instilytion_of  jdie  select  society^or  band  was 
hot  liable  to  tlie  same  objection.  Thislvas  to  consist 
of  persofis  who  were  earnestly  athirst  for  the  full 
image  of  God.  and  of  those  who  continually  w  alked 
U!  the  light  of  God,  having  fellowship  with  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son:  in  other  words,  of  those  who  had 
attained  to  such  a  degree  of  spiritual  pride,  that  they 
professed  to  be  in  this  state, — the  adepts  of  iVJctho- 
dismj  who  were  not  ashamed  to  take  their  degree  as 

*  W^esley  has  himself  recorded  an  instance  of  mischief  arising  from 
these  bands.  "  I  searched  to  the  bottom,"  says  he,  "  a  story  I  had  heard 
in  part,  and  found  it  another  tale  of  real  wo.  Two  of  our  society  had 
Jived  together  in  uncommon  harmony,  when  one,  who  met  in  band  with 
E.  F.,  to  whom  slie  had  mentioned  that  she  hdd  found  a  ttmptation  to- 
ward Dr.  F.,  went  and  told  her  husband  she  was  in  love  with  him,  and 
that  she  li.id  it  tVoni  her  own  moiith.  The  spirit  of  jealousy  seized  him 
ill  a  iiKiMi'  nl,  iiid  utterly  took  away  his  reason.  And  some  one  telling 
him  liis  \\  if'  n  :\s  at  Dr.  F.'s,on  whom  she  had  called  that  afternoon,  he 
iook  a  great  stick,  and  nin  away,  and  meeting  her  in  the  street,  called 
out  Strumpet!  strumpet!  and  struck  her  twice  or  thrice.  He  is  now 
thorous;hiy  convinced  of  her  innocence;  hut  the  water  cannot  be  gather- 
ed up  again.  He  sticks  tht^re — '  I  do  thoroughly  forgive  you.  but  I  can 
never  love  you  more.'  "  After  such  an  example,  Wesley  ought  to  have 
abolished  this  part  of  his  institutions. 

t  In  one  of  his  listters  Wesley  says,  "I  believe  Miss  F.  thought  she 
felt  evil  before  she  did,  and,  by  that  very  thought,  gave  occasion  to  its 
rc-entiance."  And  yet  he  did  not  perceive  the  danger  of  leading  his 
people  into  temptation,  by  making  them  recur  to  every  latent  thought  of 
evil ;  and  compelling  them  to  utter,  with  their  lips,  imaginations  which 
might  otherwise  have  been  suppressed  within  their  hearts  for  ever ! 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


157 


perfect.  "  I  saw,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  it  might  be 
useful  to  give  some  advice  to  those  who  thus  continu- 
ed in  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  which  the  rest 
of  their  brethren  did  not  want,  and  probably  could 
not  receive.  My  design  was  not  only  to  direct  them 
how  to  press  after  perfection,  to  exercise  tlieir  every 
grace,  and  improve  every  talent  they  had  received, 
and  to  incite  them  to  love  one  another  more,  and  to 
watch  more  carefully  over  each  other ;  but  also  to 
have  a  select  company,  to  w  l)om  I  might  unbosom 
myself  on  all  occasions,  without  reserve;  and  whom 
I  could  propose,  to  all  their  brethren,  as  patterns  of 
love,  of  holiness,  and  of  all  good  works.  They  had 
no  need  of  being  encumbered  with  many  rules,  hav- 
ing the  best  rule  of  all  in  their  hearts."  Neverthe- 
less, the  judicious  injunction  was  given  them,  that  no- 
thing which  was  spoken  at  their  meetings  should  be 
spoken  again.  W^esley  says,  he  often  felt  the  ad- 
vantage of  these  meetings,  and  experienced  there, 
that,  in  the  multitude  of  counsellors  there  is  safety. 
But  they  placed  the  untenable  doctrine  of  perfection 
in  so  obtrusive  and  obnoxious  a  light,  that  he  found 
it  difficult  to  maint;5in  them :  and  they  seem  not  to 
have  become  a  regular  part  of  tlie  system. 

The  watch-night  was  another  of  Wesley's  objec- 
tionable institutions.  It  originated  with  some  re- 
claimed colliers;  ofKingswood.  who,  having  been  ac- 
customed to  sit  late  on  SatunJay  nights  at  the  ale- 
house, transferred  their  weekly  meetiiig,  after  their 
conversion,  to  the  school-house,  and  continued  there 
praying  and  singing  hymns,  far  into  the  morning. 
VVcsley  was  advised  to  put  an  end  to  this;  but,  "  up- 
on weighing  the  thing  thoroughly,  and  comparing  it 
with  the  practice  of  the  ancient  Christians,"  he  could 
see  no  cause  to  forbid  it ;  because  he  overlooked  the 
difference  between  their  times  and  his  own,  and  shut 
his  eyes  to  tlie  obvious  impropriety  of  midnight  meet- 
ings. So  he  appointed  them  to  be  held  once  a  month, 
near  the  time  of  full  moon.  "  Exceedingly  great," 
says  he,  "  are  the  blessings  we  have  found  therein: 
it  has  generally  been  an  extremely  solemn  season 
when  the  word  of  God  sunk  deep  into  the  hearts  evei 


158 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  IVIETHODISTS. 


of  those  who  till  then  knew  him  not.  If  it  be  said, 
this  was  only  owing  to  the  novelty  of  the  thing,  (the 
circumstance  which  still  draws  such  multitudes  to- 
gether at  those  seasons,)  or  perhaps  to  the  awful 
stillness  of  the  night,  I  am  not  careful  to  answer  in 
this  matter.  Be  it  so  :  however,  the  impression  then 
made  on  many  souls  has  never  since  been  eftliced. 
Now.  allowing  that  God  did  make  use  either  of  the 
novelty,  or  any  other  indifferent  circumstance,  in  or- 
der to  bring  sinners  to  repentance,  yet  they  are 
brought,  and  herein  let  us  rejoice  together.  Now, 
may  1  not  put  the  case  further  yet  ?  If  I  can  proba- 
bly conjecture,  that  either  by  the  novelty  of  this  an- 
cient custom,  or  by  any  other  indifferent  circum- 
stance, it  is  in  my  power  to  save  a  soul  from  death, 
and  hide  a  multitude  of  sins,  am  I  clear  before  God 
if  I  do  not  ?  If  I  do  not  snatch  that  brand  out  of  the 
burning 

The  practice  w  hich  Wesley  thus  revived  had  been 
discountenanced,  even  in  the  most  superstitious  Ca- 
tholic countries,  for  its  inconvenience,  and  its  mani- 
fest ill  tendency  ;  and  therefore  it  had  long  been  dis- 
used.   While  the  converts  to  his  doctrine  retained 
the  freshness  of  their  first  impression,  watch-nights 
served  to  keep  up  the  feeling  to  the  pitch  at  which 
he  wished  to  maintain  it  ;  and  if  any  person,  who 
was  almost  a  Methodist,  attended  one  of  these  meet- 
ings, the  circumstances  were  likely  to  complete  his 
conversion.   For  the  sake  of  these  advantages,  Wes- 
ley disregarded  the  scandal  which  this  part  of  his 
instittitions  was  sure  to  occasion;  and  he  seems  not 
to  have  considered  the  effect  among  his  own  people, 
when  their  first  fervour  should  have  abated,  and  the 
vigils  be  attended  as  a  mere  formality.  Ile_alfiD_a4iL_ 
pointed  three  love- feasts  in  a  quarter :  one  for  the 
nieriTlt'^^concI  foFtFie  womeiirand  the  third  for  both 
together  ;  "  that  we  might  together  eat  bread,"  he 
says,  "  as  the  ancient  Christians  did,  with  gladness 
and  singleness  of  heart.    At  these  love-feasts  (so  we 
termed  them,  retaining  the  name,  as  well  as  the  thing, 
Avhich  was  in  use  from  the  beginning,)  our  food  is 
only  a  little  plain  cake  and  water  ;  but  we  seldom 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


159 


return  from  them  without  being  fed  not  only  with  the 
meat  which  perisheth,  but  with  that  which  endureth  to 
everlasting  life."'  A  travelhng  preacher  presides  at 
these  meetings  :  any  one  ho  chooses  may  speak; 
and  the  time  is  chiefly  employed  in  relating  w  hat  they 
call  their  Christian  experience.  In  this  point,  also, 
Mr.  Wesley  disregarded  the  offence  which  he  gave, 
by  renewing  a  practice  that  had  notoriously  been 
abolished,  because  of  tlie  abuses  to  which  it  led. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  a  man  of  his  sagacity 
should  have  overlooked  the  objections  to  which  such 
meetings  as  the  watch-nights  and  the  love-feasts 
were  obnoxious  :  his  temper  led  him  to  despise  and 
to  defy  public  opinion  ;  and  he  saw  how  well  these 
practices  accorded  with  the  interests  of  Methodism 
as  a  separate  society.  It  is  not  sufficient  for  such  a 
society  that  its  members  should  possess  a  calm,  set- 
tled principle  of  religion  to  be  their  rule  of  life  and 
their  support  in  trial ;  religion  must  be  made  a  tiling 
of  sensation  and  passion,  craving  perpetually  for 
sympathy  and  stimulants,  instead  of  bringing  with  it 
peace  and  contentment.  The  quiet  regularity  of 
domestic  devotion  must  be  exchanged  lor  public 
performances ;  the  members  are  to  be  prcfessnrs  of 
religion  ;  they  must  have  a  part  to  act,  which  will  at 
once  gratify  the  sense  of  self-importance,  and  afford 
employment  for  the  uneasy  and  restless  spirit  with 
which  they  are  possessed.  Wesley  complained  that 
family  religion  was  the  grand  desideratum  among  the 
Methodists  ;  but,  in  reality,  his  institutions  were  such 
as  to  leave  little  time  for  it,  and  to  take  away  the 
inclination,  by  making  it  appear  flat  and  unprofitable 
after  the  excitement  of  cl  iss-meetings,  band-meet- 
ings, love-feasts,  and  midnight  assemblies. 

Whenever  a  chapel  was  built,  care  was  taken  that 
it  should  be  settled  on  tlie  IMelhodist  plan;  that  is, 
that  the  property  should  be  vested,  not  in  trustees, 
but  in  Mr.  VVesley  and  the  Conference.  The  usual 
form  among  the  dissenters  would  have  been  fatal  to 
the  gfMieral  scheme  of  Methodism  ;  "  because,"  said 
Wesley,  "  wherever  the  trustees  exert  the  power  of 
placing  and  displacing  preachers,  there  itinerant 


160 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


preaching  is  no  more.  When  they  have  found  a 
preaclier  thej  Hke,  the  rotation  is  at  an  end ;  at 
least  till  they  are  tired  of  him,  and  turn  him  out. 
While  he  stays,  the  bridle  is  in  his  mouth.  He  would 
not  dare  speak  the  full  and  the  whole  truth ;  since, 
if  he  displeased  the  trustees,  he  would  be  liable  to 
lose  his  bread  ;  nor  M  ould  he  dare  expel  a  trustee, 
though  ever  so  ungodly,  from  the  society.  The 
power  of  the  trustees  is  greater  than  that  of  any 
patron,  or  of  the  king  himself,  who  could  put  in  a 
preacher,  but  could  not  put  him  out.''''  Thus  he  ar- 
gued, when  a  chapel  at  Birstall  had  been  erroneous- 
ly settled  upon  trustees;  and  the  importance  of  the 
point  M  as  felt  so  strongly  by  the  Conference,  that  it 
was  determined,  in  case  these  persons  would  not 
allow  the  deed  to  be  cancelled,  and  substitute  one 
upon  the  Methodist  plan,  to  make  a  collection 
throughout  the  society,  for  the  purpose  of  purchas- 
ing ground,  and  building  another  chapel  as  near  the 
one  in  question  as  possible. 

Wesley  never  wished  to  have  any  chapel  or  burial- 
ground  consecrated  ;  such  ceremonies  he  thought 
relics  of  popery,  and  flatly  superstitious.  The  im- 
possibility of  having  them  consecrated,  led  him,  per- 
haps, to  consider  the  ceremony  in  this  light,  at  a 
time  when  he  had  not  proceeded  so  far  as  to  exercise 
any  ecclesiastical  function,  for  which  he  Mas  not 
properly  authorized.  The  buildings  themselves 
were  of  the  plainest  kind :  it  was  difficult  to  raise 
money*  even  for  these ;  but  Mr.  Wesley  had  the 

*  The  history  of  one  of  those  chapels,  at  Sheerncss,  is  curious.  "  It 
is  now  finished,"  says  Wesley,  iu  his  Journal  for  1780,  "  but  by  means 
never  heard  of.  The  building  was  undertaken,  a  few  months  since,  by 
.1  little  handful  of  men,  without  any  probable  means  of  finishing;  it:  but 
God  so  moved  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  the  dock,  that  even  those  who 
did  not  pretend  to  any  r('li;;ion,  (■ari)enters,  shipwrights,  labourers,  ran 
up  at  all  their  vacant  hours,  and  worked  with  all  their  might,  without 
any  pay.  By  these  means  a  large  square  house  was  soon  elegantly 
finished,  both  within  and  without.  And  it  is  the  neatest  building,  next 
to  the  new  chapel  in  London,  of  any  in  the  south  of  England." 

A  mecting-hoiise  at  Haslinden,  in  Lancashire,  was  built  for  them  orj 
speculation,  by  a  person  not  connected  with  the  society  in  any  way. 
He  desired  only  three  per  cent,  for  what  he  laid  out  (about  800/.)  pro- 
vided the  seats  let  for  so  much ;  of  which,  says  Wesley,  there  is  little 
doubt.    This  was  in  1788. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


161 


happy  art  of  representing  that  as  a  matter  of  princi- 
ple, which  was  a  matter  of  necessity;  and,  the 
t^Stelessnfiii§_  of  their  chapels,  the  Methodists  were 
onjy  u£on  a  level  vvith  the  dissenters  of  every  de- 
^cripiioii."^^he  *octagon,  wliich,  of  all  architectural 
forms,  is  the  ugliest,  he  preferred  to  any  other,  and 
wished  it  to  be  used  wherever  the  ground  would  per- 
mit :  but  it  has  not  been  generally  followed.  The 
directions  were,  that  the  windows  should  be  sashes, 
opening  downwards ;  that  there  should  be  no  tub- 
pulpits,  and  no  backs  to  the  seats  :  and  that  the  men 
and  women  should  sit  apart.  A  few  years  before  his 
death,  the  committee  in  London  proposed  to  him 
that  families  should  sit  together,  and  that  private 
pews  might  be  erected  ;  "  thus,"  he  exclaims, 
"  overthrowing,  at  one  blow,  the  disciphne  which  I 
have  been  establishing  for  fifty  years!"  But,  upon 
further  consideration,  they  yielded  to  his  opinion. 

He  prided  himself  upon  the  singing  in  his  meet- 
ing-houses :  there  was  a  talent  in  his  family  both  for 
music  and  verse;  and  he  availed  himself,  with  great 
judgment,  of  both.  A  collection  of  hymns  was  pub- 
lished for  the  Society,  some  few  of  which  were  se- 
lected from  various  authors ;  some  were  his  own 
composition;  but  far  the  greater  part  were  by  his 
brother  Charles,  Perhaps  no  poems  have  ever  been 
so  devoutly  committed  to  memory  as  these,  nor 
quoted  so  often  upon  a  death-bed.  The  manner  in 
which  they  were  sung  tended  to  impress  them  strong- 

*  His  predilection  for  this  form  seems  to  have  arisen  from  a  sight  of 
the  Unitarian  meeting-house  at  Norwich,  "  perhaps,"  he  says,  "  the 
most  elegant  one  in  Europe  It  is  eight-square,  built  of  the  finest  brick, 
with  sixteen  sash  windows  below,  as  many  above,  and  eight  sky-lights 
in  the  dome,  which,  indeed,  arc  purely  ornamental.  The  inside  is 
finished  in  the  highest  taste,  and  is  as  clean  as  any  nobleman's  saloon. 
The  communion-table  is  fine  mahogany  :  the  very  latches  of  the  pew 
doors  are  polished  brass.  How  can  it  be  thought  that  the  old  coarse 
Gospel  should  find  admission  here.'"  The  sort  of  humility,  which  is 
implied  in  this  sneer,  is  well  charactered  by  Landor,  when  he  calls  it 

"  A  tattered  garb  that  pride  wears  when  deform'd." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  he  was  struck  by  the  cleanness  of  the  chapel. 
This  carious  item  occurs  in  the  minutes  of  Conference  for  1770. 
"  Q.  23.  Complaint  is  made  that  sluts  spoil  our  houses.    How  can  we 
prevent  this  ?    A.  Let  no  known  slut  live  in  anv  of  them." 
VOL.  II.  21  ' 


162 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  niliTHODlSTS. 


Ij  Oil  the  mind :  liie  tune  was  made  wholly  subservient 
to  the  words,  not  the  words  to  the  tune. 

The  Romanists  are  indebted  for  their  church-music 
to  the  Benedictines,  an  order  to  which  all  Kurope  is 
so  deeply  indebted  for  many  things.  Our  fine  cathe- 
dral service  is  d(>rivcd  from  them  ;  may  it  continue 
forever!  The  psalmody  of  our  churches  was  a  popu- 
lar innovation,  during  the  first  years  of  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  and  the  psalms  of  SternhoUl  and  Hopkins  were 
allowed*  to  be  sung,  not  enjoined.  The  practice, 
however,  obtained ;  and  having  contributed,  in  no 
slight  measure,  to  the  religious  revolution,  when  the 
passion  wherein  it  originated  was  gone  by,  it  became 
a  mere  interlude  in  ihe  service,  serving  no  other  pur- 
pose than  that  of  allowing  a  little  breathing-time  to 
the  minister;  and  the  manner  in  which  this  interval 
is  filled,  where  there  is  no  organ  to  supply  the  want 
of  singers,  or  cover  their  defects,  is  too  often  irreve- 
rent and  disgraceful.  Aware  of  the  great  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  psalmody,  and  with  an  ear,  as  well 
as  an  understanding,  alive  to  its  abuse,  Wesley  made 
it  an  essential  part  of  the  devotional  service  in  his 
chapels  ;  and  he  triumphantly  contrasted  the  prac- 
tice of  his  people,  in  this  respect,  with  that  of  the 
churches.  "  Their  solemn  addresses  to  God,"  said 
he,  "  are  not  interrupted  either  by  the  formal  drawl  of 
a  parish-clerk,  the  screaming  of  boys,  who  bawl  out 
what  they  neither  feel  nor  understand,  or  the  unsea- 
sonable and  unmeaning  impertinence  of  a  voluntary! 
on  the  organ.  When  it  is  seasonable  to  sing  praise 
to  God,  they  do  it  with  the  spirit  and  the  understand- 
ing also;  not  in  the  miserable,  scandalous  doggrel  of 
Hopkins  and  Sternhold,  but  in  psalms  and  hymns, 
which  are  botli  sense  and  poetry,  such  as  would  soon- 
er provoke  a  critic  to  turn  Christian,  than  a  Christian 
to  turn  critic.    What  they  sing  is  therefore  a  proper 

*  '<  Tiioso  who  liavr^  snarchwl  into  tlu;  maUrr  witli  tlie  utmost  care 
;iml  C'.iriosity,"'  says  Collier,  (vol.  ii.  3-26.)  "  could  never  iliscoverany  au- 
thority cither  frem  the  crown  or  the  convocation." 

\  Yet  Wpsloy  has  noticed,  that  he  once  found  at  church  an  uncominoa 
blessing,  when  he  least  of  all  c.Kpccted  it ;  namely,  "  while  the  organist 
was  playing  a  voluntary." 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  METHODISTS. 


1G3 


continuation  of  the  spiritual  and  reasonable  service, 
being  selected  for  that  end;  not  by  a  poor  hum-drum 
wretch,  who  can  scarcely  read  what  he  drones  out 
with  such  an  air  of  importance,  but  by  one  who 
knows  what  he  is  about,  and  how  to  connect  the  pre- 
ceding with  the  following  part  of  the  service.  Nor 
does  he  take  just  '  two  staves,'  but  more  or  less,  as 
may  best  raise  the  soul  to  God  ;  especially  when 
sung  in  well-composed  and  well-adapted  tunes  ;  not 
by  a  handful  of  wild  unawakened  striplings,  but  by 
a  whole  serious  congregation  ;  and  these  not  lolling 
at  ease,  or  in  the  indecent  posture  of  sitting,  drawl- 
ing out  one  word  after  another,  but  all  standing  be- 
fore God,  and  praising  him  lustily,  and  Avith  a  good 
courage."  He  especially  enjoined  that  the  whole 
congregation  should  sing,  that  there  should  be  no  re- 
petition of  words,  no  dwelling  upon  disjointed  sylla- 
bles, and  that  they  should  not  sing  in  parts,  but  with 
one  heart  and  voice,  in  one  simultaneous  and  uninter- 
rupted feeling.* 

The  preachers  were  forbidden  to  introduce  any 
hymns  of  their  own  composing  ;  in  other  respects 
they  had  great  latitude  allowed  them  :  they  might 
use  the  liturgy,  if  they  pleased,  or  an  abridgment  of 
it,  which  Mr.  Wesley  had  set  forth  ;  or  they  might 
discard  it  altogether,  and  substitute  an  extemporane- 
ous service,  according  to  their  own  taste  and  that  of 
the  congregation.  Like  the  Jesuits,  in  this  respect, 
they  were  to  adapt  themselves  to  all  men.  The  ser- 
vice was  not  long :  Wesley  generally  concluded  it 
within  the  hour. 

*  Tliis  fcelinj;,  however,  must  have  l)eer)  disturbed  in  a  strange  man- 
ner, if  the.  preachers  observed  the  directions  of  tlie  first  (conference,  to 
guard  against  formality  in  singing,  by  often  stop[)ing  short,  and  asl<ing 
the  people,  "  Now,  do  you  know  what  you  said  last  P  Did  you  speak  no 
more  than  you  felt  ?  Did  you  sing  it  as  unto  the  Lord,  with  the  spirit  and 
with  the  understandii'.g  also  ?" 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


METHODISM   IN  WALES   AND   IN  SCOTLAND. 

Upon  Wesley's  first  journey  into  Wales,  he  thought 
that  most  of  the  inhabitants  were  indeed  ripe  for  the 
Gospel.  "  I  mean,"  says  he,  if  the  expression  ap- 
pear strange,  they  are  earnestly  desirous  of  being 
instructed  in  it  ;  and  as  utterly  ignorant  of  it  they 
are  as  any  Creek  or  Cherokee  Indian.  I  do  not  mean 
they  are  ignorant  of  the  name  of  Christ :  many  of 
them  can  say  both  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Belief; 
nay,  and  some  all  the  Catechi-m  :  but  take  them  out 
of  the  rood  of  what  they  have  learned  by  rote,  and 
they  know  no  more  (nine  in  ten  of  those  with  whom 
I  conversed)  either  of  Gospel  salvation,  or  of  that 
faith  whereby  alone  we  can  be  saved,  than  Chicali 
or  Tomo  Chachi."  This  opinion  was  formed  during  a 
journey  through  the  most  civilized  part  of  South 
Wales.  He  was  not  deceived  in  judging  that  the 
Welsh  were  a  people  highly  susceptible  of  such  im- 
pressions as  he  designed  to  make  ;  but  he  found  him- 
self disabled  in  his  progress,  by  his  ignorance  of  their 
language.  "  Oh,"  lie  exclaims,  "  what  a  heavy  curse 
was  the  confusion  of  tongues,  and  how  grievous  are 
the  effects  of  it.  All  the  birds  of  the  air,  all  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  understand  the  language  of  their 
own  species  ;  man  only  is  a  barbarian  to  man,  unin- 
telligible to  his  own  brethren  !"  'i  bis  diflficulty  was 
insuperable.  He  found,  however,  a  few  Welsii  cler- 
gymen, who  entered  into  his  views  with  honest  ar- 
dour, and  an  extravagance  of  a  new  kind  grew  up  in 
their  congregations.  After  the  preaching  was  over, 
any  one  who  pleased  gave  out  a  verse  of  a  hymn  ; 
and  this  they  sung  over  and  over  again,  with  all 
their  might  and  main,  thirty  or  forty  times,  till  some 
of  them  worked  themselves  into  a  sort  of  drunken- 
ness or  madness  :  they  were  then  violently  agitated, 
and  leaped  up  and  down,  in  all  manner  of  postures. 


METHODISM  IN  WALES. 


165 


frequently  for  hours  together.  "I  think,"  says  Wes- 
ley, there  needs  no  great  penetration  to  understand 
this.  They  are  honest,  upright  men,  who  really  feel 
the  love  of  God  in  their  hearts  ;  but  they  have  little 
experience  either  of  the  ways  of  God  or  the  devices 
of  Satan;  so  he  serves  himself  by  their  simplicity,  in 
order  to  wear  them  out,  and  to  bring  a  discredit  on 
the  M'ork  of  God."  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
*  Jumpers. 

Ralph  and  Ebenezer  Erskine,  the  remarkable  men 
who  made  the  secession  from  the  Scotch  church,  in- 
vited Whitefield  into  Scotland,  before  his  breach 
with  Wesley.  Accordingly,  in  the  year  174  1,  he  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  ;  and  thinking  it  proper  that 
they  should  have  the  first-fruits  of  his  ministry  in  that 
kingdom,  preached  his  first  s^^rmon  in  the  seceding 
meeting-house  belonging  to  Ralph  Erskine,  at  Dum- 
ferline.  The  room  was  thronged;  and  when  he  had 
named  his  text,  the  rustling  which  was  made  by  the 
congregation  opening  their  bibles  all  at  once  sur- 
prised him,  who  had  never,  till  then,  witnessed  a  si- 
milar practice.  A  few  days  afterwards  he  met  the 
Associate  Presbytery  of  the  Seceders  by  their  own 
desire;  a  set  of  grave  venerable  men.  They  soon 
proposed  to  form  themselves  into  a  presbytery,  and 
were  proceeding  to  choose  a  moderator,  when  Mr. 
Whitefield  asked  them  for  what  purpose  this  was  to 
be  done:  they  made  answer,  it  was  to  discourse  and 
set  him  right  about  the  matter  of  church  government, 
and  the  solemn  league  and  covenant.  Upon  this 
Mr.  Whitefield  observed,  they  might  save  themselves 
the  trouble,  for  he  had  no  scruples  about  it ;  and  that 
settling  church  government,  and  preaching  about 
the  solemn  league  and  covenant,  was  not  his  plan. 
And  then  he  gave  them  some  account  of  the  history 
of  his  own  mind,  and  the  course  of  action  in  which  he 
was  engaged.  This,  however,  was  not  satisfactory 
to  the  Associate  Presbytery,  though  one  of  the  synod 

*  "  At  seven  in  the  morning,"  says  Whitefield,  "  have  I  seen,  pei  iiaps 
ten  thousand,  from  diflcronl  parts,  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon,  crying, 
Gog-iamionf  6e«(/j/i.'h',  ready  to  leap  for  joy."'  Had  tht-y  hccn  repre- 
hended at  that  time,  this  extravagant  folly  might  have  been  prevented. 


166 


MK-THODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


apologised  for  him,  urging  that,  as  he  had  been  born 
and  bred  in  England,  and  had  never  studied  the 
point,  he  could  not  be  supposed  to  be  perfectly  ac- 
quainted With  the  nature  of  their  covenants,  and 
therefore  they  ought  to  liave  patience  with  him. 
Tiiis  was  of  no  avail :  it  was  answered,  that  no  indul- 
gence could  be  shown  him;  for  England  had  revolt- 
ed most  with  respect  to  church  government,  and  that 
he  could  not  but  be  acquainted  with  the  matter  in 
debate.  It  was  a  new  thing  for  Whitefield,  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  receive  homage  wherever  he 
went,  to  be  schooled  in  this  manner ;  but  he  bore 
this  arrogant  behaviour  with  great  complacency,  and 
replied,  that  indeed  he  never  yet  had  studied  the 
solemn  league  and  covenant,  because  he  had  been 
too  busy  about  things  which,  in  his  judgment,  wore 
of  greater  importance.  Several  of  them  then  cried 
out,  that  every  pin  of  the  tabernacle  was  precious. 
Whitefield  was  ready  in  reply:  he  told  them  that, 
in  every  building,  there  were  outside  and  inside 
workmen  ;  that  the  latter  was  at  that  time  his  pro- 
vince; and  that,  if  they  thought  themselves  called 
to  the  former,  they  might  proceed  in  their  own  way, 
as  he  would  do  in  his.  The  power  of  these  per- 
sons, happily,  was  not  so  inquisitorial  as  their  dispo- 
sition ;  and  when  he  seriously  asked  them  what  they 
wished  hiin  to  do,  they  answered,  that  they  did  not 
desire  him  immediately  to  subscribe  to  the  solemn 
league  and  covenant,  but  that  he  would  preach  for 
tlieia  exclusively  til!  he  had  further  light.  "  And 
why  for  them  alone  ?"  he  inquired.  Ralph  Erskine 
made  answer,  "  They  were  the  Lord's  people."  "  I 
then,"  says  Whitefield,  "  asked,  whether  there  were 
no  oilier  Lord's  people  but  themselves.'*  and,  sup- 
posing all  others  were  the  devil's  people,  they  cer- 
tainly," I  told  them,  '•'had  more  need  to  be  preach- 
ed to.  and  thei-efore  I  was  more  and  more  determin- 
ed to  go  out  into  tfie  highways  and  hedges;  and  that 
if  the  Pope  himself  would  lend  me  his  pulpit,  I  would 
gladly  proclaim  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ 
therein."  Soon  after  this  the  company  broke  up ; 
and  one  of  these  otherwise  venerable  men  immedi- 


aiETHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


167 


ately  went  into  the  meeting-house,  and  preached  up- 
on these  words  "Watchman,  what  of  the  night? 
Watchman,  what  of  the  night?  The  watchman 
said,  the  morning  cometh,  and  also  the  night ;  if  ye 
will  inquire,  inquire  ye;  return,  come."  1  attended  ; 
but  the  good  man  so  spent  himself,  in  the  former 
part  of  his  sermon,  in  talking  against  prelacy,  the 
common  prayer  book,  the  surplice,  the  rose  in  the 
hat,  and  such  like  externals,  that,  when  he  came  to 
the  latter  part  of  his  text,  to  invite  poor  sinners  to 
Jesus  Christ,  his  breath  was  so  gone,  that  he  could 
scarce  be  heard.  What  a  pity  that  the  last  was 
not  first,  and  the  first  last  I  The  consequence  of 
all  this  was  an  open  breach.  I  retired,  1  wept,  I 
prayed,  and,  after  preaching  in  the  fields,  sate  down 
and  dined  with  them,  and  then  took  a  firial*  leave. 
At  table,  a  gentlewoman  said,  she  had  heard  that  I 
had  told  some  people  that  the  Associate  Presbytery 
were  building  a  Babel.  I  said,  Madam,  it  is  quite 
true ;  and  I  believe  the  Babel  will  soon  fall  down 

*  In  honour  of  Whitefield,  I  annex  here  part  of  n  letter  upon  this  sub- 
ject, written  a  few  days  after  this  curious  scene,  and  addressed  to  a  son 
of  one  of  the  Erskines.  "The  treatment  I  met  ^\ith  from  the  Associate 
Presbytery  was  not  altogether  such  as  I  expected.  It  grieved  me  as 
much  as  it  did  you.  I  could  scarce  refrain  from  bursting;  into  a  flood  of 
tears.  I  wish  all  were  like-minded  with  your  honoured  father  and  un- 
cle, nialtcrs  then  would  not  be  carried  on  with  so  high  a  hand.  I  fear 
they  arc  led  too  much.  Supposing  the  scheme  of  government  which 
and  long-suffering  is  to  be  exercised  to"  ards  such  as  may  differ  from 
them  :  and,  I  am  verily  persuaded,  there  is  no  such  form  of  govern- 
the  Associate  Presbytery  contend  for,  to  be  scriptural,  yet  forbearance 
ment  prescribed  in  the  book  of  God,  as  excludes  a  toleration  of  all  other 
forms  whatsoever.  Was  the  New  Testametit  outward  tabernacle  to  be 
built  as  punctual  as  the  Old,  as  punctual  directions  would  have  been  giv- 
en about  the  building  it;  whereas  it  is  only  deduced  by  inference ;  and 
thus  \vc  see  Independents,  Presbyterians,  and  Episcopalians  bring  the 
same  text  to  support  their  particular  scheme  :  and  I  believe  Jesus  Christ 
thereby  would  teach  us  to  exercise  forbearance  and  long-suffering  to 
each  other.  Was  the  Associate  Presbytery  scheme  to  take  effect,  out 
of  conscience,  if  they  acted  consistently,  they  must  restrain  and  grieve, 
if  not  persecute,  many  of  God's  children,  who  could  not  possibly  come 
into  their  measures  :  and  I  doubt  not  but  their  present  violent  methods, 
together  with  the  corruptions  of  that  assembly,  will  cause  many  to  turn 
Independents,  and  set  up  particular  churches  of  their  own.  This  was 
the  effect  of  Archbishop  Land's  acting  with  so  high  a  hand;  and  whe- 
ther it  be  presbytery  or  episcopacy,  if  managed  in  the  same  manner,  it 
will  be  productive  of  the  same  effects.  O,  dear  sir,  I  love  and  honour 
your  pious  father.  Remember  me  in  the  kindest  manner  to  the  good  old 
man.  I  pray  God  his  last  days  may  not  be  employed  too  much  in  the 
noii-rssentialf  of  religion." 


168 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


about  their  ears.  But  enough  of  this.  Lord,  what 
is  man — what  the  best  of  men — but  men  at  the 
best !" 

Coming  as  a  stranger  into  Scotland,  and  being  free 
from  all  prejudice  and  passion  upon  the  subject, 
Whitefield  saw  the'  folly  and  the  mischief  of  the 
schisms  in  which  his  new  acquaintance  were  en- 
gaged. They  spared  no  pains  to  win  him  over  to 
their  side.  "  I  find,"  said  he,  "  Satan  now  turns 
himself  into  an  angel  of  light,  and  stirs  up  God's 
children  to  tempt  me  to  come  over  to  some  particu- 
lar party."  To  one  of  his  correspondents  he  replies, 
"  I  wish  you  would  not  trouble  yourself  or  me  in 
writing  about  the  corruption  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. I  believe  there  is  no  church  perfect  under 
heaven;  but  as  God,  by  his  providence,  is  pleased 
to  send  me  forth  simply  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all, 
I  think  there  is  no  need  of  casting  myself  out."  He 
was  invited  to  Aberdeen  by  the  minister  of  one  of 
the  kirks  in  that  city;  but  the  minister's  co-pastor 
had  prepossessed  the  magistrates  against  him,  so 
that  when  he  arrived  they  refused  to  let  him  preach 
in  the  kirk-yard.  They  had,  however,  sufficient 
curiosity  to  attend  when  he  officiated  in  his  friend's 
pulpit;  the  congregation  was  very  large,  and,  in 
Whitefield's  own  words,  "  light  and  life  fled  all 
around."  In  the  afternoon  it  was  the  other  pastor's 
turn  :  he  began  his  prayers  as  usual  ;  but,  in  the 
midst  of  them,  he  named  Whitefield  by  name,  whom 
he  knew  to  be  then  present,  and  entreated  the  Lord 
to  forgive  the  dislionour  that  had  been  put  upon  him, 
when  that  man  was  suffered  to  preach  in  that  pulpit. 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  renewed  the  attack  in  his 
sermon,  reminded  bis  congregation  that  this  person 
was  a  curate  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  quoted 
some  passages  from  his  first  printed  discourses, 
which  he  said  were  grossly  Arminian.  "  Most  of 
the  congregation,"  says  Whitefield,  "  seemed  sur- 
prised and  chagrined  ;  especially  his  good-natured 
colleague,  vvlio,  immediately  after  sermon,  without 
consulting  me  in  the  least,  stood  up,  and  gave  no- 
tice that  Mr.  Whitefield  would  preach  in  about  half 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


169 


an  hour.  The  interval  being  so  short,  the  magis- 
trates returned  into  the  sessions-house,  and  the  con- 
gregation patiently  waited,  big  with  expectation  of 
hearing  my  resentment.  At  the  time  appointed  I 
went  up,  and  took  no  other  notice  of  the  good  man's 
ill-timed  zeal,  than  to  observe,  in  some  part  of  my 
discourse,  that  if  the  good  old  gentleman  had  seen 
some  of  my  later  writings,  wherein  I  had  corrected 
several  of  my  former  mistakes,  he  would  not  have 
expressed  himself  in  such  strong  terms.  The  people 
being  thus  diverted  from  controversy  with  man,  were 
deeply  impressed  with  what  they  heard  from  the 
word  of  God.  Ail  was  hushed,  and  more  than  so- 
lemn. And  on  the  morrow  the  magistrates  sent  for 
me,  expressed  themselves  quite  concerned  at  the 
treatment  I  had  met  with,  and  begged  I  would  ac- 
cept of  the  freedom  of  the  city." 

This  triumph  Whitefield  obtained,  as  much  by  that 
perfect  self-command  which  he  always  possessed  in 

{jublic,  as  by  his  surprising  oratory.  But  wherever 
le  could  obtain  a  hearing,  his  oratory  was  trium- 
phant, and  his  success  in  Scotland  was,  in  some  re- 
spects, greater  than  it  had  yet  been  in  England. 

Glory  be  to  God,"  he  says,  "  he  is  doing  great 
things  here.  I  walk  in  the  continual  sunshine  of  his 
countenance.  Congregations  consist  of  many  thou- 
sands. Never  did  I  see  so  many  bibles,  nor  people 
look  into  them,  when  I  am  expounding,  with  such  at- 
tention. Plenty  of  tears  tlow  from  the  hearers'  eyes. 
I  preach  twice  daily,  and  expound  at  private  houses 
at  night ;  and  am  employed  in  speaking  to  souls  under 
distress  great  part  of  the  day.  Every  morning  I 
have  a  constant  levee  of  wounded  souls,  many  of 
whom  are  quite  slain  by  the  law.  At  seven  in  the 
morning  (this  was  at  Edinburgh)  we  have  a  lecture  in 
the  fields,  attended  notonly  by  the  common  people,  but 
persons  of  great  rank.  I  have  reason  to  think  seve- 
ral of  the  latter  sort  are  coming  to  Jesus.  I  am  only 
afraid  lest  people  should  idolize  the  instrument,  and 
not  look  enough  to  the  glorious  Jesus,  in  whom  alone 
I  desire  to  glory.  I  walk  continually  in  the  comfort  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  The  love  of  Christ  quite  strikes  me 
VOL.  II  22 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


dumb.  0  grace,  grace  !  lot  that  be  my  song."  In  Scot- 
land it  was  that  he  first  found  access  to  people  of  rank. 
"  Saints,"  says  he,  "  have  been  stirred  up  and  edifi- 
ed ;  and  many  others,  1  believe,  are  translated  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  tlie  kingdom  of  Satan  to 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  good  that  has  been  done 
is  inexpressible.  I  am  intimate  with  three  noblemen, 
and  several  ladies  of  quality,  who  have  a  great  liking 
for  the  things  of  God.  I  am  now  w  riting  in  an  earl's 
house,  surrounded  with  fine  furniture;  but,  glory  be 
to  IVee  grace,  my  soul  is  in  love  only  with  Jesus." 

His  exertions  increased  with  his  success.  "  Yes- 
terday," he  says,  I  preached  three  times,  and  lec- 
tured at  night.  This  day  Jesus  has  enabled  me  to 
preach  seven  times ;  once  in  the  church,  twice  at 
the  girPs  hospital,  once  in  the  park,  once  at  the  old 
people's  hospital,  and  afterwards  twice  at  a  private 
house  ;  notivithstanding,  I  am  now  as  fresh  as  when  * 
1  arose  in  the  morning.  '  They  that  wait  upon  the 
Lord  shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall  mount  on 
\vings  like  eagles.'  It  would  delight  your  soul  to  see 
the  effi^cts  of  the  power  of  God.  Both  in  the  church 
and  park  the  Lord  was  with  us.  The  girls  in  the  hos- 
pital were  exceedingly  affected,  and  so  were  the 
standers-by.  One  of  the  mistresses  told  me,  she  is 
now  awakened  in  the  morning  by  the  voice  of  prayer 
and  praise ;  and  the  master  of  the  boys  says,  that 
they  meet  together  every  night  to  sing  and  pray  ;  and 
^'hen  he  goes  to  their  rooms  at  night,  to  see  if  all  be 
safe,  he  generally  disturbs  -them  at  their  devotions. 
The  presence  of  God  at  the  old  people's  hospital 
Avas  really  very  wonderful.  The  Holy  Spirit  seem- 
ed to  come  down  like  a  mighty  rushing  wind.  The 
mourning  of  the  ])eople  was  like  the  weeping  in  the 
valley  of  Hadad-Rimmon.  They  appear  more  and 
tnore  hungry.  Every  day  I  hear  of  some  fresh  good 
wrought  by  the  power  of  God.  I  scarce  know  how 
to  leave  Scotland." 

The  representation  thus  given  by  this  remarkable 
man,  of  the  effect  which  his  preaching  produced  upon 
all  ranks  and  descriptions  of  people,  is  not  exag- 
gcratedi    Dr.  Franklin  has  justly  observed,  that  it 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND.* 


171 


would  have  been  fortunate  for  his  reputation  if  he 
had  left  no  written  works,  his  talents  would  then  have 
been  estimated  by  the  effect  which  tliey  are  known 
to  have  produced  ;  for,  on  this  point,  there  is  the,, 
evidence  of  witnesses  whose  credibility  cannot  be 
disputed.  Whitetield's  writin<is,  of  every  kind,  are 
certainly  below  mediocrity.  They  afford  the  mea- 
sure of  his  knowledge  and  of  his  intellect,  but  not 
of  his  genius  as  a  preacher.  His  printed  sermons, 
instead  of  being,  as  is  usual,  the  most  elaborate  and 
finished  discourses  of  their  author,  have  indeed  the 
disadvantage  of  being  precisely  those  upon  which 
the  least  care  had  been  bestowed.  This  may  be 
easily  explained. 

"  By  hearing  him  often,"  says  Franklin,  "  I  came 
to  distinguish  easily  between  sermons  newly  com- 
posed, and  those  which  he  had  often  preached  in  the 
course  of  his  travels.  His  delivery  of  the  latter  was 
so  improved  by  frequent  repetition,  that  every  accent, 
every  emphasis,  every  modulation  of  voice,  was  so 
perfectly  well  turned,  and  well  placed,  that,  without 
being  interested  in  the  subject,  one  could  not  help 
being  pleased  with  the  discourse :  a  pleasure  of  much 
the  same  kind  with  that  received  from  an  excellent 
piece  of  music.  This  is  an  advantage  itinerant 
preachers  have  over  those  who  are  stationary,  as  the 
latter  cannot  well  improve  their  delivery  of  a  sermon 
by  so  many  rehearsals,"  It  was  a  great  advantage, 
but  it  was  not  the  only  one,  nor  the  greatest  wliich 
he  derived  from  repeating  his  discourses,  and  reciting 
instead  of  reading  them.  Had  they  been  delivered 
from  a  written  copy,  one  delivery  would  have  been 
like  the  last ;  the  paper  would  have  operated  like  a 
spell,  from  which  he  could  not  depart — invention 
sleeping,  while  the  utterance  followed  the  eye.  But 
when  he  had  nothing  before  him  except  the  audience 
whom  he  was  addressing,  the  judgmejit  and  the  ima- 
gination, as  well  as  the  memory,  were  called  forth. 
Those  parts  were  omitted  wliich  had  been  felt  to 
come  feebly  from  the  tongue,  and  fall  heavily  upon 
the  ear,  and  their  place  was  supplied  by  matter 
newly  laid-in  in  the  course  of  his  studies,  or  fresli 


172 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


from  the  feeling  of  the  moment.  They  who  lived 
with  him  could  trace  him  in  his  sermons  to  the  book 
which  he  had  last  been  reading,  or  the  subject  which 
had  recently  taken  his  attention.  But  the  salient 
points  of  his  oratory  were  not  prepared  passages, — 
they  were  bursts  of  passion,  like  jets  from  a  Geyser, 
when  the  spring  is  in  full  play. 

The  theatrical  talent  which  he  displayed  in  boy- 
hood, manifested  itself  strongly  in  his  oratory.  When 
he  was  about  to  preach,  whether  it  was  from  a  pul- 
pit, or  a  table  in  the  streets,  or  a  rising  ground,  he 
appeared  with  a  solemnity  of  manner,  and  an  anxious 
expression  of  countenance,  that  seemed  to  show  how 
deeply  he  was  possessed  with  a  sense  of  the  impor- 
tance of  what  he  was  about  to  say.  His  elocution 
was  perfect.  They  who  heard  him  most  frequently 
could  not  remember  that  he  ever  stumbled  at  a  word, 
or  hesitated  for  want  of  one.  He  never  faultered, 
unless  when  the  feeling  to  which  he  had  wrought 
himself  overcame  him,  and  then  his  speech  was  in- 
terrupted by  a  flow  of  tears.  Sometimes  he  would 
appear  to  lose  all  self-command,  and  weep  exceed- 
ingly, and  stamp  loudly  and  passionately;  and  some- 
times the  emotion  of  his  mind  exhausted  him,  and 
the  beholders  felt  a  momentary  apprehension  even 
for  his  life.  And,  indeed,  it  is  said,  that  the  effect 
of  this  vehemence  upon  his  bodily  frame  was  tre- 
mendous ;  that  he  usually  vomited  after  he  had 
preached,  and  sometimes  discharged,  in  this  manner, 
a  considerable  quantity  of  blood.  But  this  was  when 
the  efibrt  was  over,  and  nature  was  left  at  leisure  to 
relieve  herself  While  he  was  on  duty,  he  controlled 
all  sense  of  infirmity  or  pain,  and  made  his  advantage 
of  the  passion  to  which  he  had  given  way.  "  You 
blame  me  for  weeping,"  he  would  say,  "  but  how 
can  I  help  it,  when  you  will  not  weep  for  yourselves, 
though  your  immortal  souls  are  upon  the  verge  of 
destruction,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  you  are  hearing 
your  last  sermon,  and  may  never  more  have  an  op- 
portunity to  have  Christ  offered  to  you  !" 

Sometimes  he  would  set  before  his  congregation 
the  agony  of  our  Saviour,  as  though  the  scene  wan 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


173 


actually  before  them.  "  Look  yonder !"  he  would 
say,  stretching  out  his  hand,  and  pointing  while  he 
spake,  "  what  is  it  that  1  see  ?  It  is  my  agonizing 
Lord !  Hark,  hark  !  do  you  not  hear  ? — O  my  Father, 
if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me  !  neverthe- 
less, not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done  !"  This  he  in- 
troduced frequently  in  his  sermons;  and  one  who 
lived  with  him  says,  the  effect  was  not  destroyed  by 
repetition;  even  to  those  who  knew  what  was  com- 
ing, it  came  as  forcibly  as  if  they  had  never  heard  it 
before.  In  this  respect  it  was  like  fine  stage  acting: 
and  indeed  VVhitefield  indulged  in  an  histrionic  man- 
ner of  preaching,  which  would  have  been  offensive  if 
it  had  not  been  rendered  admirable  by  his  natural 
gracefulness  and  inimitable  power.  Sometimes,  at 
the  close  of  a  sermon,  he  would  personate  a  judge 
about  to  perform  the  last  awful  part  of  his  office. — 
With  his  eyes  full  of  tears,  and  an  emotion  that  made 
his  speech  faulter,  after  a  pause  which  kept  the 
whole  audience  in  breathless  expectation  of  what 
was  to  come,  he  would  say,  "  I  am  now  going  to  put 
on  my  condemning  cap.  Sinner,  I  must  do  it :  I  must 
pronounce  sentence  upon  you !"  and  then,  in  a  tre- 
mendous strain  of  eloquence,  describing  the  eternal 
punishment  of  the  wicked,  he  recited  the  words  of 
Christ,  "  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  When 
lie  spoke  of  St.  Peter,  how,  after  the  cock  crew,  he 
went  out  and  wept  bitterly,  he  had  a  fold  of  his  gown 
ready,  in  which  he  hid  his  face. 

Perfect  as  it  was,  histrionism  like  this  would  have 
produced  no  lasting  effect  upon  the  mind,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  unaflected  earnestness  and  the  indubi- 
table sincerity  of  the  preacher,  which  equally  cha- 
racterized his  manner,  whether  he  rose  to  the  height 
of  passion  in  his  discourse,  or  won  the  attention  of 
the  motley  crowd  by  the  introduction  of  familiar  sto- 
ries, and  illustrations  adapted  to  the  meanest  *  ca- 

*  W*',sley  says  of  him,  in  his  Journal,  "  how  wise  is  God  in  giving 
different  talents  to  ditf-rent  preachers !  Even  the  little  improprieties 
both  of  his  language  and  manner,  were  a  means  of  profiting  many  who 
would  not  have  been  touched  by  a  more  correct  discourse,  or  a  more 


174 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


paclty.  To  such  digressions  his  disposition  led  him, 
which  was  naturally  inclined  to  a  comic  playfulness. 
Minds  of  a  certain  power  will  sometimes  express 
their  strongest  feelings  with  a  levity  at  which  formal- 
ists are  shocked,  and  which  dull  men  are  wholly  un- 
able to  understand.  But  language  which,  when  cold- 
ly repeated,  might  seem  to  border  upon  irreverence 
and  burlesque,  has  its  effect  in  popular  preaching, 
Avhen  the  intention  of  the  speaker  is  perfectly  under- 
stood :  it  is  suited  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  it 
is  felt  by  them  when  better  things  would  have  pro- 
duced no  inipression,  and  it  is  borne  away  when 
wiser  arguments  would  have  been  forgotten.  There 
was  another  and  more  uncommon  way  in  which 
Whitefield's  pecuHar  talent  sometimes  was  indulged: 
he  could  direct  his  discourse  toward  an  individual 
so  skilfully,  that  the  congregation  had  no  suspicion 
of  any  particular  purport  in  that  part  of  the  sermon; 
while  the  person  at  whom  it  was  aimed  felt  it,  as  it 
was  directed,  in  its  full  force.  There  was  sometimes 
a  degree  of  sportiveness  *  almost  akin  to  mischief  in 
his  humour. 

Remarkable  instances  are  related  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  impressed  his  hearers.  A  man  at  Exeter 
stood  with  stones  in  his  pocket,  and  one  in  his  hand, 
ready  to  throw  at  him  ;  but  he  dropped  it  before  the 


calm  and  regular  manner  of  speaking."  St.  Augustine  somewhere  says, 
that  is  the  best  key  which  opens  the  door  :  quid  tnimprodest  elavis  aurea 
si  aperire  quod  volumus  non  jmlesl?  aut  quod  obest  hgnca,  si  hoc  potest, 
quando  nihil  quisrimus  nisi  palere  quod  clausum  est  ? 

*  Mr.  AVinter  relates  a  curious  anecdote  of  his  preaching  at  a  maid- 
servant who  had  displeased  him  by  some  negligence  in  the  morning. — 
"  In  the  evening,"  says  the  writer,  "before  the  family  retired  to  rest,  I 
found  her  under  great  dejection,  the  reason  of  which  I  did  not  appre- 
hend ;  for  it  did  not  strike  me  that,  in  exemplifying  a  conduct  inconsis- 
tent with  the  Christian's  professed  fidelity  to  his  Redeemer,  he  was  draw- 
ing it  from  remissness  of  duty  in  a  living  character  ;  but  she  felt  it  so  sen- 
sibly, as  to  be  greatly  distressed  by  it,  until  he  relieved  her  mind  by  his 
usually  amiable  deportment.  The  next  day,  being  about  to  leave  town, 
he  called  out  to  her  '  farewell :'  she  did  not  make  her  appearance,  which 
he  remarked  to  a  female  friend  at  dinner,  who  replied,  '  Sir,  you  have 
exceedingly  wounded  poor  Betty.'  This  excited  in  him  a  hearty  laugh  ; 
and  when  t  shut  the  coach-door  upon  him,  he  said,  '  Be  sure  to  remein- 
ber  rae  to  Betty  ;  ttsll  her  the  acogunt  is  settled,  and  that  I  have  nothing 
more  against  her.' " 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


17j 


sfcrmon  was  far  advanced,  and  going  up  to  him  after 
the  preaching  was  over,  he  said,  Sir,  I  came  to 
hear  you  with  an  intention  to  break  your  head  ;  but 
God,  through  your  ministry,  has  given  me  a  broken 
heart."  A  sliip-bnilder  was  once  asked  what  he 
thought  of  him.  "  Think!"  he  replied,  "  I  tell  you, 
Sir,  every  Sunday  that  1  go  to  my  parish  church,  I 
can  build  a  ship  from  stem  to  stern  under  the  sermon ; 
but,  were  it  to  save  my  soul,  under  Mr,  Whitefield, 
1  could  not  lay  a  single  plank."  Hume*  pronounced 
him  the  most  inge  lious  preacher  he  had  ever  heard; 
and  said,  it  was  worth  while  to  go  twenty  miles  to 
hear  him.  But,  perhaps,  the  greatest  proof  of  his 
persuasive  powers  was,  when  he  drew  from  Frank- 
lin's pocket  the  money  which  that  clear  cool  rea- 
soner  had  determined  not  to  give  :  it  was  for  the 
orphan-house  at  Savannah.  "  I  did  not,"  says  the 
American  philosopher,  "  disapprove  of  the  design  ; 
but  as  Georgia  was  then  destitute  of  materials  and 
Workmen,  and  it  was  proposed  to  send  them  from 
Philadelphia  at  a  great  expcT.se,  I  thought  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  built  the  house  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  brought  the  children  to  it.  This  lad- 
vised  ;  but  he  was  resolute  in  his  first  project,  reject- 
ed my  counsel,  and  I  therefore  refused  to  contribute. 
I  happened,  soon  after,  to  attend  one  of  his  sermons, 
in  the  course  of  which  I  perceived  he  intended  to 
finish  with  a  collection,  and  I  silently  resolved  he 
should  get  nothing  from  me.  I  had  in  my  pocket  a 
handful  of  copper  money,  three  or  four  silver  dollars, 
and  five  pistoles  in  gold.  As  he  proceeded  I  began 
to  soften,  and  concluded  to  give  the  copper :  another 

*  One  of  his  flights  of  oratory,  not  in  the  best  taste,  is  related  on 
Hume's  aiithority  "  After  a  solemn  pause,  Mr.  Whitefield  thus  ad- 
dressed his  audience : — The  attendant  angel  is  just  about  to  leave  the 
threshold,  and  ascend  to  Heaven  ;  and  shall  he  ascend  and  not  hear  with 
him  the  news  of  one  sinner,  amonj;  all  the  multitude,  reclaimed  from  the 
error  of  his  ways  !  To  give  the  ?;realer  effect  to  this  exclamation,  he 
stamped  with  his  foot,  lifted  up  his  hands  and  eyes  to  Heaven,  and  cried 
aloud.  Stop,  Gabiiel!  stop,  Gabriel !  stop,  ere  you  enter  tiie  sacred  por- 
tals, and  yet  carry  with  you  the  news  of  one  sinner  converted  to  God  !" 
Hume  said  this  address  was  accompanied  with  such  animated,  yet  natu- 
ral action,  that  it  surpassed  any  thing  he  ever  saw  or  heard  in  any  other 
preacher. 


i 


176 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


stroke  of  his  oratory  made  me  ashamed  of  that,  and 
determined  me  to  give  the  silver;  and  he  finished  so 
admirably,  tliat  I  emptied  my  pocket  wholly  into  the 
collector's  dish,  gold*  and  all." 

No  wonder  that  such  a  preacher  should  be  admir- 
ed and  followed  in  a  country  where  the  habits  of  the 
people  were  devotional.  On  his  second  visit  to  Scot- 
land, he  was  met  on  the  shore  at  Leith  by  multitudes, 
weeping  and  blessing  him,  and  they  followed  his 
coach  to  Edinburgh,  pressing  to  welcome  him  when 
he  alighted,  and  to  hold  him  in  their  arms.  Seats, 
with  awnings,  were  erected  in  the  park,  in  the  form 
of  an  amphitheatre,  for  his  preaching.  Several  youths 
left  their  parents  and  masters  to  follow  him  as  his 
servants  and  children  in  the  Gospel;  but  he  had 
sense  enough  to  show  them  their  error,  and  send 
them  back.  The  effect  which  he  produced  was 
maddening.  At  Cambuslang  it  exceeded  any  thing 
which  he  had  ever  witnessed  in  his  career.  "  I 
preached  at  two,''  he  says,  "  to  a  vast  body  of  peo- 
ple, and  at  six  in  the  evening,  and  again  at  nine. 
Such  a  commotion,  surely,  never  was  heard  of,  espe- 
cially at  eleven  at  night.  For  about  an  hour  and  a 
half  there  was  such  weeping,  so  many  falHng  into 
deep  distress,  and  expressing  it  various  ways,  as  is 
inexpressible.  The  people  seem  to  be  slain  by  scores. 
They  are  carried  off,  and  come  into  the  house,  like 
soldiers  wounded  in  and  carried  off  a  field  of  bat- 
tle. Their  cries  and  agonies  are  exceedingly  affect- 
ing. Mr.  M.  preached,  after  I  had  ended,  till  past 
one  in  the  morning,  and  then  could  scarce  persuade 
them  to  depart.  All  night,  in  the  fields,  might  be 
heard  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise.    Some  young 

*  "At  tliis  sermon,"  continues  Franklin,  "there  was  also  one  of  our 
club,  who,  being  of  my  sentiments  respecting  the  building  in  Georgia, 
and  suspecting  a  collection  might  be  intended,  had,  by  precaution,  emp- 
tied his  pockets  before  he  came  from  home  :  towards  the  conclusion  of 
the  discourse,  however,  he  felt  a  strong  inclination  to  give,  and  applied 
to  a  neighbour,  who  stood  near  him,  to  lend  him  some  money  for  the 
purpose.  The  recjucst  was  fortunately  made  to  perhaps  the  only  man 
in  the  company  who  had  the  firmness  not  to  be  affected  by  the  preacher. 
His  answer  was,  '  At  any  other  time,  friend  Hopkinson,  I  would  lend  to 
thee  freely,  but  not  now  :  for  thee  seems  to  me  to  be  out  of  thy  right 
senses.'  " 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


177 


ladies  were  found  by  a  gentlewoman  praising  God  at 
break  of  day  :  she  went  and  joined  with  them." — 
Soon  afterwards  he  returned  there  to  assist  at  the 
sacrament.  "  Scarce  ever,"  he  says,  was  such  a 
sight  seen  in  Scotland.  There  were,  undoubtedly, 
upwards  of  twenty  thousand  persons.  Two  tents 
were  set  up,  and  the  holy  sacrament  was  administer- 
ed in  the  fields.  When  1  began  to  serve  a  table,  the 
power  of  God  was  felt  by  numbers ;  but  the  people 
crowded  so  upon  me,  that  I  was  obliged  to  desist,  and 
go  to  preach  at  one  of  the  tents,  whilst  the  ministers 
served  the  rest  of  the  tables.  God  was  with  them, 
and  with  his  people.  There  was  preaching  all  day 
by  one  or  another ;  and  in  the  evening,  when  the  sa- 
crament was  over,  at  the  request  of  the  ministers,  I 
preached  to  the  whole  congregation.  I  preached 
about  an  hour  and  a  h  df  Surely  it  was  a  time  much 
to  be  remembered.  On  Monday  morning  I  preached 
again  to  near  as  many;  but  such  an  universal  stir  I 
never  saw  before.  The  motion  fled  as  swift  as  light* 
ning  from  one  end  of  the  auditory  to  another.  You 
might  have  seen  thousands  bathed  in  tears  :  some  at 
the  same  time  wringing  their  hands,  others  almost 
swooning,  and  others  crying  out  and  mourning  over 
a  pierced  Saviour." 

The  Erskines  were  astonished  at  all  this.  One  of 
the  associate  presbytery  published  a  pamphlet 
against  him,  wherein,  with  the  true  virulence  of  bi- 
gotry, he  ascribed  these  things  to  the  influence  of  the 
devil;  and  the  heads  of  the  seceders  appointed  a 
public  fast,  to  humble  themselves  for  his  being  in 
Scotland,  whither  they  themselves  had  invited  him, 
and  for  what  they  termed  the  delusion  at  Cambjis- 
lang.  They  might  have  so  called  it,  with  more  pro- 
priety, if  they  had  not  been  under  a  delusion  them- 
selves; for  Whitefield  perfectly  understood  their 
leelings,  when  he  said,  "  all  this,  because  I  would  not 
consent  to  preach  only  for  thein  till  I  had  light  into, 
and  could  take  the  solemn  league  and  covenant  !" 
He  made  many  other  visits  to  Scotland  ;  and  there, 
indeed,  he  seems  to  have  obtained  that  introduction 
to  persons  of  rank,  wiiich  in  its  consequences  led  to 

VOL.  I!.  23 


17a 


MKTHODISM  IN  SCOTLAM>. 


the  establishment  of  a  college  for  Calviuistic  Metho- 
dism in  England.  But  he  aimed  at  nothing  more  than 
could  be  produced  by  his  own  preaching ;  it  was  nei- 
ther congenial  to  his  talents  nor  his  views  to  organize 
a  body  of  followers;  and,  in  the  intervals  betMcen 
his  visits,  the  seed  which  he  had  scattered  was  left 
to  grow  up,  or  to  e  ither  as  it  might. 

Wesley  had  other  views :  his  aim,  wherever  he 
went,  was  to  form  a  society.  It  was  not  till  ten  years 
after  his  former  colleague  had  first  visited  Scotland, 
tliat  he  resolved  to  go  there.  A  reconciliation  had 
then  taken  place  between  them, — for  enmity  could 
not  be  lasting  between  two  men  who  knew  each 
other's  sincerity  and  good  intentions  so  well,— and 
Whitefield  would  have  dissuaded  him  from  going. 
"  You  have  no  business  there,"  he  said  ;  "  for  your 
principles  are  so  well  known,  that,  if  you  spoke  like 
an  angel,  none  would  hear  you;  and  if  they  did,  you 
would  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  dispute  with  one 
and  another  from  morning  to  night."  Wesley  re- 
plied, "  If  God  sends  me,  people  will  hear.  And  I 
will  give  them  no  provocation  to  dispute;  fori  will 
studiously  avoid  controverted  points,  and  keep  to  the 
fundamental  truths  of  Christianity  ;  and  if  any  still 
begin  to  dispute,  they  may,  but  I  will  not  dispute 
with  them."  He  was,  however  so  aware  of  the  bit- 
ter hostility  with  which  Arminian  principles  would 
be  received  in  Scotland,  that,  he  says,  when  he  went 
into  that  kingdom,  he  had  no  intention  of  preaching 
there ;  nor  did  he  imagine  that  any  person  would  de- 
sire him  so  to  do.  He  might  have  reckoned  with 
more  confidence  upon  the  curiosity  of  the  people. 
He  was  invited  to  preach  at  Musselborough  ;  the  au- 
dience remained  like  statues  from  the  beginning  of 
the  sermon  till  the  end,  and  he  flattered  himself  that 
"  the  prejudice  which  the  devil  had  been  several 
years  planting,  was  torn  up  by  the  roots  in  one  hour." 
From  this  time  Scotland  was  made  a  part  of  his  re- 
gular rounds.  "  Surely,"  says  he,  "  with  God  nothing 
is  impossible  !  Who  would  have  believed,  five-and- 
twenty  years  ago,  either  that  the  minister  would  have 


METHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND.  179 

desired  it,  or  that  I  should  haVe  consented  to  preach 
in  a  Scotch  kirk  !" 

He  flattered  himself  egreglously  when  he  accept- 
ed these  beginnings  as  omens  of  good  success,  and 
when  he  supposed  that  the  prejudice  against  him 
was  eradicated.  An  old  Burgher  minister  at  Dal- 
keith preached  against  him,  affirming  that,  if  he  died 
in  his  present  sentiments,  he  would  be  damned  ;  and 
the  fanatic  declared  that  he  would  stake  his  own  sal- 
vation upon  it.  It  was  well  for  him  that  these  peo- 
ple were  not  armed  with  temporal  authority.  "  The 
Seceders,"  says  ^A'esIey,  who  have  fallen  in  my 
way,  are  more  uncharitable  than  the  Papists  them- 
selves. I  never  yet  met  a  Papist  who  avowed  the 
principle  of  murdering  heretics.  But  a  Seceding 
minister  being  asked,  Would  not  you,  if  it  was  in 
your  power,  cut  the  throats  of  all  the  Methodists 
replied  directly,  '  Why,  did  not  Samuel  hew  Agag 
in  pieces  before  the  Lord I  have  not  yet  met  a 
Papist  in  this  kingdom  who  would  tell  me  to  my  face, 
all  but  themselves  must  be  damned  ;  but  I  have  seen 
Seceders  enough  who  make  no  scruple  to  affirm, 
none  hut  themselves  could  be  saved.  And  this  is 
the  natural  consequence  of  their  doctrine ;  for,  as 
they  hold  that  we  are  saved  by  faith  alone,  and  that 
faith  is  the  holding  such  and  such  opinions,  it  follows, 
all  who  do  not  hold  those  opinions  have  no  faith, 
and  therefore  cannot  be  saved."  Even  Whitefield, 
predestinarian  as  he  was,  was  regarded  as  an  abomi- 
nation by  the  Seceders :  how,  then,  was  it  possible 
that  they  should  tolerate  W^esley,  who  taught  that 
redemption  was  offered  to  all  mankind  ?  A  Metho- 
dist one  day  comforted  a  poor  woman,  whose  child 
appeared  to  be  dying,  by  assuring  her  that,  for  an  in- 
fant, death  would  only  be  the  exchange  of  this  mi- 
serable life  for  a  happy  eternity ;  and  the  Seceder, 
to  whose  flock  she  belonged,  was  so  shocked  at  this 
doctrine,  that  the  deep-dyed  Calvinist  devoted  the 
next  Sabbath  to  the  task  of  convincing  his  people, 
that  the  souls  of  all  non-elect  infants  were  doomed 
to  certain  and  inevitable  damnation. 


180 


METHODISM  Ii\  SCOTLAND. 


But  it  was  Wesley's  fortune  to  meet  with  an  obsta- 
cle in  Scotland  more  fatal  to  Methodism  than  the 
fiercest  opposition  would  have  been.  Had  his  fol- 
lowers been  more  generally  opposed,  they  would 
have  multiplied  faster:  opposition  would  have  in- 
flamed their  zeal;  it  was  neglected,  and  died  away. 
From  time  to  time  he  complains  in  his  Journal  of  the 
cold  insensibility  of  the  people.  "O  what  a  differ- 
ence is  there  between  the  living  stones,"  he  says, 
speaking  of  the  Northumbrians,  "  and  the  dead  un- 
feeling multitudes  in  Scotland.  At  Dundee,"  he  ob- 
serves, I  admire  the  people  ;  so  decent,  so  serious, 
and  so  perfectly  imconcerned  !"  "  At  Glasgow  I 
preached  on  the  Old  Green  to  a  people,  the  greatest 
part  of  whom  hear  much,  kmnc  every  thing,  and  feel 
nothing."  They  had  been  startled  by  the  thunder 
and  lightning  of  Wliitelield's  oratory  ;  but  they  were 
as  unmoved  by  tlie  soft  persuasive  rlietoric  of  VVesley, 
as  by  one  of  their  own  Scotch  mists. 

_Wesley  endeavoured  to  account  for  this  mortifying 
failure,  and  to  discover  "  what  could  be  the  reason 
why  the  hand  of  the  Lord  (who  does  nothing  with- 
out a  cause)  was  almost  entirely  stayed  in  Scotland." 
He  imputed  it  to  the  unwillingness  of  those,  who 
Avere  otlierwise  favourably  inclined,  to  admit  the 
preaching  of  illiterate  men;  and  to  the  rude  bitter- 
ness and  bigotry  of  those  who  regarded  an  Armirn'an 
as  an  Infidel,  and  the  church  of  England  as  bad  as 
the  church  of  Rome.  The  Scotch  bigots,  he  said, 
were  beyond  all  others.  He  answered,  before  a 
large  congregation  at  Dundee,  most  of  the  objections 
which  had  been  made  to  him.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  church  of  Rngland,  he  said,  but  he  loved  good 
men  of  every  church.  He  always  used  a  short  pri- 
vate prayer  when  he  attended  the  public  service  of 
God  :  why  did  not  they  do  the  same  ?  was  it  not  ac- 
cording to  the  bible  ?  He  stood  whenever  he  was 
singing  the  praises  of  God  in  public  :  were  there  not 
plain  precedents  for  this  in  Scripture  ?  He  always 
knelt  before  the  Lord  when  he  prayed  in  public; 
and  generally,  in  public,  he  used  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
because  Christ  has  taught  us,  when  we  pray,  to  say, 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


181 


Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven.  But  it  was  not  by 
such  frivolous  objections  as  these  that  the  success  of 
Methodism  in  Scotland  was  impeded.  The  real 
cause  of  its  failure  was,  that  it  was  not  wanted — that 
there  was  no  place  for  it:  the  discipline  of  the  kirk 
was  not  relaxed,  the  clergy  possessevi  great  influence 
over  their  parishioners,  the  children  were  piously 
brought  up,  the  population  had  not  outgrown  the 
church-establishment,  and  the  Scotch,  above  all 
other  people,  deserved  the  praise  of  being  a  frugal, 
industrious,  and  religious  nation."" 

Obvious  as  this  is,  Wesley  seems  not  to  have  per- 
ceived it;  and  it  is  evident  that  he  regarded  both 
the  forms  and  discipline  of  the  church  of  Scotland, 
with  a  disposition  rather  to  detect  what  was*  objec- 
tionable, than  to  acknowledge  what  was  good. 
*'  Lodging  with  a  sensible  man,"  he  writes,  "  I  inquir- 
ed particularly  into  the  present  discipline  of  the 
Scotch  parishes.  In  one  parish,  it  seems,  there  are 
twelve  ruling  elders;  in  another,  there  are  fourteen. 
And  what  are  these  ?  men  of  great  sense  and  deep 
experience.'^  Neither  one  nor  the  other;  but  they 
are  the  richest  men  in  the  parish.  And  are  the  rich- 
est., of  course,  the  best  and  the  wisest  men  ?  Does  the 
bible  teach  this?  I  fear  not.  What  manner  of  go- 
vernors, then,  will  these  be.'^  Why,  ihey  are  gene- 
rally just  as  capable  of  governing  a  parish,  as  of 
commanding  an  army."  Had  he  been  free  from 
prejudice,  instead  of  being  led  away  by  an  abuse  of 
words,  he  would  have  perceived  how  the  fact  stood. 
— that  the  elders  were  required  to  be  respectable  in 
their  circumstances,  as  well  as  in  character :  and 

*  One  of  his  charges  against  the  Scotch  clergy  was,  that  "  with  pride, 
bitterness,  and  bigotry,  self-indnlgence  n  at;  joined  :  self-denial  was  little 
taught  and  practised.  It  is  well  if  some  of  them  did  not  despise  or  even 
condemn  all  self-d4;nial  iu  things  indifferent,  a»  in  apparel  or  food,  as 
nearly  allied  to  poperj'."  (Journal  x.  p.  20.)  And  in  one  of  his  ser- 
mons he  says,  "  there  is  always  a  fast  day  in  the  week  preceding  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Lord's  Supper  (in  Scotland.)  But  occasionally  look- 
ing into  a  book  of  accounts,  in  one  of  their  vestries,  1  observed  so  much 
set  down  for  the  dinners  of  the  ministers  on  the  fast  day.  And  I  am 
informed  there  is  the  same  article  in  them  all.  And  is  there  any  doubt 
but  that  the  people  fast  Just  as  their  ministers  do  ?  But  what  a  farce  is 
this !  what  a  miserable  burlesque  upon  a  plain  Christian  duty  !"  (W'orks, 
vol.  X.  p.  419.) 


182 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


tliat,  without  that  respectability,  they  could  not  have 
obtained  respect.  That  the  forms  of  the  kirk,  or  ra- 
ther, its  want  of  forms,  should  offend  him,  is  not  sur- 
prizing. "  O,"  he  cries,  what  a  difference  is  there 
between  the  English  and  the  Scotch  mode  of  burial ! 
The  English  does  honour  to  human  nature,  and  even 
to  the  poor  remains  that  were  once  a  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost :  but  when  I  see  in  Scotland  a  coffin  put 
into  the  earth,  and  covered  up  without  a  word  spo- 
ken, it  reminds  me  of  what  was  spoken  concerning 
Jehoiakim,  he  shall  be  buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass.''^ 
It  was,  indeed,  no  proof  of  judgment,  or  of  feeling,  to 
reject  the  finest  and  most  affecting  ritual  that  ever  was 
composed — a  service  that  finds  its  way  to  the  heart, 
when  the  heart  stands  most  in  need  of  such  conso- 
lation, and  is  open  to  receive  it.  Yet  Wesley  might 
have  known,  that  the  silent  interment  of  the  Scotch 
is  not  without  solemnity  ;  and,  in  their  lonely  burial- 
grounds,  and  family  burial-places,  he  might  have  seen 
something  M  orthy  of  imitation  in  England. 

Writing  at  Glasgow,  he  says,  "My  spirit  was  moved 
within  me  at  the  sermons  1  heard,  both  morning  and 
afternoon.  They  contained  much  truth,  but  were  no 
more  likely  to  awaken  one  soul  than  an  Italian  ope- 
ra." The  truth  was,  that  he  did  not  understand  the 
Scotch  character,  and  therefore  condemned  the 
practice  of  those  preachers  who  did.  "I  spoke  as 
closely  as  I  could,"  he  says  of  his  own  sermons,  "  and 
made  a  pointed  application  to  the  hearts  of  all  that 
were  present.  I  am  convinced  this  is  the  only  way 
whereby  we  can  do  any  good  in  Scotland.  This  ve- 
ry day  I  heard  many  excellent  truths  delivered  in 
the  kirk;  but  as  there  was  no  application,  it  was 
likely  to  do  as  much  good  as  the  singing  of  a  lark. 
I  wonder  the  pious  ministers  in  Scotland  are  not  sen- 
sible of  this  :  they  cannot  but  see  tiiat  no  sinners  are 
convinced  of  sin,  none  converted  to  God  by  this  way 
of  preaching;  how  strange  is  it  then,  that  neither 
reason  nor  experience  teaches  them  to  take  a  better 
way!"  They  aimed  at  no  such  eff'ect.  The  new 
birth  of  the  Methodists,  their  instantaneous  conver- 
sions, their  assurance,  their  sanctification,  and  their 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


183 


bylHeScgtchjig  well  as  by  the  English  clergy. 

It  was  with  more  reason  that  Wesley  groaned  over 
the  manner  in  which  the  Reformation  had  been  ef- 
fected in  Scotland ;  and,  when  he  stood  amid  the 
ruins  of  Aberbrothock,  exclaimed,  "God,  deliver  us 
from  reforming  mobs  !"  Nor  would  he  admit  of  the 
apology  that  is  oflTored  for  such  havoc,  and  for  the 
character  of  John  Knox.  "I  know,"  he  says,  "it  is 
X  commonly  said,  the  work  to  be  done  tieecled  such  a 
spirit.  Not  so  :  the  work  of  God  does  not,  cannot 
need  the  work  of  the  devil  to  forward  it.  And  a  calm 
!  even  spirit  goes  through  rough  work  far  better  than 
a  furious  one.  Although,  therefore,  God  did  use,  at 
the  time  of  the  Reformation,  sour,  overbearing,  pas- 
sionate men,  yet  he  did  not  use  them  because  they 
were  such  ;  but  n  >tivilhstanding  they  were  so.  And 
there  is  no  doubt  he  would  have  used  them  much 
more,  had  they  been  of  an  humbler  and  milder  spi- 
rit." On  the  other  hand,  he  bore  testimony  to  the 
remarkable  decorum  with  which  public  worship  was 
conducted  by  the  Episcopalians  in  Scotland :  it  ex- 
ceeded any  thing  which  he  had  seen  in  England :  and 
he  admitted,  that  even  his  own  congregations  did  not 
come  up  to  it. 

He  did,  however,  this  justice  to  the  Scotch,  that 
he  acknowledged  they  were  never  offended  at  plain 
dealing;  and  that,  in  this  respect,  they  were  a  pat- 
tern to  all  mankind.  Nor  did  he  ever  meet  with  the 
slightest  molestation  from  mobs,  or  the  slightest  in- 
sult. One  day,  however,  a  w^arrant  was  issued  against 
him  at  Edinburgh,  by  the  sheriff,  and  he  was  carried 
to  a  house  adjoining  the  Tolbooth.  A  certain  George 
Sutherland,  who,  to  his  own  mishap,  had  at  one  time 
been  a  member  of  the  society,  had  deposed,  that 
Hugh  Sanderson,  one  of  John  Wesley's  preachers, 
had  taken  from  his  wife  one  hundred  pounds  in  mo- 
ney, and  upwards  of  thirty  pounds  in  goods ;  and 
had,  besides  that,  terrified  her  into  madness;  so 
that,  through  the  want  of  her  help,  and  the  loss  of 
business,  he  was  damaged  five  hundred  pounds.  He 
had  deposed  also,  that  the  said  John  Wesley  and 


184 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAxNB. 


Hugh  Sanderson,  to  evade  his  pursuit,  were  prepar- 
ing to  fly  the  country  ;  and,  upon  these  grounds, 
had  obtained  a  warrant  to  search  for,  seize,  and  in- 
carcerate them  in  the  Tolbooth,  till  they  should  find 
security  for  their  appearance.  The  sheriff,  with 
great  indiscretion,  granted  this  warrant  against  Wes- 
ley, who  could  in  no  way  be  held  legally  responsible 
for  the  conduct  of  any  of  his  preachers  ;  but  when 
the  affair  was  tried,  the  accusation  was  proved  to  be 
so  false  and  calumnious,  that  the  prosecutor  was  hea- 
vily fined.* 

Looking  for  any  cause  of  failure  rather  than  the 
real  one,  Wesley  imputed  the  want  of  success  in 
Scotland  to  the  disposition  which  his  preachers  ma- 
nifested to  remain  stationary  there.  "  We  are  not 
called,"  he  says,  "  to  sit  still  in  one  place  :  it  is  nei- 
ther for  the  health  of  our  souls  nor  bodies :  we  will 
have  travelling  preachers  in  Scotland,  or  none.  I 
will  serve  the  Scotch  as  we  do  the  English,  or  leave 
them.  While  I  live,  itinerant  preachers  shall  be  itine- 
rants, if  they  choose  to  remain  in  coimexion  with  us. 
The  tiling  is  fixed  :  the  manner  of  effecting  it  is  to  be 
considered."  But  here  lay  the  difficulty ;  for  the 
spiritual  warfare  of  Methodism  was  carried  on  upon 
the  principle  of  deriving  means  from  its  conquests; 
and  the  errant-preacher,  who  failed  of  success  in  his 
expeditions,  oftentimes  fasted,  when  there  was  no  vir- 
tue of  self-denial  in  the  compulsory  abstinence. 

A  curious  instance  of  this  occurred  in  the  case  of 
Thomas  Taylor,  one  of  those  preachers  who  temper- 
ed zeal  with  judgment,  and  who  found  means,  during 
his  itinerancy,  by  the  strictest  economy  of  time,  to 
acquire  both  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages. 
This  person  was  appointed  to  Glasgow.  He  had 
gone  through  hard  service  in  Wales  and  in  Ireland, 
in  wild  countries,  and  among  wild  men  :  but  this  po- 
pulous city  presented  a  new  scene,  and  offered  some- 
thing more  discouraging  than  either  bodily  fatigue 
or  bodily  danger.  There  were  no  Methodists  here, 
no  place  of  entertainment,  no  place  to  preach  in,  no 

*  One  thousand  pounds,  says  Wesley  in  his  Journal ;  and  omits  to 
add,  that  it  was  one  thousands  pounds  Scotch,  Anglke,  A  thousahd 
shillings. 


METHODISM  IN  SCOTLAND. 


185 


Iricnd  n  ltli  whom  to  communicate :  it  was  a  hard 
winter,  and  he  was  in  a  strange  land.  Having,  how- 
ever, taken  a  lodging,  he  gave  out  that  he  should 
preacli  on  the  green  :  a  table  was  carried  to  the 
place,  and  going  there  at  the  appointed  time,  he 
Ibiind — two  barber's  boys  and  two  old  women  wait- 
ing. "  My  very  soul,"  he  says,  "  sunk  within  mc.  I 
had  travelled  by  land  and  by  water  near  six  hundred 
miles  to  this  place,  and  behold  my  congregation  ! 
None  but  they  w  ho  have  experienced  it  can  tell  what 
a  task  it  is  to  stand  out  in  ihe  open  air  to  preach  to 
nobod>\  especially  in  such  a  place  as  Glasgow  I"  Ne- 
vertheless, he  mounted  his  table,  and  began  to  sing; 
the  singing  he  had  entirely  to  himself;  but  perseve- 
rance brought  about  him  some  two  hundred  poor  peo- 
ple ;  and  continuing,  day  after  day,  he  collected  at 
last  large  audiences.  One  evening,  the  largest  con- 
gregation that  he  had  ever  seen  was  assembled;  his 
table  was  too  low ;  and  even  w  hen  a  chair  was  plac- 
ed upon  it.  the  rostrum  was  still  not  sufficiently  ele- 
vated for  the  multitudes  who  surrounded  him  ;  so  he 
mounted  upon  a  high  wall,  and  cried  aloud,  "  The 
hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall 
live  !"  They  were  still  as  the  dead  ;  and  he  con- 
ceived great  hope  from  the  profound  attention  with 
which  they  listened  ;  but  when  he  had  done,  he  says, 

they  made  a  lane  for  me  to  walk  through  the  huge 
multitude,  while  tlicy  stood  staring  at  me,  but  no  one 
said,  where  dwellcst  thou 

This  reception  brought  with  it  double  mortifica- 
tion,— to  the  body  as  well  as  the  mind.  An  itinerant 
always  counted  upon  the  hospitality  of  his  flock,  and 
stood,  indeed,  in  need  of  it.  Taylor  had  every  thing 
to  pay  for  :  his  room,  fire,  and  attendance,  cost  him 
three  shillings  per  week  ;  his  fare  was  poor  in  pro- 
portion to  his  lodging;  and  to  keep  up  his  credit 
with  his  landlady,  he  often  committed  the  pious  fraud 
of  dressing  himself  as  if  he  were  going  out  to  din- 
ner, and,  after  a  dry  walk,  returned  home  huiigry. 
He  never,  in  all  the  rest  of  his  life,  kept  so  many  fast 
days.    He  sold  his  horse:  this  resource,  however. 

VOL.  M.  24 


186 


BieXHODISM   IN  SCOTLAND. 


could  not  maintain  him  long ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  his 
distress,  a  demand  was  made  upon  him  by  one  of  hia 
hearers,  which  was  not  likely  to  give  him  a  favorau- 
ble  opinion  of  the  national  character.  This  man, 
perceiving  that  Taylor  was  a  bad  singer,  and  fre- 
quently embarrassed  by  being  obliged  to  sing  the 
Scotch  version,  (because  the  people  knew  nothing  of 
the  Methodist  hymns,)  offered  his  services  to  act  as 
precentor,  and  lead  ofT  the  psalms.  This  did  excel- 
lently well,  till  he  brought  in  a  bill  of  thirteen  and 
four  pence  for  his  work,  which  was  just  four  pence  a 
time  :  the  poor  preacher  paid  the  demand,  and  dis- 
missed him  and  the  Scotch  psalms  together.  Tay- 
lor's perseverance  was  not,  however,  wholly  lost. 
Some  dissenters  from  the  kirk  were  then  building 
what  is  called  in  Glasgow  a  Kirk  of  Relief,  for  the 
purpose  of  choosing  their  own  minister.  One  of  the 
leading  men  had  become  intimate  with  him,  and  of- 
fered to  secure  him  a  majority  of  the  voters.  This 
was  no  ordinary  temptation  :  comfort,  honour,  and 
credit,  with  £140  a-year,  in  exchange  for  hunger  and 
contempt :  but  there  was  honour  also  on  the  other 
side.  The  preacher,  though  he  was  alone  in  Glas- 
gow, belonged  to  a  well-organized  and  increasing  so- 
ciety, where  he  had  all  the  encouragement  of  co-ope- 
ration, friendship,  sympathy,  and  applause.  He  re- 
jected the  offer  ;  and,  before  the  spring,  he  formed 
a  regular  society  of  about  forty  persons,  who 
procured  a  place  to  meet  in,  and  furnished  it  with  a 
pulpit  and  seats.  When  they  had  thus  housed  him, 
they  began  to  inquire  how  he  was  maintained  ;  if  he 
had  an  estate;  or  what  supplies  from  England.  He 
then  explained  to  them  his  own  circumstances,  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  preachers  were  supported, 
by  small  contributions.  This  necessary  part  of  the 
Methodist  economy  was  cheerfully  established  among 
them  ;  and,  when  he  departed,  he  left  a  certain  pro- 
vision for  his  successor,  and  a  flock  of  seventy  souls. 
But,  even  in  this  populous  city,  Wesley,  upon  his  last 
visit  to  Scotland,  when  his  venerable  age  alone  might 
have  made  him  an  object  of  curiosity  and  reasonable 
wonder,  attracted  few  hearers,     "  The  congrega- 


!\irTnODISlM    IN  lUF.LAND. 


187 


lion,''  lie  says,  "  was  miserably  small,  verifying 
what  I  had  ol'ten  heard  before,  tliat  the  Scotch  dear- 
ly love  the  word  of  the  I.ord — on  the  Lord  s  day.  If 
I  live  to  come  again,  I  will  take  care  to  spend  only 
the  Lord's  day  at  Glasgow." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 

Melancholy  and  anomalous  as  the  civil  history  of 
Ireland  is.  its  religious  history  is  equally  mournful, 
and  not  less  strange.  Even  at  the  time  when  it  was 
called  the  Island  of  Saints,  and  men  went  forth  from 
its  monasteries  to  be  the  missionaries,  not  of  mona- 
chism  alone,  but  of  literature  and  civilization,  the 
mass  of  the  people  continued  savage,  and  was  some- 
thing worse  than  heathen.  They  accommodated 
their  new  religion  to  their  own  propensities,  with  a 
perverted  ingenuity,  at  once  humorous  and  detest- 
able, and  altogether  peculiar  to  themselves.  Thus, 
when  a  child  was  immersed  at  baptism,  it  was  cus- 
tomary not  to  dip  the  right  arm,  to  the  intent  that  he 
might  strike  a  more  deadly  and  ungracious  blow 
therewith  ;  and  under  an  opinion,  no  doubt,  that  the 
rest  of  the  body  would  not  be  responsible  at  the  re- 
surrection, for  any  thing  which  had  been  committed 
by  the  unbaptized  hand.  Thus,  too,  at  the  baptism, 
the  father  took  the  wolves  for  his  gossips  ;  and 
thought  that,  by  this  profanation,  he  was  forming  an 
alliance,  both  for  himself  and  the  bo}',  with  the 
fiercest  beasts  of  the  woods.  The  son  of  a  chief  was 
baptized  in  milk  ;  water  was  not  thought  good 
enough,  and  whiskey  had  not  then  been  invented. 
They  used  to  rob  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  as  a 
point  of  devotion,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  up  a 
good  stock  of  plunder  against  Easier ;  and  he  whose 
.spoils  enabled  him  to  furnish  the  best  entertainment 


188 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


at  that  time,  was  looked  upon  as  the  best  Christian. 
— so  they  robbed  in  emulation  of  each  other;  and 
reconciling  their  habits  to  their  conscience,  with  a 
hardihood  beyond  that  of  the  boldest  casuists,  they 
persuaded  themselves  that,  if  robbery,  murder,  and 
rape  had  been  sins.  Providence  would  never  put  such 
temptations  in  their  way  ;  nay,  that  the  sin  would  be, 
if  they  \verc  so  ungrateful  as  not  to  take  advantage 
of  a  good  opportunity  when  it  was  offered  them. 

These  things  would  appear  incredible,  if  they 
were  not  conformable  to  the  spirit  of  Irish  history, 
fabulous  and  authentic.  Yet  were  the  Irish,  beyond 
all  other  people,  passionately  attached  to  the  religion 
wherein  they  were  so  miserably  ill  instructed.  Whe- 
ther they  were  distinguished  by  this  peculiar  attach- 
ment to  their  church,  when  the  supremacy  of  the 
Pope  was  ackiiowledged  throughout  Europe,  cannot 
be  known,  and  may,  m  ilh  much  probability,  be  doubt- 
ed ;  this  is  evident,  that  it  must  have  acquired 
strength  and  inveteracy  when  it  became  a  principle 
of  opposition  to  their  rulers,  and  was  blended  with 
their  hatred  of  the  English,  who  so  little  understood 
their  duty  and  their  policy  as  conquerors,  that  they 
neither  made  themselves  loved,  nor  feared,  nor  re- 
spected. 

Ireland  is  the  only  country  in  which  the  Reforma- 
tion produced  nothing  but  evil.  Protestant  Europe 
has  been  richly  repaid  for  the  long  calamities  of  that 
great  revolution,  by  the  permanent  blessings  which 
it  lelt  behind  ;  and  even  among  those  nations  where 
the  papal  superstition  maintained  its  dominion  by 
fire  and  sword,  an  important  cliange  was  effected  in 
tlie  lives  and  conduct  of  the  Romish  clergy.  Ireland 
alone  was  so  circumstanced  as  to  be  incapable  of 
deriving  any  advantage,  while  it  was  exposed  to  all 
the  evils  of  the  change.  The  work  of  sacrilege  and 
plunder  went  on  there  as  it  did  in  England  and  Scot- 
land ;  but  the  language  of  the  people,  and  their  sa- 
vage state,  precluded  all  possibility  of  religious 
improvement.  It  was  not  till  nearly  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  that  the  Bible  was  trans- 
lated into  Irish,  by  means  of  Bishop  Bedell,  a  man 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


189 


wortiiy  to  have  Sir  Henry  Wotton  for  his  patron,  and 
Father  Paolo  Sarpi  for  his  friend.  The  church  pro- 
perty had  been  so  scandalously  plundered,  that  few 
parishes*  could  afford  even  a  bare  subsistence  to  a 
Protestant  minister,  and  therefore  few  ministers  were 
to  be  found.  Meantime  the  Romish  clergy  were  on 
the  alert,  and  they  were  powerfully  aided  by  a  con- 
tinued supply  of  fellow-labourers  from  the  seminaries 
established  in  the  Spanish  dominions ;  men  who,  by 
their  temper  and  education,  vvere  fitted  for  any  work 
in  which  policy  might  think  proper  to  employ  fanati- 
cism. The  Franciscans  have  made  it  their  boast, 
that,  at  the  time  of  the  Irish  massacre,  there  appear- 
ed among  the  rebels  more  than  six  hundred  Friars 
Minorite,  who  had  been  instigating  them  to  that 
accursed  rebellion  while  living  among  them  in  dis- 
guise. 

Charles  II.  restored  to  the  Irish  church  all  the  im- 
propriations and  portions  of  tithes  which  had  been 
vested  in  the  crown ;  removing,  by  this  wise  and  me- 
ritorious measure,  one  cause  of  its  inefficiency. — 
When,  in  the  succeeding  reign,  the  civil  liberties  of 
England  vvere  preserved  by  the  Church  of  England, 
the  burden  of  the  Revolution  again  fell  upon  Ireland. 
That  unhappy  country  became  the  seat  of  war,  and, 
from  that  time,  the  Irish  Catholics  stood,  as  a  politi- 
cal party,  in  the  same  relation  to  the  French  as  they 
had  done  during  Elizabeth's  reign  to  the  Spaniards. 
The  history  of  Ireland  is  little  else  but  a  history  of 
crimes  and  of  misgovernment.  A  system  of  half  per- 
secution was  pursued,  at  once  odious  for  its  injustice, 
and  contemptible  for  its  inefficacy.  Good  principles, 
and  generous  feelings,  were  thereby  provoked  into 
an  alliance  with  superstition  and  priestcraft ;  and 
the  priests,  whom  the  law  recognized  only  for  the 
purpose  of  punishing  them  if  they  discharged  the 
forms  of  their  office,  established  a  more  absolute  do- 
minion over  the  minds  of  the  Irish  people,  than  was 
possessed  by  the  clergy  in  any  other  part  of  the 
Avorld. 

*  The  best  living  in  Connaught  was  not  worth  more  than  forty  shit- 
lir.KS  a  y^ar :  ynd  ^omc  were  as  low  as  sixteen  ! 


190 


MEIHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


Half  a  century  of  peace  and  comparative  tranquil- 
lity, (luring  which  great  advances  were  made  in  trade, 
produced  little  or  no  melioration  in  the  religious 
state  of  the  country.  Sectarians  of  every  kind,  de- 
script  and  non-descript,  had  been  introduced  in  Crom- 
well's time  ;  and  what  proselytes  they  obtained  were 
won  from  the  Established  Church,  not  from  the  Ca- 
tholics, whom  both  the  Dissenters  and  the  clergy 
seem  to  have  considered  as  inconvertible.  In  truth, 
the  higher  orders  were  armed  against  all  conviction 
by  family  pride,  and  old  resentment,  and  the  sense  of 
their  wrongs ;  while  the  great  body  of  the  native 
Irish  were  effectually  secured  by  their  language  and 
their  ignorance,  even  if  the  priests  had  been  less  vi- 
gilant in  their  duty,  and  the  Protestants  more  active 
in  theirs.  Bishop  Berkeley  (one  of  the  best,  wisest, 
and  greatest  men  whom  Ireland,  with  all  its  fertility 
of  genius,  has  produced)  saw  the  evil,  and  perceived 
what  ought  to  be  the  remedy.  In  that  admirable  lit- 
tle book,  the  Querist,  from  which,  even  at  this  day. 
men  of  all  ranks,  from  the  manufacturer  to  the  states- 
man, may  derive  instruction,  it  is  asked  by  this  saga- 
cious writer,  "Whether  there  be  an  instance  of  a 
people's  being  converted,  in  a  Christian  sense,  other- 
wise than  by  preaching  to  them,  and  instructing  them 
in  their  own  language  ?  Whether  catechists,  in  the 
Irish  tongue,  may  not  easily  be  procured  and  subsist- 
ed ?  and  whether  this  would  not  be  the  most  practi- 
cable means  for  converting  the  natives  ?  Whether 
it  be  not  of  great  advantage  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
that  she  hath  clergy  suited  to  all  ranks  of  men,  in  gra- 
dual subordination  from  cardinals  down  fo  mendi- 
cants ?  Wiiether  her  numerous  poor  clergy  arc  not 
very  useful  in  missions,  and  of  much  influence  with 
the  people  ?  Whether,  in  defect  of  able  missiona- 
ries, persons  conversant  in  low  life,  and  speaking  the 
Irisli  tongue,  if  well  instructed  in  the  first  principles 
of  religion,  and  in  the  Popish  controversy,  though, 
for  the  rest,  on  a  level  with  the  parish-clerks,  or  the 
schoolmasters  of  charity-schools,  may  not  be  fit  to  mix 
with,  and  bring  over  our  poor  illiterate  natives  to  the 
Established  Church?  Whether  it  is  not  to  be  wished 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


191 


lhat  some  parts  of  our  liturgy  and  homilies  wore  pub- 
licly read  in  the  Irish  language?  and  whether,  in 
these  views,  it  may  not  be  right  to  breed  up  some  of 
the  better  sort  of  children  in  the  charity-schools,  and 
qualify  them  for  missionaries,  catechists,  and  read- 
ers ?"  What  Berkeley  desired  to  sec,  Methodism 
would  exactly  have  supplied,  could  it  have  been  ta- 
ken into  the  service  of  the  churc!) ;  and  this  might 
have  been  done  in  Ireland,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
follies  and  extravagancies  by  which  it  had  rendered 
itself  obnoxious  in  England  at  its  commencement. 

Twelve  years  after  the  publication  of  the  Querist, 
John  Wesley  landed  in  Dublin,  where  one  of  his 
preachers,  by  name  Williams,  had  formed  a  small  so- 
ciety. The  curate  of  St.  Mary's  lent  him  his  pulpit, 
and  his  first  essay  was  not  very  promising ;  for  he 
preached  from  it,  he  says,  to  as  gay  and  senseless  a 
congregation  as  he  had  ever  seen.  The  clergyman 
who  gave  this  proof  of  his  good-will  disapproved, 
however,  of  his  employing  lay-preachers,  and  of  his 
preaching  any  where  but  in  a  church  ;  and  told  him, 
that  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  was  resolved  to  suffer 
I  no  such  irregularities  in  his  diocese.  Wesley,  there- 
fore, called  on  the  archbishop,  and  says,  that,  in  the 
course  of  a  long  conversation,  he  answered  abun- 
dance of  objections;  some,  perhaps,  he  remov  d  ; 
and,  if  he  did  not  succeed  in  persuading  the  prelate 
of  the  utility  of  Methodism,  he  must  certainly  have 
satisfied  him  that  he  was  not  to  be  prevented  from 
pursuing  his  own  course. 

Wesley's  first  impressions  of  the  Irish  were  very 
favourable  ;  a  people  so  generally  civil  he  had  never 
seen,  either  in  Europe  or  America.  Even  when  he 
failed  to  impress  them,  they  listened  respectfully. — 

Mockery,"  said  he,  is  not  the  custom  here  :  all 
attend  to  what  is  spoken  in  the  name  of  God.  They 
do  not  understfind  the  making  sport  with  sacred 
tilings;  so  that  whether  they  approve  or  not,  they 
behave  with  seriousness."  He  even  thought  that,  if 
he  or  his  brother  could  have  remained  a  few  months 
at  Dublin,  thoy  might  have  formed  a  larger  society 
than  in  London,  the  people  in  general  being  of  a 


192 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


more  teachable  spirit  than  in  most  parts  of  England  ; 
but,  on  that  very  account,  he  observed,  they  must  be 
watched  over  with  the  more  care,  being  equally  sus- 
ceptible of  good  or  ill  impressions.  "  What  a  na- 
tion," he  says,  "is  this!  every  man,  wofnan,  and 
child,  except  a  few  of  the  great  vulgar,  not  only  pa- 
tiently, but  gladly  sutler  the  work  of  exhortation  !" — 
And  he  called  them  an  immeasurably  loving  people. 
There  was,  indeed,  no  cause  to  complain  of  insensi- 
bility in  his  hearers,  as  in  Scotland.  He  excited  as 
much  curiosity  and  attention  as  he  could  desire;  but, 
if  Methodism  had  been  opposed  by  popular  outcry, 
and  by  mobs  in  England,  it  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  it  could  proceed  without  molestation  in  Ireland. 
In  M'esiey's  own  words,  "  The  roaring  lion  began  to 
shake  himself  here  also." 

The  Romish  priests  were  the  first  persons  to  take 
the  alarm.  One  of  them  would  sometimes  come, 
when  a  Methodist  was  preaching,  and  drive  away 
his  hearers  like  a  flock  of  sheep.  A  Catholic  mob 
broke  into  their  room  at  Dublin,  and  destroyed  every 
thing  :  several  of  the  rioters  were  apprehended,  but 
the  grand  juiy  threw  out  the  bills  against  them  ;  for 
there  were  but  too  many  of  the  Protestants  who 
thought  the  Methodists  fair  game.  It  happened  that 
Cennick,  preaching  on  Christmas-day,  took  for  his 
text  these  words  from  St.  Luke's  Gospel :  "And  this 
shall  be  a  sign  unto  you  :  ye  shall  find  the  babe, 
Avrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger." — 
A  Catholic  who  was  present,  and  to  whom  the  lan- 
giKige  of  Scripture  was  a  novelty,  thought  this  so  lu- 
dicrous, that  he  called  the  preacher  a  Swaddler,  in 
derision  ;  and  this  unmeaning  word  became  the  nick- 
name of  the  Methodists,  and  had  all  the  effect  of  the 
most  opprobrious  appellation.  At  length,  when 
Charles  Wesley  v.as  at  Cork,  a  mob  was  raised 
against  him  and  his  followers  in  that  city,  under  the 
guidance  of  one  Nicholas  Butler,  who  went  about 
the  streets  dressed  in  a  clergyman's  gown  and  band. 
Avith  a  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  a  bundle  of  ballads  for 
sale  in  the  other.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  this 
blackguard  relied  upon  the  approbation  and  encou- 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


193 


ragement  of  the  mayor ;  and  when  that  magistrate 
was  asked  whether  he  gave  Butler  leave  to  beset  the 
houses  of  the  Methodists  with  a  mob,  and  was  re- 
quired to  put  a  stop  to  the  riots,  he  replied,  that  he 
neither  gave  him  leave  nor  hindered  him  :  and  when, 
with  much  importunity,  a  man,  whose  house  was  at- 
tacked, prevailed  upon  him  to  repair  to  the  spot,  and 
as  he  supposed,  afford  him  some  protection,  the 
mayor  said  aloud,  in  the  midst  of  the  rabble,  "  It  is 
your  own  fault  for  entertaining  these  preachers.  If 
you  will  turn  them  out  of  your  house,  I  will  engage 
there  shall  be  no  more  harm  done ;  but  if  you  will 
not  turn  them  out,  you  must  take  what  you  will  get." 
Upon  this  the  mob  set  up  a  huzza,  and  threw  stones 
faster  than  before.  The  poor  man  exclaimed,  "  This 
is  fine  usage  under  a  Protestant  government!  If  I 
had  a  priest  saying  mass  in  every  room  of  it,  my 
house  would  not  be  touched :"  to  which  the  mayor 
made  answer,  that  "  the  priests  were  tolerated,  but 
he  was  not." 

These  riots  continued  many  days.  The  mob  pa- 
raded the  streets,  armed  with  swords,  staves,  and 
pistols,  crying  out,  Five  pounds  for  a  Swaddler's 
head  !"  Many  persons,  w  omen  as  well  as  men,  were 
bruised  and  wounded,  to  the  imminent  danger  of  their 
lives.  Depositions  of  these  outrages  were  taken 
and  laid  before  the  grand  jury;  but  they  threw  out 
all  the  bills,  and,  instead  of  affording  relief  or  justice 
to  the  injured  persons,  preferred  bills  against  Charles 
Wesley,  and  nine  of  the  Methodists,  as  persons  of 
ill  fame,  vagabonds,  and  common  disturbers  of  His 
Majesty's  peace,  praying  that  they  might  be  trans- 
ported. Butler  was  now  in  high  glory,  and  declared 
that  he  had  full  liberty  to  do  whatever  he  would,  even 
to  murder,  if  he  pleased.  The  prejudice  against  the 
Methodists  must  have  been  very  general,  as  well  as 
strong,  before  a  Protestant  magistrate,  and  a  Protes- 
tant grand  jury  in  Ireland,  would  thus  abet  a  Catho- 
lic rabble  in  their  excesses ;  especially  when  the 
Romans,  as  they  called  themselves,  designated  the 
Methodists  as  often  by  the  title  of  heretic  dogs,  as  by 
any  less  comprehensive  appellation.    The  cause 

VOL.  II.  2,') 


194 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


hiust  be  found  partly  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Metho- 
dists, and  partlj  in  their  conduct.  Their  notions  o{ 
perfection  and  assurance  might  well  seem  fanatical, 
in  the  liighest  degree,  if  bronght  forward,  as  they 
mostly  were,  by  ignorant  and  ardent  men,  who  were 
not,  like  the  Wesleys,  careful  to  explain  and  qualify 
the  rash  and  indefensible  expressions.  The  watch- 
nights  gave  reasonable  ground  for  scandal;  and  the 
zeal  of  the  preachers  was  not  tempered  with  dis- 
cretion, or  softened  by  humairity.  One  of  them  ask- 
ed a  young  woman,  w  hether  she  had  a  mind  to  go  to 
hell  with  her  father;  and  Mr.  Wesley  himself,  in  a 
letter  upon  the  proceedings  at  Cork,  justified  this  * 
brutality  so  far  as  to  declare,  that,  unless  he  knew 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  he  could  not  say  whe- 
ther it  was  right  or  wrong  ! 

Severnl  of  tlie  persons,  whom  the  grand  jury  had 
presented  as  vagabonds,  appeared  at  the  next  assizes. 
Butler  was  the  tirst  witness  against  them.  Upon  be- 
ing asked  what  his  calling  might  be,  he  replied,  "  I 

*  This  person,  whose  name  was  Jonathan  R?evcs,  only  acted  upon  a 

fnincijjle  whic  h  had  been  established  at  the  third  Conference.  The  fol- 
owing  part  of  the  minutes  upon  that  subject  is  characteristic: 

Q.  1.  Can  an  unbehever  (whatever  he  be  in  other  respects)  challenge' 
any  thing  of  God's  justice  ? 

A.  Absolutely  nothing  but  hell.  And  this  is  a  point  which  we  cannot 
too  much  insist  on. 

Q.  2.  Do  we  empt J' men  of  their  own  rightcousne?s,  aswcdidatfirst.-' 
Do  we  sufficiently  labour,  when  Ihej'  begin  to  be  convinced  of  sin,  to 
take  away  all  they  lean  upon  ?  Should  we  not  then  endeavour,  with  all 
our  might,  to  overturn  their  false  foundations  ? 

^.  This  was  at  fust  one  of  our  principal  points  ;  and  it  ought  to  be  so 
Btill :  for,  till  all  other  foundations  are  overturned,  they  cannot  build  upon 
Christ. 

Q.  8.  Did  we  not  </ten  purposely  throw  them  into  convictions;  into 
strong  sorrow  and  fear  ?  Nay,  did  we  not  strive  to  make  them  inconsola- 
ble ;  refusing  to  be  comforted  ? 

A.  We  did  ;  and  so  v.  <•  should  do  still ;  for,  the  stronger  the  convic- 
tion, the  speedier  is  the  deliverance  :  and  none  so  soon  receive  the  peace- 
of  God  as  those  who  steadily  refuse  all  other  comfort. 

Q.  4.  Let  us  consider  a  particular  case.  VS  ere  you,  Jonathan 
RecveSj  before  you  received  the  peace  of  God,  convinced  that,  not- 
withstanding all  you  did,  or  could  do,  you  were  in  a  state  of  dam- 
nation ? 

J.  R.  I  was  Convinced  of  it  as  fully  as  that  I  am  now  alive, 

Q>  f).  Are  j-ou  sure  that  conviction  was  from  God  ? 

J.  li.  1  can  have  no  doubt  but  that  it  was. 

fi.  6.  What  do  you  mean  by  a  state  of  damhation  ? 

J-  JJ.  A  state  wherein  if  a  man  dies  he  pcrisheth  for  ever, 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND, 


195 


sing  ballads."    Upon  which  the  judge  lifted  up  his 
hands,  b..id  said,     Here  are  six  gentlcmon  indicted 
as  vaffabi^nds,  and  i  iie  first  accuser  is  a  vagabond  by 
profession  !"    The  next  witness,  in  reply  to  the  same 
question,  replied,  "  I  am  an  Anti-swaddler,  my  lord  ;" 
and  the  examination  ended  in  his  being  ordered  out 
of  court  fjr  contempt.    The  judge  delivered  such 
an  opinion  as  became  him  upon  the  encouragement 
which  had  been  given  to  the  rioters.    In  the  ensuing 
year  Wesley  himself  visited  Cork,  and  preaclied  in  a 
place  called  Hammond's  Marsh,  to  a  numerous  but 
quiet  assembly.     As  there  was  a  report  that  the 
mayor  intended  to  prevent  him  from  preaching  at 
that  place  again,  Wesley,  with  more  deference  to  au- 
thority than  he  had  shown  in  England,  desired  two 
of  his  friends  to  wait  upon  him,  and  say,  that  if  his 
preaching  there  would  be  olFensive,  he  would  give 
up  the  intention.    The  mayor  did  not  receive  this 
concession  graciously :  he  replied,  in  anger,  that 
there  were  churches  and  meetings  enough;  he  would 
have  no  more  mobs  and  riots — no  more  preaching ; 
and  if  Mr.  Wesley  attempted  to  preach,  he  was  pre- 
pared for  him.    Some  person  had  said,  in  reply  to 
one  who  observed  that  the  Methodists  were  tolerated 
by  the  king,  they  should  find  that  the  mayor  was  king 
of  Cork  ;  and  Mr.  Wesley  newfound,  tliat  th^ere  was 
more  meaning  in  this,  than  he  had  been  disposed  to 
allow.    When  next  he  began  preaching  in  the  Me- 
thodist room,  the  mayor  sent  the  drummers  to  drum 
before  the  door.    A  great  mob  was  by  this  means 
collected,  and  when  Wesley  came  out  of  the  house, 
they  closed  him  in.    He  appealed  to  one  of  (he  Ser- 
jeants to  protect  him  ;  but  the  man  replied,  he  had 
no  orders  to  do  so;  and  the  rabble  began  to  pelt 
him :  by  pushing  on,  however,  and  looking  them 
fairly  in  the  face,  with  his  wonted  composure,  he 
made  way,  and  they  opened  to  iet  him  pass.    But  a 
cry  was  set  up,  Hey  for  the  Romans  !  the  congrega- 
tion did  not  escape  so  well  as  the  leader;  many  of 
them  were  roughly  handled,  and  covered  with  mud; 
the  house  was  presently  njutted,  the  tloors  were  torn 
up.  and,  with  tl;e  window-frames  and  doors,  carried 


196 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


into  the  street  and  burnt :  and  the  next  day  the  mob 
made  a  grand  procession,  and  burnt  Mr.  Wesley  in 
effigy.  The  house  was  a  second  time  attacked,  and 
the  boards  demohshed,  which  had  been  nailed 
against  the  windows  ;  and  a  fellow  posted  up  a 
notice  at  the  public  exchange,  with  his  name  af- 
fixed, that  lie  was  ready  to  head  any  mob,  in  or- 
der to  pull  down  any  house  that  should  harbour  a 
Swaddler. 

The  press  also  was  employed  against  the  Metho- 
dists, but  with  little  judgment  and  less  honesty. — 
One  writer  accused  Mr.  Wesley  of  "  robbing  and 
plundering  the  poor,  so  as  to  leave  them  neither 
bread  to  eat,  nor  raiment  to  put  on."  He  replied 
victoriously  to  this  accusation  :  "  A  heavy  charge," 
said  he,  "  but  without  all  colour  of  truth;  yea, just 
the  reverse  is  true.  Abundance  of  those  in  Cork, 
Bandon,  Limerick,  and  Dublin,  as  well  as  in  all  parts 
of  England,  who,  a  few  years  ago,  either  through 
sloth  or  profaneness,  had  not  bread  to  eat,  or  raiment 
to  put  on,  have  now,  by  means  of  the  preachers  called 
Methodists,  a  sufficiency  of  both.  Since,  by  hear- 
ing these,  they  have  learned  to  fear  God,  they  have 
learned  also  to  work  with  their  hands,  as  well  as  to 
cut  offevery  needless  expense,  and  to  be  good  stew- 
ards of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness."  He 
averred  also,  that  the  effect  of  his  preaching  bad  re- 
conciled disaffected  persons  to  the  government ;  and 
that  they  who  became  Methodists  were,  at  the  same 
time,  made  loyal  subjects.  He  reminded  his  anta- 
gonists, that  when  one  of  the  English  bishops  had 
been  asked  what  could  be  done  to  stop  these  new 
preachers,  the  prelate  had  replied,  "  If  they  preach 
contrary  to  Scripture,  confute  them  by  Scripture;  if 
contrary  to  reason,  confute  them  by  reason.  But  be- 
ware you  use  no  other  weapons  than  these,  either  in 
opposing  error,  or  defending  the  truth."  He  com- 
plained that,  instead  of  fair  and  honourable  argu- 
ment, he  had  been  assailed  at  Cork  with  gross  false- 
hoods, mean  abuse,  and  base  scurrility.  He  chal- 
lenged any  of  his  antagonists,  or  any  who  would 
come  forward,  to  meet  him  on  even  ground,  writing 


METHODISM   IS  IRELAND. 


197 


as  a  gentleman  to  a  gentleman,  a  scholar  to  a  scho- 
lar, a  clergyman  to  a  clergyman.    "Let  them,"  said 
he,  "  thus  show  me  wherein  I  have  preached  or  writ- 
ten amiss,  and  I  will  stand  reproved  before  all  the 
world  ;  but  let  them  not  continue  to  put  persecution 
in  the  place  of  reason  :  either  private  persecution,  stir- 
ring up  husbands  to  threaten  or  beat  their  wives, 
parents  their  children,  masters  their  servants ;  gen- 
tlemen to  ruin  their  tenants,  labourers,  or  tradesmen, 
by  turning  them  out  of  their  favour  or  cottages  ;  em- 
ploying, or  buying  of  them  no  more,  because  they 
worship  God  according  to  their  own  conscience :  or 
open,  bare-faced,  noon-day  Cork  persecution,  break- 
ing open  the  houses  of  His  Majesty's  Protestant  sub- 
jects, destroying  their  goods,  spoiling  or  tearing  the 
very  clothes  from  their  backs;  striking,  bruising, 
wounding,  murdering  them  in  the  streets;  dragging 
them  through  the  mire,  without  any  regard  to  age  or 
sex,  not  sparing  even  those  of  tender  years  ;  no,  nor 
women,  though  great  with  child  ;  but,  with  more 
than  Pagan  or  Mahometan  barbarity,  destroying  in- 
fants that  were  yet  unborn."    He  insisted,  truly,  that 
this  was  a  common  cause  ;  for,  if  the  Methodists 
were  not  protected,  what  protection  would  any  men 
have    what  security  for  their  goods  or  lives,  if  a  mob 
were  to  be  both  judge,  jury,  and  executioner?    "  I 
fear  God,  and  honour  the  king,"  said  he.    "  I  ear- 
nestly desire  to  be  at  peace  with  all  men.    I  have 
not,  willingly,  given  any  offence,  either  to  the  magis- 
trates, the  clergy,  or  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  of  Cork ;  neither  do  I  desire  any  thing  of  them, 
but  to  be  treated  (I  will  not  say  as  a  clergyman,  a 
gentleman,  or  a  christian)  with  such  justice  and  hu- 
manity as  are  due  to  a  Jew,  a  Turk,  or  a  Pagan." 

Whitefield  visited  Ireland,  for  the  first  time,  in 
the  ensuing  year,  and  found  himself  the  safer  for 
the  late  transactions.  Such  outrages  had  com- 
pelled the  higher  powers  to  interfere;  and,  when 
he  arrived  at  Cork,  the  populace  was  in  a  state  of 
due  subordination.  He  seems  to  have  regarded 
the  conduct  of  Wesley  and  his  lay-preachers  with 
no  favourable  eye:  some  dreadful  offences,  he  said. 


198 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


had  been  given ;  and  he  condemned  all  politics  an 
below  the  children  of  God;  alluding,  apparently, 
to  the  decided  manner  in  which  Wesley  always  in- 
culcated obedience  to  government  as  one  of  the 
duties  of  a  Christian  ;  making  it  his  boast,  that,  who- 
ever became  a  Methodist,  became  at  the  same  time 
a  good  subject.  Though  his  success  was  not  so 
brilliant  as  in  Scotland,  it  was  still  sufficient  to  en- 
courage and  cheer  him.  "  Providence,"  says  he, 
"  has  wonderfully  prepared  my  way,  and  overruled 
every  thing  for  my  greater  acceptance.  Every  where 
there  seems  to  be  a  stirring  among  the  dry  bones ; 
and  the  trembling  lamps  of  God's  people  have  been 
supplied  with  fresli  oil.  The  word  ran,  and  was 
glorified."  Hundreds  prayed  for  him  when  he  left 
Cork;  and  many  of  the  Catholics  said,  that,  if  he 
would  stay,  they  would  leave  their  priests :  but,  on 
a  second  expedition  to  Ireland,  Whitefield  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life.  He  had  been  well  received, 
and  had  preached  once  or  twice,  on  week  days,  in 
Oxminton  Green  ;  a  place  which  he  describes  as  the 
Moorfields  of  Dublin.  The  Ormond  Boys,  and  the 
Liberty  Boys,  (these  were  the  current  denominations 
of  the  mob  factions  at  that  time,)  generally  assem- 
bled there  every  Sunday — to  fight ;  and  Whitefield, 
mindful,  no  doubt,  of  his  success  in  a  former  enter- 
prise, under  like  circumstances,  determined  to  take 
the  field  on  that  day,  relying  upon  the  interference 
of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  whose  barracks  were 
close  by,  if  he  should  stand  in  need  of  protection. 
The  singing,  praying,  and  preaching  went  on  without 
much  interruption  ;  only  now  and  then  a  few  stones, 
and  a  few  clods  of  dirt,  were  thrown.  After  the  ser- 
mon, he  prayed  for  success  to  the  Prussian  arms,  it 
being  in  time  of  war.  Whether  this  prayer  offended 
the  party-spirit  of  his  hearers,  or  whether  the  mere 
fact  of  his  being  a  heretic,  who  Avent  about  seeking 
to  make  proselytes,  had  excited,  in  the  catholic  part 
of  the  mob,  a  determined  spirit  of  vengeance;  or 
whether,  without  any  principle  of  iiatred  or  personal 
dislike,  they  considered  him  as  a  bear,  buii,  or  bad- 
ger, whom  they  had  an  opportunity  of  tormenting, 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAlfD. 


199 


the  barracks,  through  which  he  intended  to  return 
as  he  had  coino,  were  dosed  against  him  ;  and  when 
he  endeavoured  to  make  his  way  across  the  green, 
the  rabble  assailed  him.  "  Many  attacks,"  says  he, 
"  have  1  had  liom  Satan's  children,  but  now  you 
would  have  thought  he  had  been  permitted  to  have 
given  me  an  effectual  parting  blow."  Vollles  of 
stones  came  from  all  quarters,  while  he  reeled  to 
and  fro  under  the  blows,  till  he  was  almost  breathless, 
and  covered  with  blood.  A  strong  beaver  hat,  which 
served  him  for  a  while  as  a  skull-cap,  was  knocked 
off"  at  last,  and  he  then  received  many  blows  and 
wounds  on  tlie  head,  and  one  large  one  near  the 
temple.  "  I  thought  of  Stephen,"  says  he,  "  and 
was  in  great  hopes  that,  like  him,  I  should  be  des- 
patched, and  go  off',  in  this  bloody  triumph,  to  the 
immediate  presence  of  my  Master."  The  door  of 
a  minister's  house  was  opened  for  him  in  time,  and 
he  staggered  in,  and  was  sheltered  there,  till  a  coach 
could  be  brought,  and  he  was  conveyed  safely  away. 

The  bitter  spirit  of  the  more  ignorant  Catholics 
was  often  exemplified.  The  itinerants  were  I're- 
quently  told,  that  it  would  be  doing  both  God  and 
the  Church  service  to  burn  all  such  as  them  in  one 
fire  ;  and  one  of  them,  when  he  first  went  into  the 
county  of  Kerry,  was  received  with  the  threat  that 
they  would  kill  him,  and  make  whistles  of  his  bones. 
Another  was  nearly  murdered  by  a  ferocious  mob, 
one  of  whom  set  his  foot  upon  his  face,  swearing  that 
he  would  tread  the  Holy  Ghost  out  of  him.  At  Kil- 
kenny, where  the  Catholics  were  not  strong  enough 
to  make  a  riot  with  much  hope  of  success,  they  gnash- 
ed at  Wesley  with  their  teeth,  after  he  had  been 
preaching  in  an  old  bowling-green,  near  the  Castle  ; 
and  one  of  them  cried,  "  Och  !  what  is  Kilkenny 
come  to  !"  But  it  was  from  among  the  Irish  Catholics 
that  Wesley  obtained  one  of  the  most  interesting  of 
his  coadjutors,  and  one  of  the  most  efficient  also 
during  his  short  life. 

Thomas  Walsh,  whom  the  Methodists  justly  reckon 
among  their  most  distinguished  members,  was  the 
son  of  a  carpenter  at  Bally  Lynn,  in  the  county  of 


200 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


Limerick.  His  parents  were  strong  Romanists ;  they 
taught  him  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ave  Maria,  in 
Irish,  which  was  his  mother  tongue,  and  the  hundred 
and  thirtieth  psalm  in  Latin :  and  he  was  taught  al- 
so, that  all  who  differ  from  the  Church  of  Rome  are 
in  a  state  of  damnation.  At  eight  years  old  he  went 
to  school  to  learn  EngHsh :  and  was  afterwards  pla- 
ced, with  one  of  his  brothers,  who  was  a  schoolmas- 
ter, to  learn  Latin  and  mathematics.  At  nineteen  he 
opened  a  school  for  himself  The  brother,  by  whom 
he  was  instructed,  had  been  intended  for  the  priest- 
hood :  he  was  a  man  of  tolerable  learning,  and  of  an 
inquiring  mind,  and,  seeing  the  errors  of  the  Romish 
church,  he  renounced  it.  This  occasioned  frequent 
disputes  with  Thomas  Walsh,  who  was  a  strict  Ca- 
thohc  ;  the  one  alleging  the  traditions  and  canons  of 
the  church,  the  other  appealing  to  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony.  "  My  brother,  why  do  you  not  read  God's 
word  the  elder  would  say,  "lay  aside  prejudice, 
and  let  us  reason  together."  After  many  struggles 
between  the  misgivings  of  his  mind,  and  the  attach- 
ment to  the  opinions  in  which  he  had  been  bred  up, 
and  the  thought  of  his  parents,  and  shame,  and  the 
fear  of  man,  this  state  of  suspense  became  intolerable, 
and  he  prayed  to  God  in  his  trouble.  "  All  things 
are  known  to  Thee,"  he  said,  in  his  prayer,  "  and 
Thou  seest  that  I  want  to  worship  Thee  aright! 
Show  me  the  way  wherein  I  ought  to  go,  nor  suffer 
me  to  be  deceived  by  men  !" 

He  then  went  to  his  brother,  determined  either  to 
convince  him,  or  to  be  convinced.  Some  other  per- 
sons of  the  Protestant  persuasion  were  present :  they 
brought  a  Bible,  and  with  it  Nelson's  Festivals  and 
Fasts  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  and,  with  these 
books  before  them,  they  discussed  the  subject  till 
midnight.  It  ended  in  his  fair  and  complete  conver- 
sion. "  I  was  constrained,"  said  he,  "  to  give  place 
to  the  light  of  truth  :  it  was  so  convincing,  that  I  had 
nothing  more  to  say;  I  was  judged  of  all;  and  at 
length  confessed  the  weakness  of  my  former  reason- 
ings, and  the  strength  of  those  which  were  opposed 
to  me.    About  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  retired 


THOMAS  WALSH. 


201 


to  my  lodging,  and,  according  to  my  usual  custom, 
went  to  prayer;  but  now  only  to  tlie  God  of  heaven. 
I  no  longer  prayed  to  any  angel  or  spirit;  lor  I  was 
deeply  persuaded,  tliat  •  there  is  but  one  God.  and 
one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus.'  'I'herelbre  I  resolved  no  longer  to  suffer  any 
man  to  beguile  me  into  a  voluntary  humility,  in  wor- 
shipping either  saints  or  angels.  These  latter  I  con- 
sidered as  'ministering  spirits,  sent  to  minister  to 
them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation.'  But  with  re- 
gard to  any  worship  being  paid  them,  one  of  them- 
selves said,  'See  thou  do  it  not;  worship  God,  God 
only.'  AH  my  sophisms  on  this  head  were  entire- 
ly overthrown  by  a  few  hours  candid  reading  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  which  were  become  as  a  lanthorn 
to  my  feet,  and  a  lamp  to  my  paths,  directing  me  in 
the  way  wherein  1  should  go."'  Soon  afterwards  he 
publicly  abjured  the  errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome* 

*  His  disposition  would  have  made  him  a  saint  in  that  church,  but  his 
principles  were  truly  catholic  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  abused  word. 
"I  bear  them  witness,"  says  he,  speaking  of  the  Romanists, "  that  they 
have  a  zeal  for  God,  though  not  according  unto  knowledge.  Rlany  of 
them  love  justice,  mercy,  and  truth  :  and  may,  notwithstanding  many 
errors  in  sentiment,  and  therefore  in  practice  (since,  as  is  God's  majes- 
ty, so  is  his  mercy,)  be  dealt  with  accordingly.  There  have  been,  doubt- 
less, and  still  are  amongst  them,  some  l?urning  and  shining  lights ;  per- 
sons who  (whatever  their  particular  sentiments  may  be)  are  devoted  to 
the  service  of  Jesus  Christ,  according  as  their  light  and  opportunities  ad- 
mit. And,  in  reality,  whatever  opinions  people  may  hold,  they  are  most 
approved  of  God,  whose  temper  and  behaviour  correspond  with  the  mo- 
del of  his  holy  word.  This,  however,  can  be  no  justification  of  general 
and  public  unscriptural  teniUs,  such  as  are  many  of  those  of  the  Churcli 
of  Rome.  It  may  be  asked,  then,  why  did  I  leave  their  communion, 
since  I  thought  so  favourably  of  them  ?"  I  answer,  because  I  was  abun- 
dantly convinced  that,  as  a  church,  they  have  erred  from  the  right  way, 
and  adulterated  the  truths  of  God  with  the  inventions  and  traditions  oi" 
men;  which  the  Scriptures,  and  even  celebrated  writers  of  themselves, 
abundantly  testify.  God  is  my  witness,  that  the. sole  motive  which  in- 
duced me  to  leave  them,  was  an  unfeigned  desire  to  know  the  way  of 
God  more  perfectlj',  in  order  to  the  salvation  of  my  soul.  For,  although 
I  then  felt,  and  do  yet  feel  my  heart  to  be,  as  the  prophet  speaks,  deceit- 
ful and  desperately  wicked  with  regard  to  God  ;  yet  I  was  sincere  in  my 
i-eformation,  having,  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  an  earnest  desire  to  save  my 
soul.  If  it  sliould  still  be  asked,  But  could  I  not  be  saved  ?  I  ansAver,  if 
I  had  never  known  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures  concerning  the  way  of 
salvation,  nor  been  convinced  that  their  principles  were  anti-scriptural, 
then  I  might  possibly  have  been  saved  in  her  communion,  the  merciful 
God  making  allowance  for  my  invincible  ignorance.  But  I  freely  pro- 
fess, that  now,  since  God  hath  enlightened  my  mind,  and  given  me  to 
see  the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  if  I  had  still  continued  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  I  could  not  have  been  savrd.  With  regard  to  other-!. 
VOL.  IL  26 


202 


METHODrSM  IN  IRETLAND. 


This  had  been  a  sore  struggle :  a  more  painful 
part  of  his  progress  was  yet  to  come.  He  read  the 
Scriptures  diligently,  and  the  works  of  some  of  the 
most  eminent  Protestant  divines  ;  his  conviction  was 
contirmed  by  this  course  of  study;  and,  from  per- 
ceiving clearly  the  fallacious  mature  and  evil  conse- 
quences of  the  doctrine  of  merits,  as  held  by  the  Ro- 
manists, a  dismal  view  of  human  nature  opened  upon 
him.  His  soul  was  not  at  rest :  it  as  no  longer  ha- 
rassed by  doubts,  but  the  peace  of  God  was  wanting. 
In  this  state  of  mind,  he  happened  one  evening  to  be 
passing  along  the  main  street  in  Limerick,  when  he 
saw  a  great  crowd  on  the  parade,  and  turning  aside 
to  know  for  what  they  were  assembled,  found  that 
Robert  Swindells,  one  of  the  first  itinerants  in  Ireland, 
■was  then  delivering  a  sermon  in  the  open  air.  The 
preacher  wan  earnestly  enforcing  the  words  of  our 
Redeemer, — words  which  are  worth  more  than  all 
the  volumes  of  philosophy:  "Come  unto  me,  all  ye 
that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest !  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me ; 
for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  unto  your  souls  !  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my 
burden  is  light."  Walsh  was  precisely  in  that  state 
which  rendered  him  a  fit  recipient  for  the  doctrines 
M  ijich  he  now  first  heard.  He  caught  the  fever  of 
Methodism,  and  it  went  through  its  regular  course 
with  all  the  accustomed  symptoms.  Some  weeks  he 
remained  in  a  miserable  condition;  he  could  find  no 
rest,  either  by  night  or  day.    "When  I  prayed," 


I  say  nothing;  I  know  that  every  man  must  bear  his  own  burden,  and 
give  an  account  of  himself  to  God.  To  our  own  Master  both  they  and 
I  must  stand  or  fall  for  ever.  But  love,  however,  and  tender  compas- 
sion for  their  souls,  constrained  nic  to  pour  out  a  prayer  to  God  in  their 
behalf: — All  souls  are  Thine,  O  Lord  God,  and  Thou  wiliest  all  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  hv.  saved.  For  this  end  Thou  didst 
give  thy  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  might  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  I  beseech  thee,  O  eternal  God,  show 
thy  tender  mercies  upon  those  poor  souls  who  have  been  long  deluded 
by  the  god  of  this  world,  the  Pope,  and  his  clergy.  Jesus,  thou  lover 
of  souls  and  friend  of  sinners,  send  to  them  thj'  light  and  thy  truth,  that 
they  may  load  them.  Oh  let  thy  bowels  yearn  over  them,  ^nd  call 
those  stiaying  siuep,  now  perishing  for  the  lack  of  knowledge,  to  the 
light  ol'  thy  word,  which  isablc  to  make  them  wise  to  salvation,  througi. 
j'lith  which  is  in  Thee." 


THOMAS  WALSH. 


203 


says  he,  "  I  was  troubled ;  when  I  heard  a  sermon, 
I  was  pierced  as  with  darts  and  arrows. "  He  could 
neither  sleep  nor  eat;  his  body  gave  way  under  this 
mental  sutTering,  and  at  length  he  took  to  his  bed. 
After  a  while  the  re-action  began  ;  fear  and  wretch- 
edness gradually  gave  place  to  the  love  of  God,  aixl 
the  strong  desire  for  salvation:  and  the  crisis  was 
brought  on  at  a  meeting,  where,  he  says,  the  power 
of  the  Lord  came  down  in  the  midst  of  them;  the 
windows  of  heaven  w  ere  opened,  and  the  skies  pour- 
ed down  righteousness,  and  his  heart  melted  like 
wax  before  the  fire."'  To  the  psychologist  it  may  be 
interesting  to  know,  by  what  words  this  state  of  mind 
was  induced.  It  was  by  the  exclamation  of  the  pro- 
phet, "  Who  is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom,  w  ith 
dyed  garments  from  Bozrah  ;  this  that  is  glorious  in 
hisapparel.  travellingin  the  greatnessof his  strength?" 
a  passage  which,  with  that  that  follows,  is  in  the  high- 
est strain  of  lyric  sublimity ;  it  might  seem  little  like- 
ly to  convey  comfort  to  a  spirit  which  had  long  been 
inconsolable  ;  but  its  effect  was  like  that  of  a  spark 
of  fire  upon  materials  which  are  ready  to  burst  into 
combustion.  He  cried  aloud  in  the  congregation  ; 
and,  w  hen  the  throe  was  past,  declared  that  he  had 
now  found  rest,  and  was  filled  with  joy  and  peace  in 
believing. 

'•And  now,"  says  he,  "I  felt  of  a  truth,  that 
faith  is  the  substance,  or  subsistence,  of  things 
hoped  for,  and  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen. 
God,  and  the  things  of  the  invisible  world,  of 
which  I  had  oidy  heard  before  by  the  hearing  of 
the  ear,  appeared  now,  in  their  true  light,  as  sub- 
stantial realities.  Faith  gave  me  to  see  a  recon- 
ciled God,  and  an  all-suflicient  Saviour.  The 
kingdom  of  God  was  within  me.  I  drew  water  oHt 
of  the  wells  of  salvation.  1  walked  and  talked 
with  God  all  the  day  long  :  whatsoever  I  believed  to 
be  his  will,  I  did  with  my  whole  heart.  I  could  un- 
feignedly  love  them  that  hated  me,  and  pray  for  them 
thut  despitefully  used  and  persecuted  me.  The  com- 
mandments of  God  w  ere  my  delight :  I  not  only  re- 
joiced evermore,  but  prayed  without  ceasing,  and  in 


204 


MBTHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


every  thing  gave  thanks  :  whether  I  ate  or  drank,  or 
whatever  I  did,  it  was  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  to  the  glory  of  God."  This  case  is  the  more  re- 
markable, because  the  subject  was  of  a  calm  and 
thoughtful  mind,  a  steady  and  well-regulated  temper, 
and  a  melancholy  temperament.  He  had  now  to  un- 
dergo more  obloquy  and  ill-will  than  had  been 
brought  upon  him  by  his  renunciation  of  the  errors  of 
the  Romish  church.  That  change  his  relations 
thought  was  bad  enough ;  but,  to  become  a  Metho- 
dist, was  wojse,  and  they  gave  him  up  as  undone  for 
ever.  And  not  his  relations  only,  nor  the  Romanists : 
*•  Acquaintances  and  neighbours,"  says  he,  "  rich  and 
poor,  old  and  young,  clergy  and  laity,  were  all  against 
me.  Some  said  I  was  an  hypocrite,  others  that  I  was 
mad  ;  others,  judging  more  favourably,  that  I  was  de- 
ceived. Reformed  and  unreformed  I  found  to  be 
just  alike  ;  and  that  many,  who  spoke  against  the 
Pope  and  the  Inquisition,  were  themselves,  in  reality, 
of  the  same  disposition." 

Convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  now  to  become  a 
minister  of  that  gospel  which  he  had  received,  he 
offered  his  services  to  Mr.  Wesley,  as  one  who  be- 
lieved, and  that  not  hastily  or  lightly,  but  after  ardent 
aspirations,  and  continued  prayer  and  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  that  he  was  inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  take  upon  himself  that  office.  He  had  pre- 
pared himself,  by  diligent  study  of  the  Scriptures, 
which  he  read  often  upon  his  knees;  and  the  prayer 
which  he  was  accustomed  to  use  at  such  times,  may 
excite  the  admiration  of  those  even  in  whom  it  shall 
fail  to  find  sympathy.  "  Lord  Jesus,  I  lay  my  soul  at 
thy  feet,  to  be  taught  and  governed  by  Thee.  Take 
the  veil  from  the  mystery,  and  show  me  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Thyself  Be  Thou  my  sun  and  star,  by  day 
and  by  night !"  Wesley  told  him  it  was  hard  to  judge 
w  hat  God  had  called  him  to,  till  trial  had  been  made. 
He  encouraged  him  to  make  the  trial,  and  desired 
him  to  preach  in  Irish.  The  command  of  that  lan- 
guage gave  him  a  great  advantage.  It  was  long  ago 
said  in  Ireland,  "  When  you  plead  for  your  life,  plead 
in  Irish."  Even  the  poor  Catholics  listened  willingly, 


THOMAS  WALSH. 


205 


when  they  were  addressed  in  their  mother  tongue : 
his  hearers  frequently  shed  silent  tears,  and  frequent- 
Jy  sobbed  aloud,  and  cried  for  mercy ;  and  in  coun- 
try towns  the  peasantry,  who,  going  there  upon  mar- 
ket-day, had  stopt  to  hear  the  preacher,  from  mere 
wonder  and  curiosity,  were  oftentimes  melted  into 
tears,  and  declared  that  they  could  follow  him  all 
over  the  world.  One,  who  had  laid  aside  some  mo- 
ney, which  he  intended  to  bequeath,  for  the  good  of 
his  soul,  to  some  priest  or  friar,  offered  to  bequeath 
it  to  him  if  he  would  accept  it.  In  conversation,  too, 
and  upon  all  the  occasions  which  occurred  in  daily 
life, — at  inns,  and  upon  the  highway,  and  in  the 
streets, — this  remarkable  man  omitted  no  opportu- 
nity of  giving  rehgious  exhortation  to  those  who 
needed  it ;  taking  care  always  not  to  shock  the  pre- 
judices of  those  whom  he  addressed,  and  to  adapt 
his  speech  to  their  capacity.  Points  of  dispute,  whe- 
ther they  regarded  the  difference  of  churches,  or  of 
doctrines,  he  wisely  avoided  ;  sin,  and  death,  and 
judgment,  and  redemption,  were  his  themes ;  and 
upon  these  themes  he  enforced  so  powerfully  at  such 
times,  that  the  beggars,  to  whom  he  frequently  ad- 
dressed himself  in  the  streets,  would  fall  on  their 
knees,  and  beat  their  breasts,  weeping,  and  crying 
for  mercy. 

Many  calumnies  were  invented  to  counteract  the 
effect  which  this  zealous  labourer  produced  wherever 
he  went.  It  was  spread  abroad  that  he  had  been  a 
servant  boy  to  a  Romish  priest,  and  having  stolen  his 
master's  books,  had  learned,  by  that  means,  to  preach. 
But  it  was  not  from  the  Catholics  alone  that  he  met 
with  opposition.  He  was  once  waylaid  near  the  town 
of  Rosgrca,  by  about  fourscore  men,  armed  with 
sticks,  and  bound  by  oath  in  a  confederacy  against 
him  :  they  were  so  liberal  a  mob,  that,  provided  they 
could  reclaim  him  from  Methodism,  they  appeared 
not  to  care  what  they  made  of  him  ;  and  they  insist- 
ed upon  bringing  a  Romish  priest,  and  a  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England,  to  talk  with  him.  Walsh, 
with  great  calmness,  explained  to  them,  that  he  con- 
tended with  no  man  concerning  opinions,  nor  preach- 


206 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


ed  against  particular  churches,  but  against  sin  and 
wickedness  in  all.  And  he  so  far  succeeded  in  miti- 
gating their  disposition  toward  him,  that  they  offered 
to  let  him  go,  provided  he  would  swear  never  again 
to  come  to  Rosgrea.  Walsh  would  rather  have  suf- 
fered martyrdom  than  have  submitted  to  such  an 
oath,  and  martyrdom  was  the  alternative  which  they 
proposed  ;  for  they  carried  him  into  the  town,  where 
the  whole  rabble  surrounded  him,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined that  he  should  either  swear,  or  be  put  into  a 
well.  The  courrige  with  which  he  refused  to  bind 
himself  by  any  oath  or  promise,  made  him  friends 
even  among  so  strange  an  assembly  :  some  cried  out 
vehemently  that  he  should  go  into  the  well ;  others 
took  his  part:  in  the  midst  of  the  uproar,  the  parish 
minister  came  up,  and,  by  his  interference,  Walsh 
was  permitted  to  depart.  At  another  country  town, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Cork,  the  magistrate,  who 
Avas  the  rector  oi  tlie  place,  declared  he  would  com- 
mit him  to  prison,  if  he  did  not  promise  to  preach  no 
more  in  those  parts.  Walsli  replied,  by  asking  if 
there  were  no  swearers,  drunkards.  Sabbath-break- 
ers, and  the  like,  in  those  parts  ;  adding  that,  if,  after 
he  should  h  ue  preached  there  a  few  times,  there 
appeared  no  reformation  among  them,  he  would  ne- 
ver come  there  again.  Not  satisfied  with  such  a  pro- 
posal, the  magistrate  committed  him  to  prison :  but 
Walsh  was  popular  in  that  town;  the  people  mani- 
fested a  great  interest  in  his  behalf;  he  preached  to 
them  from  the  prison-window,  and  it  was  soon  thought 
adviseable  to  release  him.  He  was  more  cruelly  han- 
dled by  the  Presbyterians  in  the  north  of  Ireland  : 
the  usage  which  he  received  from  a  mob  of  that  per- 
suasion, and  the  exertions  which  he  made  to  escape 
from  them,  threw  him  into  a  fever,  which  confined 
him  for  some  time  to  his  bed :  and  he  professed  that, 
if!  ail  his  journeyings,  and  in  his  intercourse  among 
peop.e  of  many  or  most  denominations,  he  had  met 
with  no  such  treatinent;  no,  not  even  from  the  most 
enragfnl  of  the  Romanists  themselves. 

The  iile  of  Thomas  Walsh  might  alone  convince 
a  Catholic,  that  saints  arc  to  be  found  in  other  com- 


THOMAS  WALSH. 


'207 


iiiuiiions,  as  well  as  in  the  church  of  Rome.  Theo- 
pathy  was,  in  him,  not  merely  the  ruling,  it  was  the 
only  passion  :  his  intellect  was  of  no  common  order  : 
but  this  passion,  in  its  excess,  acted  hke  a  disease 
upon  a  mind  that  was,  by  constitution,  melancholy. 
To  whatever  church  he  had  belonged,  the  elements 
of  his  character  would  have  been  the  same  :  the  on- 
ly difference  would  have  been  in  its  manifestation. 
As  a  Romanist,  he  might  have  retired  to  a  cell  or  an 
hermitage,  contented  witli  securing  his  own  salvation, 
by  perpetual  austerity  and  prayer,  and  a  course  of 
continual  self-tormenting.  But  he  could  not  have 
been  more  dead  to  the  world,  nor  more  entirely  pos- 
sessed by  a  devotional  spirit.  Hjs  friends  described 
him  as  appearing  like  one  who  had  returned  from  ihe 
other  world  ;  and  perhaps  it  was  this  unearthly  imn- 
ner  which  induced  a  Romish  priest  to  assure  his  flock, 
that  the  Walsh,  who  had  turned  heretic,  and  went 
about  preaching,  was  dead  long  since  ;  and  that  he 
who  preached  under  that  name,  was  the  devil  in  his 
sliape.  It  is  said  that  he  walked  through  the  streets 
of  London  with  as  little  attention  to  all  things  around 
him,  as  if  he  had  been  in  a  wilderness,  unobservant 
of  whatever  would  have  attracted  the  sight  of  others, 
and  as  indifferent  to  all  sounds  of  excitement,  up- 
roar, and  exultation,  as  to  the  pr.ssing  wind  He 
showed  the  same  insensibility  to  the  influence  of  fine 
scenery  and  sunshine:  tlie  only  natural  object  of 
which  he  spoke  with  feeling,  was  the  starry  firma- 
ment,— for  there  he  beheld  infinity. 

With  all  this,  the  zeal  of  this  extraordinary  man 
was  such,  that,  as  he  truly  said  of  himself,  the  sword 
was  too  sharp  for  the  scabbard.  At  five-and-tv.  enty 
he  might  have  been  taken  tor  forty  years  of  age  ;  and 
he  literally  wore  himself  out  before  he  attained  the 
age  of  thirty,  by  the  most  unremitting  and  unmerci- 
ful labour,  both  of  body  and  mind.  His  sermons  were 
seldom  less  than  an  hour  long,  and  they  were  loud  as 
well  as  long.  Mr.  Wesley  always  warned  his  preach- 
ers against  both  these  errors,  and  considered  Walsh 
as.  in  some  degree,  guilty  of  his  own  death,  by  the 
excessive  exertion  which  he  made  at  such  times,  not- 


20H 


METHODlSxM  IN  IRELAND. 


withstanding  frequent  advice,  and  frequent  resolu- 
tions, to  restrain  the  vehemence  of  his  spirit.  He 
was  not  less  intf  mperate  in  study.  Wesley  acknow- 
ledged him  to  be  the  best  biblical  scholar  whom  he 
liad  ever  known.  If  he  were  questioned  concerning 
any  Hebrew  word  in  the  Old,  or  any  Greek  one  in 
the  New  Testament,  he  would  tell,  after  a  pause, 
how  often  it  occurred  in  the  Bible,  and  what  it  meant 
in  every  place.  Hebrew  was  his  favourite  study  :  he 
regarded  it  as  a  language  of  divine  origin,  and  there- 
fore perfect.  "  O  truly  laudable  and  worthy  stu- 
dy !"  he  exclaims  concerning  it  :  "  O  industry  above 
all  praise  !  whereby  a  man  is  enabled  to  converse 
with  God,  with  holy  angels,  with  patriarchs,  and  with 
prophets,  and  clearly  to  unfold  to  men  the  mind  of 
God  from  the  language  of  God  !"  And  he  was  per- 
suaded that  he  had  not  attained  the  full  and  familiar 
knowledge  of  it,  which  he  believed  that  he  possess- 
ed, without  special  assistance  from  Heaven.  At  this 
study  he  frequently  sate  up  late  ;  and  his  general  time 
of  rising  was  at  four.  When  he  was  entreated  to  al- 
low himself  more  sleep,  by  one  who  saw  that  he  w  as 
wasting  away  to  death,  his  reply  was,  "  Should  a  man 
rob  God  His  friends  related  things  of  him  which 
would  have  been  good  evidence  in  a  suit  for  canoni- 
zation. Sometimes  he  was  lost,  they  say,  in  glorious 
absence  on  his  knees,  with  his  face  heavenward,  and 
arms  clasped  round  his  breast,  in  such  composure, 
that  scarcely  could  he  be  perceived  to  breathe.  His 
soul  seemed  absorbed  in  God ;  and  from  the  sereni- 
ty, and  "  something  resembhng  splendour,  which  ap- 
peared on  his  countenance,  and  in  all  his  gestures  af- 
terwards, it  might  easily  be  discovered  what  he  had 
been  about."  Even  in  sleep,  the  devotional  habit 
still  predominated,  and  "  his  soul  went  out  in  groans, 
and  sighs,  and  tears  to  God."  They  bear  witness  to 
his  rapts  and  extasies,  and  record  circumstance* 
which  they  themselves  believed  to  be  proofs  of  his 
communion  with  the  invisible  world.  With  all  this 
intense  devotion,  the  melancholy  of  his  disposition 
always  predominated  :  and  though  he  held  the  doc- 
trines of  sanctification  and  assurance,  and  doubted 


THOMAS  WALSH. 


209 


not  but  that  his  pardon  was  sealed  by  the  blood  of 
the  covenant,  no  man  was  ever  more  distressed  in 
mirid,  nor  laboured  under  a  greater  dread  of  death. 
Even  when  he  was  enforcing  the  vital  truths  of  reli- 
gion, with  the  whole  force  of  his  intellect,  and  with 
all  his  heart,  and  soul,  and  strength,  thoughts  would 
come  across  him  which  he  considered  as  diabolical 
suggestions  ;  and  he  speaks  with  horror  of  the  ago- 
ny which  he  endured  in  resisting  them.  Indeed,  he 
was  thoroughly  persuaded  that  he  was  an  especial 
object  of  hatred  to  the  devil.  This  persuasion  sup- 
plied a  ready  solution  for  the  nervous  affections  to 
which  he  was  subject,  and,  in  all  likelihood,  fre- 
quently produced  those  abhorred  thoughts,  which 
were  to  bim  a  confirmation  of  that  miserable  belief. 
Romish  superstition  affords  a  remedy  for  this  disease ; 
for,  if  relics  and  images  fail  to  avert  the  fit,  the  cilice 
and  the  scourge  amuse  the  patient  with  the  belief 
that  he  is  adding  to  his  stock  of  merits,  and  dis- 
tress of  mind  is  commuted  for  the  more  tolerable 
sense  of  bodily  pain. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Wesley  kept  up  an  interchange 
of  preachers  between  England  and  Ireland  ;  and 
when  Walsh  was  in  London,  he  preached  in  Irish  at 
a  place  called  Shorfs  Garden,  and  in  Moorfields. — 
Many  of  his  poor  countrymen  were  attracted  by  the 
desire  of  hearing  their  native  tongue,  and,  as  others 
also  gathered  round,  wondering  at  the  novelty,  he  ad- 
dressed them  afterwards  in  English.  But,  on  such 
occasions,  mere  sound  *  and  sympathy  will  some- 
times do  the  work,  without  the  aid  of  intelhgible 
words.    It  is  related  in  Walsh's  life,  that,  once  in 

*  The  most  extraordinary  convert  that  ever  was  made,  was  a  certain 
William  Heazley,  in  the  county  of  Antrim,  a  man  who  was  deaf  and 
dumb  from  his  birth.  By  mere  imitation,. and  the  desire  of  being  like 
his  neighbours,  he  was  converted  in  the  25th  year  of  his  age,  from  a  pro- 
fligate life  ;  for  his  delight  had  been  in  drinking,  cock-fighting,  and  other 
brutal  amusements.  On  the  days  when  the  leader  of  the  Society  was 
ex|)ected,  he  used  to  watch  for  him, and  run  from  house  to  house  to  as- 
semble the  people  ;  and  he  would  appear  exceedingly  mortified  if  the 
leader  did  not  address  him  as  he  did  the  others.  This  man  followed 
the  occupation  of  weaving  linen,  and  occasionally  shaving,  which  was 
chiefly  a  Sunday's  work  ;  but,  after  his  conversion,  he  never  would  shave 
any  person  on  the  Sabbath. 

VOL.  n.  27 


2!0 


TIIOJIAS  WALSH. 


Dublin,  w  hen  he  was  preaching  in  Irish,  among  those 
\\ho  were  aHected  by  the  discourse,  there  was  one 
man  "  cut  to  the  heart,"  thou<i;h  he  did  not  under- 
stand the  hmguage.  Whatever  language  he  used,  he 
was  a  powerful  preacJier  ;  and  contributed,  more 
than  other  man,  to  tlie  diffusion  of  Methodism  ij)  Ire- 
land. All  circumstances  were  as  favourable  for  the 
progress  of  Methodism  in  that  country  as  they  were 
adverse  to  it  in  Scotland  :  the  inelficiency  of  the  Es- 
tablished Church,  the  total  want,  not  of  discipline 
alone,  but  of  order,  and  the  ardour  of  the  Irish  cha- 
racter, of  all  people  the  most  quick  and  lively  in 
Iheir  affections.  And  as  his  opposition  to  the  Calvinis- 
tic  notions  made  Wesley  unpopularamong  the  Scotch^ 
in  Ireland  he  obtained  a  certain  degree  of  favour  for 
his  decided  opposition  to  tlie  Romish  church  ;  whilei 
he  Was  too  wise  a  man  ever  to  provoke  hostility,  by 
introducing  any  disputatious  matter  in  his  sermons. 
After  a  lew  years  he  speaks  of  himself  as  having,  he 
knew  Dot  how,  become  an  honourable  man  there  : 
"  'Vht?  scandal  of  the  cross,"  says  he,  "  is  ceased,  and 
all  the  kingdom,  rich  and  poor.  Papists  and  Protes- 
tants, behave  wilh  courtesy,  nay,  and  seeming  good 
will."  Perhaps  he  was  hardly  sensible  how  mUch  of 
this  was  owing  to  the  change  which  had  impercepti- 
bly been  wrought  in  his  own  conduct,  by  the  sobering 
iniluence  of  time.  The  lerment  of  his  spirit  had 
abated,  and  his  language  had  become  far  less  indis- 
creet ;  nor,  indeed,  had  ho  ever,  irj  Ireland,  provok- 
ed the  indignation  of  good  men,  by  the  extravagancies 
which  gave  Such  just  offfnce  in  England  at  the  be- 
gimiing  of  his  carder.  Some  of  the  higfier  clergy, 
therefore,  approved  and  countenanced  his  labours; 
and  it  would  not  have  been  ditfieult,  in  that  country, 
to  have  made  the  Methodists  as  subservient  to  the 
interests  of  the  Established  Church,  as  the  Regulars 
{ire  to  the  Churcli  of  Rome. 

Among  3o  susceptible  a  people,  it  might  be  ex- 
pected that  curious  effects  would  frequently  be  pro- 
duced by  the  application  of  so  strong  a  stimulant. 
A  lady  wrote  from  Dublin  to  Mr.  Wesley  in  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  words  :— "  Reverend  Sir,  the  most 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


2U 


miserable  and  guilty  of  all  the  human  race,  who 
knew  you  when  she  thought  herself  one  of  the  hap- 
piest, may  be  ashamed  to  write,  or  speak  to  you,  in 
her  present  condition;  but  the  desperate  misery  of 
my  state  makes  me  attempt  any  thing  that  may  be  a 
means  of  removing  it.  My  request  is,  that  you,  dear 
Sir,  and  such  of  your  happy  people  who  meet  in 
Band,  and  ever  heard  the  name  of  that  miserable 
wretch  P.  T.,  would  join  in  fasting  and  prayer  on  a 
Tuesday,  the  day  on  which  I  was  born,  that  the  Lord 
would  have  mercy  on  me,  and  deliver  me  from  the 
power  of  the  devil,  from  the  most  uncommon  blas- 
phemies, and  the  expectation  of  hell,  which  I  labour 
under,  without  power  to  pray,  or  hope  for  mercy. — 
May  be  the  Lord  may  change  my  state,  and  have 
mercy  on  me,  for  the  sake  of  his  people's  prayer. 
Indeed  I  cannot  pray  for  myself;  and,  if  I  could,  I 
have  no  hopes  of  being  heard.  Nevertheless,  He, 
seeing  his  people  afflicted  for  me,  may,  on  tliat  ac- 
count, deliver  me  from  the  power  of  the  devil.  Oh, 
what  a  hell  have  I  upon  earth  !  I  woidd  not  charge 
God  foolishly,  for  he  has  been  very  merciful  to  me; 
but  I  brought  all  this  evil  on  myself  by  sin,  and  by 
not  miking  a  right  use  of  his  mercy.  Pray  continu- 
ally for  me  ;  for  the  prayer  of  faith  will  shut  and 
open  heaven.  It  may  be  a  means  of  my  deliverance, 
whicb  will  be  one  of  the  greatest  miracles  of  mercy 
ever  known." 

If  Mr.  Wesley  received  this  letter  in  time,  it  cannot 
be  doubted  but  that  he  would  have  complied  with 
the  request.  The  unhappy  writer  was  in  Swift's  Hos- 
pital, and,  perhaps,  in  consequetice  of  not  receiving 
an  answer  to  her  letter,  she  got  her  mother  to  ad- 
dress a  similar  one  to  the  preacher  at  Cork,  and  he 
appointed  two  Tuesdays  to  be  observed,  as  she  had 
requested,  both  in  that  city  and  at  Limerick.  There 
may  be  ground  for  reasonable  suspicion  that  Metho- 
dism had  caused  the  disease;  the  Cork  preacher 
was  apprised,  by  a  brother  at  Dublin,  of  the  manner 
in  which  it  operated  the  cure.  "  I  have  to  inform 
you  of  the  mercy  of  God  to  Miss  T.  She  was 
brought  from  Swift's  Hospital  on  Sunday  evenins:. 


212 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


and  on  Tuesday  night,  about  ten  o'clock,  she  was 
in  the  utmost  distress.  She  thought  she  saw  Christ 
and  Satan  fighting  for  her  ;  and  that  she  heard  Christ 
say,  '  I  will  have  her !'  In  a  moment  hope  sprung 
up  in  her  heart ;  the  promises  of  God  flowed  in  upon 
her ;  she  cried  out,  I  am  taken  from  hell  to  heaven  ! 
She  now  declares  she  could  not  tell  whether  she  was 
in  the  body  or  out  of  it.  She  is  much  tempted,  but 
in  her  right  mind,  enjoying  a  sense  of  the  mercy  ot 
God.  She  remembers  all  that  is  past,  and  knows 
it  was  a  punishment  for  her  sins."  As  nearly 
twenty  years  elapsed  before  Wesley  published 
these  letters,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  cure  was 
permanent. 

"  Are  there  any  drunkards  here  ?"  said  a  preacher 
one  day  in  his  sermon,  applying  his  discourse  in  that 
manner  which  the  Methodists  have  found  so  effec- 
tual. A  poor  Irishman  looked  up,  and  replied,  "  Yes, 
I  am  one  !"  And  the  impression  which  he  then  re- 
ceived, enabled  him  to  throw  ofT  his  evil  habits,  and 
become,  from  that  day  forward,  a  reclaimed  man. 
The  Methodists  at  Wexford  met  in  along  barn,  and 
used  to  fasten  the  door,  because  they  were  annoyed 
by  a  Catholic  mob.  Being  thus  excluded  from  the 
meeting,  the  mob  became  curious  to  know  what  was 
done  there;  and  taking  counsel  together,  they  agreed 
that  a  fellow  should  get  in  and  secrete  himself  be- 
fore the  congregation  assembled,  so  that  he  might 
gee  all  that  was  going  on,  and,  at  a  proper  time,  let 
in  his  companions.  The  adventurer  could  find  no 
better  means  of  concealment  than  by  getting  into  a 
sack  which  he  found  there,  and  lying  down  in  a  situ- 
ation near  the  entrance.  The  people  collected,  se- 
cured the  door  as  usual,  and,  as  usual,  began  their 
service  by  singing.  The  mob  collected  also,  and, 
growing  impatient,  called  repeatedly  upon  their 
friend  Patrick  to  open  the  door;  but  l*at  happened 
to  have  a  taste  for  music,  and  he  liked  the  singing  so 
well,  that  he  thought,  as  he  afterwards  said,  it  would 
be  a  thousand  pities  to  disturb  it.  And  when  the 
hymn  was  done,  and  the  itinerant  began  to  pray,  in 
spite  of  all  the  vociferation  of  his  comrades,  he 


METHODISM  IN  IRELAND. 


213 


thought  that,  as  he  had  been  so  well  pleased  with 
the  singing,  he  would  see  how  he  liked  the  prayer ; 
but,  when  the  prayer  proceeded,  "  the  power  of 
God,"  says  the  relater,  "  did  so  confound  him,  that 
he  roared  out  with  might  and  main;  and  not  having 
power  to  get  out  of  the  sack,  lay  bawling  and  scream- 
ing, to  the  astonishment  and  dismay  of  the  congre- 
gation, who  probably  supposed  that  Satan  himself 
was  in  the  barn.  Somebody,  at  last,  ventured  to  see 
what  was  in  the  sack  ;  and  helping  him  out,  brought 
him  up,  confessing  his  sins,  and  crying  for  mercy." 
This  is  the  most  comical  case  of  instantaneous  con- 
version that  ever  was  recorded,  and  yet  the  man  is 
said  to  have  been  thorouglily  converted. 

A  memorable  instance  of  the  good  effects  pro- 
duced by  Methodism  was  shown,  in  a  case  of  ship- 
wreck upon  the  Isle  of  Cale,  off  the  coast  of  the 
county  of  Down.  There  were  several  Methodist 
societies  in  that  neighbourhood,  and  some  of  the 
members  went  wrecking  with  the  rest  of  the  people, 
and  others  bought,  or  received  presents  of  the  plun- 
dered goods.  As  soon  as  John  Prickard,  who  was 
at  that  time  travelling  ifi  the  Lisburn  circuit,  heard 
of  this,  he  hastened  to  inquire  into  it,  and  found  that 
all  the  societies,  except  one,  had,  more  or  less,  "  been 
partakers  of  the  accursed  thing."  Upon  this  he 
preached  repentance  and  restitution  ;  and,  with  an 
almost  broken  heart,  read  out  sixty-three  members 
on  the  following  Sunday,  in  Downpatrick ;  giving  no- 
tice, that  those  who  would  make  restitution  should 
be  restored,  at  a  proper  time,  but  that  for  those  who 
would  not,  their  names  should  be  recorded  in  the 
general  steward's  book,  with  an  account  of  their 
crime  and  obstinacy.  This  severity  produced  much 
of  its  desired  effect,  and  removed  the  reproach 
which  would  otherwise  liave  attached  to  the  Metho- 
dists. Some  persons,  who  did  not  belong  to  the  So- 
ciety, but  had  merely  attended  as  hearers,  were  so 
much  affected  by  the  exhortation  and  the  example, 
that  they  desired  to  make  restitution  with  them.  The 
owners  of  the  vessel  empowered  Prickard  to  allow 
salvage;  but,  with  a  proper  degree  of  austerity,  hr 


214 


METHODISM   IN  IRELAND. 


refused  to  do  this,  because  the  people,  in  the  first 
instance,  had  been  guilty  of  a  crime.  This  affair  de- 
servedly raised  the  character  of  the  Methodists  in 
those  parts  ;  and  it  was  observed,  by  the  gentry  in  the 
neighbourhood,  that  if  the  ministers  of  every  other 
persuasion  had  acted  as  John  Prickard  did,  most  of 
the  goods  might  have  been  saved. 

"  Although  I  had  many  an  aching  head  and  pained 
breast,"  says  one  of  the  itinerants,  speaking  of  his 
campaigns  in  Ireland,  "  yet  it  was  delightful  to  see 
hundreds  attending  to  my  blundering  preaching,  with 
streaming  eyes,  and  attention  still  as  night."  "  The 
damp,  dirty,*  smoky  cabins  of  Ulster,"  says  another, 

*  There  is  a  letter  of  .idvice  from  Mr.  Wesley  to  one  of  his  Irish 
preachers  (written  in  17G9),  which  gives  a  curious  picture  of  the  people 
for  whom  such  advice  could  bo  needful.—"  Dear  brother,"  he  says,  "  I 
shall  now  tell  you  the  things  which  have  been,  more  or  less,  upon  my 
mind,  ever  since  I  was  in  the  North  of  Ireland  If  you  forget  them, 
you  will  be  a  sufl'erer,  and  so  will  the  people ;  if  you  observe  them",  it 
will  be  good  for  both.  Be  steadily  serious.  There  is  no  country  upon 
earth  where  this  is  more  necessary  than  Ireland,  as  you  are  generally 
encompassed  with  those  who,  with  a  little  encouragement,  would  laugh 
or  trifle  from  morning  till  night.  In  every  town  visit  all  you  can,  from 
house  to  house ;  but  on  this,  and  every  other  occasion,  avoid  all  fami- 
liarity with  women :  this  is  deadly  poison,  both  to  them  and  to  you. 
You  cannot  be  too  wary  in  this  respect.  Be  active,  be  diligent ;  avoid 
all  laziness,  sloth,  indolence  ;  fly  from  every  degree,  every  appearance 
of  it,  else  you  will  never  be  more  than  half  a  Christian.  Be  cleanly  :  in 
this  let  the  Methodists  take  pattern  by  the  Quakers.  Avoid  all  nastiness, 
dirt,  slovenliness,  both  in  your  person,  clothes,  house,  and  all  about  you. 
Do  not  stink  above  ground  ! 

'  Let  thy  mind's  sweetness  have  its  operation 

'  Upon  thy  person,  clothes,  and  habitation.' 

Herbert. 

Wiiatever  clothes  you  have,  let  them  be  whole  :  no  rents,  no  tatters,  no 
rags  ;  these  are  a  scandal  to  either  man  or  woman,  being  another  fruit 
of  vile  laziness.  Mend  your  clothes,  or  I  shall  never  expect  to  see  you 
mend  your  lives.  Let  none  ever  see  a  ragged  Methodist.  Clean  your- 
selves of  lice  :  take  pains  in  this.  Do  not  cut  off  your  hair  ;  but  clean 
it,  and  k'^ep  it  clean.  Cure  yourself  and  your  family  of  the  itch  :  a  spoon- 
ful of  brimstone  will  cure  you.  To  let  this  run  from  year  to  year,  proves 
both  sloth  and  unclcianness :  away  with  it  at  once  ;  let  not  the  North  be 
any  longer  a  proverb  of  reproach  to  all  the  nation.  Use  no  snuff,  unless 
prescribed  by  a  pliysician.  1  suppose  no  other  nation  in  Europe  is  in 
such  vile  bondage  to  this  silly,  nasty,  dirty  custom,  as  the  Irish  are. 
Touch  no  dram  :  it  is  liquid  lire  ;  it  is  a  sure,  though  slow,  poison  ;  it 
saps  the  very  springs  of  lift;.  In  Ireland,  above  all  coimtrics  in  the 
world,  I  would  sacredly  abstain  from  this,  because  the  evil  is  so  gene- 
ral;  and  to  this,  and  snuff,  and  smoky  cabins,  I  impute  the  blindness 
which  is  so  exceeding  common  throughout  the  nation.  I  particularly 
desire,  wherever  you  have  preaching,  that  there  may  be  a  Little  House. 
Let  this  be  got  without  delay.  Wherever  it  is  not,  let  none  expect  to 
see  me." 


WESLEY   IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


215 


"  were  a  good  trial;  but  what  makes  a  double 
amends  Tor  all  these  inconveniences,  to  any  preacher 
who  loves  llie  word  of  God,  is,  that  our  people  here 
are  in  general  the  most  zealous,  lively,  afTcctionate 
Christians  we  have  in  the  kingdom."  Wesley  him- 
self, while  he  shuddered  at  (he  ferocious  character 
of  Irish  history,  loved  the  people;  and  said,  he  had 
seen  as  real  courtesy  in  their  cabins,  as  couhl  be 
found  at  St.  James's  or  the  Louvre.  He  found  them 
more  *  Uberal  than  the  Enghsh  Methodists,  and  he 
lived  to  see  a  larger  society  at  Dublin  than  any  in 
England,  except  that  in  the  metropolis. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

AVESLEY   IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 

It  is  with  the  minds  of  men  as  with  fermented 
liquors;  they  are  long  in  ripening,  in  proportion  to 
their  strength.  Both  the  Wesleys  had  much  to  work 
off,  and  the  process,  therefore,  was  of  loi)g  continu- 
ance. In  Charles  it  was  perfected  about  middle  life. 
His  enthusiasm  had  spent  itself,  and  his  opinions 
were  modified  by  time,  as  well  as  sobered  by  e:<pe- 
rience.  In  the  forty-first^ac^^^^lys  age,  he  w'is 
married_by~TTTs"  brother,  at  Garth,  in  Brecknc 
shire,  to  Miss  Sarah  Gvvynne.  "  It  was  a  solemn 
day,"  says  John,  such  as  became  the  dignity  of  a 
Christian  marriage."  For  a  while  he  continued  to 
itinerate,  as  he  had  been  wont  ;  but,  a(ter_a_f£W 
Years,_hc  became  a  settled  man,  and  was  contented 
to'^perform  the  duties  an3~enjoy  the  comforts  of  do- 
mestic life. 

*  "  The  mpeting-housc  at  Athlone  was  built  and  piiveii,  with  tlic 
ground  on  which  it  stood,  by  a  sir)gle  gentleman.  In  Cork,  one  pLM-son, 
iVIr.  Thomas  .Tones,  gave  between  lliiee  and  f-  in-  liundied  pounds  to- 
wards the  preaching-house.  Towards  that  in  Dublin,  iMr.  Liinell  gave 
lour  hundred  ptfunds.  I  know  no  sueh  benefactors  among  the  Metho- 
dis  ts  in  England."    Journal,  xvi.  p.  25. 


216 


WESLEY   IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


ifilio  -2LlsQ__beg^„  l^^^^^  think  of  marriage,  after 
hig_  brotJier!s  example,  though  he  Tiad  publisEed 
"Thoughts  on  a  single  life,"  wherein  he  advised 
all  unmarried  persons,  who  were  able  to  receiyg  jt, 
tQ  follow  the  counsel  of  our  Lord  and  of  St.  Paul, 
and  "  remain  single  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's 
sakeT^  He  did  not,  irideed,  suppose  that  such  a 
precept  could  have  been  intended  for  the  many,  and 
assented  fully  to  the  sentence  of  the  apostle,  who 
pronounced  the  "  forbidding  to  marry  to  be  a  doc- 
trine of  devils."  Some  notion,  however,  that  the  mar- 
riage state  was  incompatible  with  holiness,  seems,  in 
consequence,  perhaps,  of  this  treatise,  to  have  obtain- 
ed ground  among  some  of  his  followers  at  one  time ; 
for  it  was  asked,  at  the  Conference  of  1745,  whether 
a  sanctified  believer  could  be  capable  of  marriage. 
The  answer  was,  "Why  should  he  not?"  and  pro- 
bably the  question  was  asked  for  the  purpose  of  thus 
condemning  a  preposterous  opinion.  When  he  him- 
self resolved  to  marry,  it  appears  that  he  made  both 
his  determination  and  his  choice  without  the  knoVt- 
ledge  of  Charles  ;  and  that  Charles,  when  he  disco- 
vered the  affair,  found  means,  for  reasons  which  un- 
doubtedly he  must  have  thought  sufficient,  to  break 
off  the  match.  But  John  was  offended,  and,  for  a 
time,  there  was  a  breach  of  that  union  between  them, 
which  had  never  before  been  disturbed.  It  was  not 
long  before  he  made  a  second  choice,  and,  unfortu- 
nately for  himself,  no  one  then  interfered. 

The  treatise  which  he  had  written  in  recommen- 
dation of  celibacy,  placed  him  in  an  unfortunate  situ- 
iilion  ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  appearances,  he  consult'- 
ed  certain  religious  friends,  that  they  might  advise 
him  to  follow  his  own  inclination.  His  chief  counsel- 
lor was  Mr.  Perronet,  vicar  of  Shoreham.  -  "  Having 
received  a  full  answer  from  Mr.  Perronet,"  he  says, 
"  I  was  clearly  convinced  that  I  ought  to  marry.  For 
many  years  I  remained  single,  because  I  believed  I 
could  be  more  useful  in  a  single  than  in  a  married 
state;  and  I  praised  God  who  enabled  me  so  to  do. 
1  now  as  fully  believed,  that,  in  my  present  circum- 
stances, I  might  be  more  useful  in  a  married  state ; 


^^'ESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


217 


into  which,  upon  this  clear  conviction,  and  by  the 
advice  of  my  friends,  I  entered  a  few  days  after." — 
He  thought  it  expedient,  too,  to  meet  the  single  men 
of  the  Society  in  London,  and  show  them  "  on  how 
many  accounts  it  was  good  for  those  who  had  receiv- 
ed that  gift  from  God,  to  remain  single  for  the  kingdom 
of  hcaven^s  sake.,  unless  when  a  particular  case  might 
be  an  exception  to  the  general  rule  !"  To  those  who 
properly  respected  Mr.  Wesley,  this  must  have  been 
a  painful  scene  :  to  his  blind  admirers,  no  doubt,  co- 
mic as  the  situation  was,  it  was  an  edifying  one- 

The.lady  whom  he  married  was  a  widow,  by  name 
VizeHe,  with  four  *  children,  and  an  independent  for- 
tune; but  he  took  care  that  this  should  be  settled 
upon  herself,  and  refused  to  have  any  command  over 
it.  It  was  agreed  also,  before  their  marriage,  that 
he  should  not  preach  one  sermon,  nor  travel  one  mile 
the  less  on  that  account:  "if  I  thought  I  should," 
said  he,  "  as  well  as  I  love  you,  I  would  never  see 
your  face  more."  And  in  his  Journal  at  this  time  he 
says,  "  I  cannot  understand  how  a  iMethodist  preacher 
can  answer  it  to  God,  to  preach  one  sermon,  or  tra- 
vel one  day  less,  in  a  married  than  in  a  single  state. 
In  this  respect,  surely,  it  remaineth,  that  they  who 
have  wives,  be  as  though  they  had  none."  For  a  lit- 
tle while  she  travelled  with  him;  but  that  mode  of 
life,  and  perhips  the  sort  of  company  to  which,  in 
the  course  of  their  journies,  she  was  introduced,  soon 
became  intolerable — as  it  must  necessarily  have  been 
to  any  woman  who  did  not  enter  wholly  into  his 
views,  and  partake  of  his  enthusiasm.  But,  of  all 
woimieni_sJj£.is_said^  been  the^most  unsuited  to 

*  One  of  them  quitted  the  profession  of  surgery,  because,  he  said, 
"  it  made  him  less  sensible  of  human  pain."  Wesley  says,  when  he  re- 
lates this,  "  I  do  not  know  (unless  it  unfits  us  for  the  duties  of  life)  that 
we  can  have  too  ^reat  a  sensibility  <>f  human  pain.  Methinks  1  should 
be  afraid  of  losing  any  defcre*:  of  this  sensibility.  And  I  have  known 
exceeding  few  persons  who  have  carried  this  tenderness  of  spirit  to  ex- 
cess." He  appears  to  have  mentioned  the  conduct  of  his  son-in-law  as 
to  his  honour  ;  but  he  relates  elsewhere  the  saying  of  anotlier  sur^^eon 
in  a  riglit  manly  spirit: — "  Mr  ^Vesb  y,  you  know  I  would  not  hurt  a 
fly  ;  I  would  not  give  pain  to  any  living:  thing ;  b\it,  if  it  were  necessary, 
I  would  scrapa  all  the  flesh  oft'  a  man's  bones,  and  never  turn  my  head 
aside." 


VOL.  U 


28 


218 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


him.    Fain  would  she  have  made  him,  like  Mark  An- 
tony, give  up  all  for  love;  and  being  disappointed  in 
that  hope,  she  tormented  him  in  such  a  manner,  hj 
he^r  outrag^eous  jealousy,  and  abominable  tem^ec, 
that  she  deserves  to  be  classed^f  a  triad  witJi.X^ 
tippe  and  the  \yilje_.QLJ6l3,  as  one  of  the  three  bad 
wives.    Wesley,  indeed,  was  neither  so  submissive 
as  Socrates,  nor  so  patient  as  the  man  of  Uz.  He 
knew  that  he  Mas  by  nature  the  stronger  vessel,  of 
the  more  worthy  gender,  and  lord  and  master  by 
law;  and  that  the  words,  horiour  and  obey,  were  in  the 
bond.    "  Know  me,"  said  he,  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
her,  "and  know  yourself.    Suspect  me  no  more,  as- 
perse me  no  more,  provoke  me  no  more  :  do  not  any 
longer  contend  for  mastery,  for  power,  money,  or 
praise;  be  content  to  be  a  private  insignificant  per- 
son, known  and  loved  by  God  and  me.    Attempt  no 
more  to  abridge  me  of  my  liberty,  which  I  claim  by 
the  laws  of  God  and  man  :  leave  me  to  be  governed 
by  God  and  my  own  conscience  ;  then  shall  1  govern 
y<Ui  with  gentle  sway,  even  as  Cin'ist  the  church.'" — 
He  reminded  her  that  she  had  laid  to  his  charge 
things  that  he  knew  not,  robbed  him,  betrayed  his 
confidence,  revealed  his  secrets,  given  him  a  thou- 
sand treacherous  wounds,  and  made  it  her  business 
so  to  do,  under  the  pretence  of  vindicating  her  own 
character;  "  whereas,"  said  he,  "  of  what  importance 
is  your  character  to  mankind  ?  if  you  was  buried  just 
now,  or,  if  you  had  never  lived,  what  loss  would  it  be 
to  the  cause  of  God  ?"    This  was  very  true,  but  not 
very  conciliating;  anjj  there  are  few  stomachs  which 
could  bear  to  have  humility  administered  in  such 
doses. 

"  God,"  said  he,  in  this  same  letter,  "  has  used 
many  means  to  curb  your  stubborn  will,  and  break 
the  impetuosity  of  your  temper.  He  has  given  you 
a  dutiful,  but  sickly,  daughter.  He  has  taken  away 
one  of  your  sons  ;  another  has  been  a  grievous  cross, 
as  the  third  probably  will  be.  He  has  suffered  you 
to  be  defrauded  of  much  money :  He  has  chastened 
you  with  strong  pain ;  and  still  He  may  say,  how  long 
liftest  thou  up  thyself  against  me  ?    Are  you  more 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


219 


humble,  more  gentle,  more  patient,  more  placable 
than  you  was  ?  i  fear,  quite  the  reverse  :  I  tear  your 
natural  tempers  are  rather  increased  than  diminish- 
ed. Under  all  these  conflicts,  it  might  be  an  unspeak- 
able blessing  that  you  have  a  husband  who  knows 
your  temper,  and  can  bear  with  it;  who  is  still  will- 
ing to  tbrgive  you  all,  to  overlook  what  is  past,  as  if 
it  had  not  been,  and  to  receive  you  with  open  arms; 
only  liot  while  you  have  a  sword  in  your  hand,  with 
which  you  are  continually  striking  at  me,  though  you 
carniot  hurt  me.  If,  notwithstanding,  you  continue 
striking,  what  can  I,  what  can  all  reasonable  men 
think,  l)ut  that  cither  you  arc  utterly  out  of  your 
senses,  or  your  eye  is  not  single;  that  you  married 
me  only  for  my  money ;  tliat,  being  disappointed,  you 
was  ahnost  always  out  of  humour:  that  this  laid  you 
open  to  a  thousand  suspicions,  which,  once  awaken- 
ed, could  sleep  no  more.  My  dear  Molly,  let  the 
time  past  sutlice.  If  you  have  not  (to  prevent  my 
giving  it  to  bad  women)  robbed  me  of  my  substance 
too  ;  if  you  do  not  blacken  me,  on  purpose  that,  when 
this  causes  a  breach  betvveen  us,  no  one  may  believe 
it  to  be  your  fault ;  stop,  and  consider  what  you  do. 
As  yet  the  breach  may  be  repaired  :  you  have  wrong- 
ed me  much,  but  not  bej'ond  forgiveness.  I  love  you 
still,  and  am  as  clear  from  all  other  women  as  the 
day  I  was  born." 

Had  Mrs.  Wesley  been  capable  of  understanding 
her  husband's  character,  she  could  not  possibly  have 
been  jealous ;  but  the  spirit  of  jealousy  possessed  her, 
and  drove  her  to  the  most  unwarrantable  actions.  It 
is  said  that  she  frequently  travelled  a  hundred  miles, 
for  the  purpose  of  watching,  from  a  window,  who 
was  in  the  carriage  with  him  when  he  entered  a  town. 
She  searched  his  pockets,  opened  his  *  letters,  put 

*  There  is  no  allusion  in  Wesley's  Journal  to  his  domestic  unhappi- 
ness,  unless  it  be  in  Journal  xi.  p-  9.,  where,  after  noticing  some  difficul- 
ties upon  the  road,  he  says,  "  Between  nine  and  ten  came  to  Bristol. 
Here  I  met  with  a  trial  of  another  kind  ;  but  this  also  shall  be  for  ^ood.  ' 
His  letters  throw  some  light  upon  this  part  of  his  history,  Avhich  would  not 
be  worth  elucidating,  if  it  did  not,  at  the  same  time,  elucidate  his  charac- 
ter. Writing  to  Mrs.  S.  R.  (Sarah  Ryan,  a  most  enthusiastic  woman,) 
he  says,  "  Last  Friday,  after  many  severe  words,  my  wife  left  me,  vow 


220 


WESLEY  IN  iVlIDbLE  AGBl. 


his  letters  and  papers  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 
in  hopes  that  tiiey  might  be  made  use  of  to  blast  his 
character ;  and  sometimes  laid  violent  hands  upon 
him,  and  tore  his  hair.  She  f  requently  left  his  liouse, 
and,  upon  his  earnest  entreaties,  returiied  again  ;  till, 
after  having  thus  disquieted  twenty  years  of  his  life, 
as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  any  domestic  vexations 
to  disquiet  a  man  whose  life  was  passed  in  loco-mo- 


ing  she  would  see  me  no  more.  As  I  had  wrote  to  you  the  same  morn- 
ing, I  began  to  reason  with  mysel.f,  till  I  almost  doubted  whether  I  had 
done  well  in  writing,  or  wheiher  I  ought  to  write  to  you  at  all.  After 
prayer,  that  doubt  was  taken  away ;  yet  I  was  almost  sorry  that  1  had 
■written  that  morning.  In  the  evening,  while  I  was  preaching  at  the 
chapel,  she  came  into  the  chamber  where  I  had  left  my  clothes,  searched 
my  pockets,  and  found  the  letter  there  which  I  had  finished,  but  had  not 
sealed.  While  she  read  it,  God  broke  her  heart ,  and  I  afterwards  found 
her  in  fuch  a  teinper,  as  I  haVe  not  seen  her  in  for  several  yearg.  She 
has  continued  in  the  same  ever  since.  So  I  think  God  has  given  a  suffi- 
cient answer  with  regard  to  our  writing  to  each  other."  But  he  says  to 
the  same  person,  eight  years  afterwards,  "  It  has  frequently  been  said, 
and  witii  some  appeMnnce  of  truth,  that  you  e;ideavcjur  to  moncpolizt. 
the  aflVctions  of  all  that  fall  into  your  hands  ;  that  you  destroy  the  near- 
est and  dearest  connexion  they  had  before,  and  make  them  quite  cool 
and  indifierent  to  their  most  intimate  friends.  I  do  not  at  all  speak  on 
my  own  account ;  I  set  myself  out  of  the  question  ;  but,  if  there  be  any 
thing  of  the  kind  with  regard  to  other  people,  I  should  be  sorry  both  for 
thein  and  you." 

There  is  an  unction  about  his  correspondence  with  this  person,  which 
must  have  appeared  like  strong  confirmation  to  so  jealous  a  woman  as 
JVIrs.  Wesley.  He  says  to  her,  "the  conversing  with  you,  either  bjr 
speaking  or  writing,  is  an  unspeakable  blessing  to  me.  I  cannot  think 
of  you  without  thinking  of  God.  Others  often  lead  me  to  him  ;  but 
it  is,  as  it  were,  going  round  about  :  you  bring  me  straight  into  his  pre- 
sence. You  have  refreshed  my  bowels  in  the  Lord :  (Wesley  is  very 
fieldom  guilty  of  this  soit  of  canting  and  oflTensive  language.)  I  not  only 
excuse,  but  love  jrour  simplicity  ;  and  whatever  freedom  you  use,  it  will 
be  welcoirie.  I  can  hardly  avoid  trembling  for  you  !  upon  what  a  pin- 
nacle do  you  stand  !  Perhaps,  few  persons  in  England  have  been  in  so 
dangerous  a  situation  as  you  are  now.  I  know  not  whether  any  other 
was  ever  so  regarded,  both  by  my  brother  and  me,  at  the  same  time." 
lie  questions  her,  not  only  about  her  thoughts,  her  imaginations,  and  her 
reasonings,  but  even  about  her  dreams.  "  Is  there  no  vanity  or  folly  in 
your  dreams.''  no  temptation  that  almost  overcomes  you  ?  And  are  you 
then  as  sensible  of  the  presence  of  God,  and  as  full  of  prayer,  as  when 
you  are  waking  ?"  She  replies  to  this  curious  interrogation,  "  As  to  my 
dreams,  I  seldom  remember  them  ;  but,  when  1  do,  I  find  in  general  they 
are  harmless."  Tliis  Sarah  Ryan  was  at  one  time  housekeeper  at  the 
school  at  Kingswood.  Her  account  of  herself,  which  is  |)rinted  in  the 
second  Voltime  of  the  Arminian  Magazine^  is  highly  enthusiastic,  and 
shows  her  to  have  been  a  woman  of  heated  fancy  and  strong  natural  ta- 
lents. It  appears,  however,  incidentally,  in  Wesley's  letter,  that  though 
she  profess<'d  to  have  "  a  direct  witness"  of  being  saved  from  sin,  she  af- 
terwards "  fell  from  that  salvation."  And,  in  another  place,  he  notices 
her  "  littleness'  of  understanding." 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


221 


tion,  she  seized  on  part  of  his  Journals,  and  many 
other  papers,  which  were  never  restored,  and  de- 
parted, leaving  word  that  she  never  intended  to  re- 
tin-n.  He  simply  states  the  fact  in  his  Journal,  say- 
ing, that  he  knew  not  what  the  cause  had  been  ;  and 
he  briefly  adds,  JVon  earn  reliqui^  non  (/imisi,  non  rcvoca- 
bo  ;  I  did  not  forsake  her,  I  did  not  dismiss  her,  I  will 
not  recall  her.  Thus,  summarily,  was  a  most  injudi- 
cious marriage  dissolved.  Mrs.  Wesley  lived  .teii. 
years  after  the  separation,  and  is  desc^fioecPiii  her 
epiTctplTaFa  woman  of  exemplary  piety,  a  tender  pa- 
rent, and  a  sincere  friend  ;  the  tomb-stone  says  no- 
thing of  her  conjugal  virtues. 

But  even  if  John  Wesley's  marriage  had  proved 
as  happy  in  all  other  respects  as  Charles's,  it  would 
not  have  produced  upon  him  the  same  sedative  effect. 
Entirely  as  these  two  brothers  agreed  in  opinions 
and  principles,  and  cordially  as  they  had  acted  to- 
gether during  so  many  years,  there  was  a  radical  dif- 
ference in  their  dispositions.  OfjCharles  it  has  been 
said,  by  those  who  knew  him  best,  that  if  ever  there 
w  as  a  human  being  who  disliked  power,  avoided  pre- 
emirieucc,  and  shrank  from  praise,  It  was  he  :  where- 
as no  conqueror  or  poet  was  ever  more  ambitious 
than  John  Wesley.  Charles  could  forgive  an  li:jury ; 
but  never  again  trusted  one  whom  he  had  found 
treacherous.  John  could  take  men  a  second  time  to 
his  confidence^  after  the  greatest  wrongs  and  the 
basest  usage :  perhaps,  because  he  had  not  so  keen 
an  insight  into  the  characters  of  men  as  his  brother; 
perhaps,  because  he  regarded  them  as  his  instru- 
ments, and  thought  that  all  other  considerations  must 
give  way  to  the  interests  of  the  spiritual  dominion 
which  he  had  acquired.  It  may  be  suspected  that 
Charles,  when  he  saw  the  mischief  and  the  villany, 
as  well  as  the  follies,  to  which  Methodism  gave  oc- 
casion ;  and  when  he  perceived  its  tendency  to  a 
separation  from  the  Church,  thought  that  he  had  gone 
too  far,  and  looked  with  sorrow  to  the  consequences 
which  he  foresaw.  John's  was  an  aspiring  and  a  joy- 
ous spirit,  free  from  all  regret  for  the  past,  or  appre- 
hension for  the  future  :  his  anticipations  were  alwavh 


222 


WESLKY  1\  MIDDLE  AGE. 


hopeful ;  and,  if  circumstances  arose  contrary  to  hi& 
wishes,  which  he  was  unable  to  control,  he  accom- 
modated himself  to  them,  made  what  advantage  of 
them  he  could,  and  insensibly  learnt  to  expect,  with 
complacency,  as  the  inevitable  end  of  his  career,  a 
schism  which,  at  the  commencement,  he  would  have 
regarded  with  horror,  as  a  dutiful  and  conscientious 
minister  of  the  Church  of  England. 

In  the  (irst  Conference  it  was  asked,  "  Do  you  not 
entail  a  schism  on  the  Church  ?  Is  it  not  probable 
that  your  hearers,  after  your  death,  will  be  scattered 
into  all  sects  and  parties  .^^  or  that  they  will  form 
themselves  into  a  distinct  sect  .f*"  The  answer  was, 
"  W  e  are  persuaded  the  body  of  our  hearers  Will, 
even  alter  death,  remain  in  tlie  Church,  unless  they 
be  thrust  out.  NVe  believe,  notwithstanding,  either 
that  they  will  be  thrust  out,  or  that  they  will  leaven 
the  w  liole  Church.  We  do,  and  will  do,  all  we  can 
to  prevent  those  consequences  which  are  supposed 
likely  to  happen  after  our  death  ;  but  we  cannot, 
with  a  good  conscience,  neglect  the  present  oppor- 
tunity of  saving  souls  while  we  live,  for  fear  of  con- 
sequences which  may  possibly  or  probably  happen 
after  we  are  dead."  Five  years  afterwards  the  as- 
sistants were  charged  to  exliort  all  those  who  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  church  constantly  to  attend 
its  service,  to  question  them  individually  concerning 
this,  to  set  the  example  themselves,  and  to  alter  eve- 
ry plan  which  interfered  with  it.  "  Is  there  not,"  it 
was  said,  "  a  cause  for  this  ?  Are  we  not,  unawares, 
by  little  and  little,  tending  to  a  separation  from  the 
Ciiurch?  Oh,  remove  every  tendency  thereto  with 
all  diligence  !  Let  all  our  preachers  go  to  church. 
Let  all  our  people  go  constantly.  Receive  the  sa- 
crament at  every  opportunity.  Warn  all  against 
niceness  in  hearing, — a  great  and  prevailing  evil. — 
Warn  them  likewise  against  despising  the  prayers 
of  the  Church  ;  against  calling  our  Society  a  Church, 
or  the  Church  ;  agaitist  calling  our  preachers  ministers, 
our  houses  mcednir-houscs  (call  them  plain  preaching- 
houses.)  Do  not  license  them  as  such.  The  proper 
form  of  a  petition  to  the  judges  is,  '  A.  B.  desires  to 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


223 


have  his  house  in  C.  licensed  for  public  worship.'  Do 
not  license  yourself  till  you  are  constrained,  and 
then  not  as  a  Dissenter^  but  a  Methodist  preacher.  It 
is  time  enough  when  you  are  prosecuted  to  take  the 
oaths;  thereby  you  are  licensed." 

The  leaven  of  ill-will  towards  the  Church  was  in- 
troduced among  the  Methodists  by  those  dissenters 
who  joined  them.  Wesley  saw  whence  it  proceeded, 
and  was  prepared  to  resist  its  effect  by  the  feelings 
which  he  had  imbibed  from  his  *  father,  as  well  as  by 
his  sense  of  duty.  But  there  were  other  causes 
which  increased  and  strengthened  the  tendency  that 
had  thus  been  given.  It  is  likely  that,  when  the 
Nonjurors  disappeared  as  a  separate  party,  many  of 
them  would  unite  with  the  Methodists,  being  a  mid- 
dle course  between  the  Church  and  the  dissenters, 
which  required  no  sacrifice  either  of  principle  or  of 
pride.  Having  joined  them,  their  leaning  would  na- 
turally be  toward  a  separation  from  the  establish- 
ment. But  the  main  cause  is  to  be  found  in  the  tem- 
per of  the  lay-preachers,  who,  by  an  easy  and  obvi- 
ous process,  were  led  to  conclude,  that  they  were  as 
much  authorized  to  exercise  one  part  of  the  ministe- 
rial functions  as  another.  They  had  been  taught  to 
consider,  and  were  accustomed  to  represent  the  cler- 
gy in  the  most  unfavourable  light.  Wesley  some- 
times reprehended  this  in  strong  terms ;  but,  upon 
this  point,  he  was  not  consistent :  and  whenever  he 
had  to  justify  the  appointment  of  lay-preachers,  he 
was  apt,  in  self-defence,  to  commit  the  fault  which, 
at  other  times,  he  condemned.  "  I  am  far,"  says  he, 
in  one  of  his  sermons,  "  from  desiring  to  aggravate 
the  defects  of  my  brethren,  or  to  paint  them  in  the 
strongest  colours.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  treat  others 
as  I  have  been  treated  myself;  to  return  evil  for  evil, 
or  railing  for  railing.  But,  to  speak  the  naked  truth, 
not  with  anger  or  contempt,  as  too  many  have  done, 

*  "  A  tlionsand  times,"  saj's  he,  "  have  I  fouiid  my  father's  words 
true.  '  You  may  have  peace  with  the  Dissenters,  if  you  do  not  so  hu- 
mour them  as  to  dispute  with  them.  But  if  you  do,  they  will  out-face 
and  oui-hmsr  you  ;  and,  at  tlie  end,  you  will  be  where  you  were  at  the 
beginning.'  " 


224 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


I  acknowledge  that  many,  if  not  most  of  those  that 
were  appointed  to  minister  in  holy  things,  with  whom 
it  has  been  my  lot  to  converse,  in  almost  every  part 
of  England  or  Ireland,  for  forty  or  fifty  years  last  past, 
have  not  been  eminent  either  for  knowledge  or  piety. 
It  has  been  loudly  affirmed,  that  most  of  those  per- 
sons now  in  connexion  with  me,  who  believe  it  their 
duty  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  having  been  taken 
immediately  from  low  trades, tailors,  shoemakers,  and 
the  like,  are  a  set  of  poor,  stupid,  illiterate  men,  that 
scarcely  know  their  right  hand  from  their  left ;  yet  I 
cannot  but  say,  that  I  would  sooner  cut  off  my  right 
hand  than  suffer  one  of  them  to  speak  a  word  in  any 
of  our  chapels,  if  I  had  not  reasonable  proof  that  he 
had  more  knowledge  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  more 
knowledge  of  himself,  more  knowledge  of  God,  and 
of  the  things  of  God,  than  nine  in  ten  of  the  clergy- 
men I  have  conversed  with,  either  at  the  universities 
or  elsewhere." 

The  situation  in  which  Wesley  stood  led  him  to 
make  this  comparison,  and  not  to  make  it  fairly.  It 
induced  him  also  to  listen  to  those  who  argued  in  fa- 
vour of  a  separation  from  the  Church,  and  to  sum  up 
their  reasonings,  with  a  bias  in  their  favour.  "  They 
who  plead  for  it,"  said  he,  "  have  weighed  the  point 
long  and  deeply,  and  considered  it  with  earnest  and 
continued  prayer.  They  admit,  if  it  be  lawful  to 
abide  therein,  then  it  is  not  lawful  to  separate  :  but 
they  aver  it  is  not  lawful  to  abide  therein  ;  for,  though 
they  allow  the  liturgy  to  be,  in  general,  one  of  the 
most  excellent  of  all  human  compositions,  they  yet 
think  it  both  absurd  and  sinful  to  declare  such  an 
assent  and  consent  as  is  required,  to  any  merely  hu- 
man composition.  Though  they  do  not  object  to  the 
use  of  forms,  they  dare  not  confine  themselves  to 
them  ;  and,  in  this  form,  there  are  several  things 
which  they  apprehend  to  be  contrary  to  Scripture. 
As  to  the  laws  of  the  Church,  if  they  include  the  ca- 
nons and  decretal,  (both  which  are  received  as  such 
in  our  courts,)  they  thi;ik  the  latter  are  the  very  dregs 
of  popery,  and  t'lat  many  of  the  former  (the  canons 
of  1603)  are  as  grossly  wicked  as  absurd  ;  that  the 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


225 


spirit  which  they  breathe  is,  throughout,  truly  po- 
pish and  aiiti-christian ;  that  nothing  can  be  more 
diaboHcal  than  the  ipso  facto  excommunication  so 
often  denounced  therein  ;  and  that  the  whole  method 
of  executing  these  canons,  the  process  used  in  our 
spiritual  courts,  is  too  bad  to  be  tolerated,  not  in  a 
Christian,  but  in  a  Mahommedan  or  Pagan  nation. 
With  regard  to  the  ministers,  they  doubt  whether 
there  are  not  many  of  them  whom  God  hath  not  sent, 
inasmuch  as  they  neither  live  the  Gospel  nor  teach 
it;  neither,  indeed,  can  they,  since  they  do  not 
know  it.  They  doubt  the  more,  because  these 
ministers  themselves  disclaim  that  inward  call  to  the 
ministry,  which  is  at  least  as  necessary  as  the  out- 
ward ;  and  they  are  not  clear  whether  it  be  lawful 
to  attend  the  ministrations  of  those  whom  God  has 
not  sent  to  minister.  They  think  also,  that  the  doc- 
trines actually  taught,  by  a  great  majority  of  the 
church  ministers,  are  not  only  wrong,  but  fundamen- 
tally so,  and  subversive  of  the  whole  Gospel ;  there- 
fore, they  doubt  whether  it  be  lawful  to  bid  them 
God  speed,  or  to  have  any  fellowship  with  them.  "  I 
will  freely  acknowledge,"  he  adds,  "  that  I  cannot 
answer  these  arguments  to  my  own  satisfaction.  As 
yet,"  he  pursued,  "  we  have  not  taken  one  step  fur- 
ther than  we  were  convinced  was  our  bounden  duty. 
It  is  from  a  full  conviction  of  this  that  we  have  preach- 
ed abroad,  prayed  extempore^  formed  societies,  and 
permitted  preachers  who  were  not  episcopally  or- 
dained. And  were  we  pushed  on  this  side,  were 
there  no  alternative  allowed,  we  should  judge  it  our 
bounden  duty,  rather  wholly  to  separate  from  the 
Church,  than  to  give  up  any  one  of  these  points; 
therefore,  if  we  cannot  stop  a  separation  without 
stopping  lay-preachers,  the  case  is  clear,  we  cannot 
stop  it  at  all.  But,  if  we  permit  them,  should  we 
not  do  more.-*  Should  we  not  appoint  them  rather? 
since  the  bare  permission  puts  the  matter  quite  out 
of  our  hands,  and  deprives  us  of  all  our  influence. 
In  great  measure,  it  does  ;  therefore,  to  appoint  them 
is  far  more  expedient,  if  it  be  lawful :  but  is  it  lawful 
for  presbyters,  circumstanced  as  we  are,  to  appoint 
VOL.  II.  29 


228 


WESLEY  TN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


Other  ministers  ?  This  is  the  very  point  wherein  we 
desire  advice,  being  afraid  of  leaning  to  our  own  un-^ 
dcrstanding." 

An  inclination  to  episcopize  was  evidently  shown 
in  this  language  ;  but  Wesley  did  not  yet  venture 
lipon  the  act,  in  deference,  perhaps,  to  his  brother's 
determined  and  principled  opposition.  Many  of  his 
preachers,  however,  were  discontented  with  the  rank 
which  they  held  in  public  opinion,  thinking  that  they 
were  esteemed  inferior  to  the  dissenting  ministers, 
because  they  did  not  assume  so  much  ;  they,  there- 
fore, urged  him  to  take  upon  himself  the  episcopal 
ofRce  and  ordain  them,  that  they  might  administer 
the  ordinances;  and,  as  he  could  not  be  persuoded 
to  this,  they  charged  him  with  inconsistency,  for 
tolerating  lay-preaching,  and  not  lay-administering. 
This  charge  he  repelled :  "  My  principle,"  said  he, 
"  is  this;  I  subnnt  to  every  ordinance  of  man,  where- 
ver I  do  not  conceive  there  is  an  absolute  necessity 
for  acting  contrary  to  it.  Consistently  with  this,  I  do 
tolerate  lay-preaching,  because  I  conceive  there  is 
an  absolute  necessity  for  it,  inasmuch  as,  were  it  not, 
thousands  of  souls  would  perish  everlastingly.  Yet 
I  do  not  tolerate  lay-administering;  because  1  do  not 
conceive  there  is  any  such  necessity  for  it,  seeing  it 
does  not  appear  that  one  soul  will  perish  for  want  of 
it."  This  was,  of  course,  called  persecution,  by 
those  whom  his  determination  disappointed ;  and 
they  accused  him  of  injustice  in  denying  them  the 
liberty  of  acting  according  to  their  own  conscience. 
They  thought  it  quite  right  that  they  should  admin- 
ister the  Lord's  Supper,  and  beheved  it  would  do 
much  good  :  he  thought  it  quite  wroi?g,  and  believed 
it  would  do  much  hurt.  '*  I  have  no  right  over  your 
consciences,"  he  said,  "  nor  you  over  mine;  there- 
fore, both  you  and  I  must  follow  our  own  conscience. 
You  believe  it  is  a  duty  to  administer:  do  so,  and 
therein  follow  your  own  conscience.  I  verily  believe 
it  is  a  sin  which,  consequently,  I  dare  not  tolerate^ 
and  herein  I  follow  mine."  And  he  argued,  that  it 
was  no  persecution  to  separate  from  his  society  those 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE.  227 

who  practised  what  he  believed  was  contrary  to  the 
will  and  destructive  of  the  word  of  God. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  of  his  preachers  with- 
drew from  him  on  this  account ;  the  question  was 
not  one  upon  whicii,  at  that  time,  a  discontented 
man  could  hope  to  divide  the  society ;  and,  if  they 
did  not  assent  to  Mr.  Wesley's  arguments,  they  ac- 
quiesced in  his  will.  Secessions,  however,  and  ex- 
pulsions from  other  causes,  not  unfrequently  took 
place :  and  once  he  found  it  necessary  to  institute 
an  examination  of  his  preachers,  because  of  certain 
scandals  which  had  arisen.  The  person  with  whom 
the  offence  began  was  one  James  \Vheatley.  At  first 
he  made  himself  remarkable,  by  introducing  a  lus- 
cious manner  of  preaching,  which,  as  it  was  new 
among  the  Methodists,  and  at  once  stimulant  and 
flattering,  soon  became  popular,  and  obtained  imi- 
tators. They  who  adopted  it  assumed  to  themselves 
the  appellation  of  Gospel  preachers,  and  called  their 
brethren,  in  contempt,  legalists,  legal  wretches,  and 
doctors  in  divinity.  Wesley  presently  perceived  the 
mischief  that  was  done  by  these  men,  whose  secret 
was,  to  speak  much  of  the  promises,  and  little  of  the 
commands.  "  They  corrupt  their  hearers,"  said  he ; 
"  they  feed  them  with  sweetmeats,  till  the  genuine 
wine  of  the  kingdom  seems  quite  insipid  to  them. 
They  give  them  cordial  upon  cordial,  which  makes 
them  all  life  and  spirits  for  the  present;  but,  mean- 
time, their  appetite  is  destroyed,  so  that  they  can 
neither  retain  nor  digest  the  pure  milk  of  the  word. 
As  soon  as  that  flov/  of  spirits  goes  off,  they  are  with- 
out life,  without  power,  without  any  strength  or 
vigour  of  soul ;  and  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  re- 
cover them,  because  they  still  cry  out  cordials ! 
cordials  !  of  which  they  have  had  too  much  al- 
ready, and  have  no  taste  for  the  food  which  is 
convenient  for  them.  Nay,  they  have  an  utter 
aversion  to  it,  and  this  confirmed  by  principle, 
having  been  taught  to  call  it  iiusks,  if  not  poison. 
How  much  more  to  those  bitters,  which  are  pre- 
viously needful  to  restore  their  decayed  appetite  !" 


228 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


Wheatley  was  a  quack  in  physic  as  well  as  in  di- 
vinity,  and  he  was  soon  detected  in  fouler  practices. 
Complaint  being  at  length  made  of  his  infamous  li- 
centiousness,  the  two  brothers  inquired  into  it,  and 
obtained  complete  proof  of  his  guilt.  Upon  this 
they  delivered  into  his  hands  a  written  sentence  of 
suspension,  in  these  terras :  "  Because  you  have 
wrought  folly  in  Israel,  grieved  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God,  betrayed  your  own  soul  into  temptation  and 
sin,  and  the  souls  of  many  others,  whom  you  ought, 
even  at  the  peril  of  your  own  life,  to  have  guarded 
against  all  sin ;  because  you  have  given  occasion 
to  the  enemies  of  God,  wherever  they  shall  knovr 
these  things,  to  blaspheme  the  ways  and  truth  of  God ; 
we  can  in  no  wise  receive  you  as  a  fellow-labourer, 
till  we  see  clear  proofs  of  your  real  and  deep  repen- 
tance ;  the  least  and  lowest  proof  of  such  repen- 
tance which  we  can  receive  is  this, —  that,  till  our 
next  Conference,  you  abstain  both  from  preaching  and 
from  practising  physic.  If  you  do  not,  we  are  clear : 
we  cannot  answer  for  the  consequences."  They 
were  not  aware  at  the  time  of  the  extent  of  this  hy- 
pocrite's criminality;  but  enough  was  soon  discover- 
ed to  make  it  necessary  for  them  to  disclaim  him  by 
public  advertisements.  The  matter  became  so  no- 
torious at  Norwich,  that  the  affidavits  of  the  women 
whom  he  had  endeavoured  to  corrupt,  were  printed 
and  hawked  about  the  streets.  I'he  people  were 
ready  to  tear  him  to  pieces,  as  he  deserved  ;  and  the 
cry  against  the  Methodists  was  such,  in  consequence, 
that  Charles  Wesley  said  Satan,  or  his  apostles,  could 
not  have  done  more  to  shut  the  door  against  the  Gos- 
pel in  that  place  for  ever. 

This  was  a  case  of  individual  villany,  and  produc- 
ed no  other  injury  to  Methodism  than  immediate 
scandal,  which  was  soon  blown  over.  But  it  is  the 
nature  of  mental,  as  well  as  of  corporeal  diseases,  to 
propagate  themselves,  and  schism  is  one  of  the  most 
prolific  of  all  errors.  One  separation  had  already 
taken  place  between  the  Methodists  and  the  Mora- 
vians,— the  Calvinistic  question  had  made  a  second. 
A, minor  schism  was  now  made,  by  a  certain  James 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


229 


Relly,  who,  having  commenced  his  career  under  the 
patronage  of  Whitefield,  ended  in  forming  a  heresy 
of  his  own,  which  liad  the  merit,  at  least,  of  being  a 
humaner  scheme  than  that  of  his  master,  however 
untenable  in  other  respects.  Shocked  at  the  intole- 
rable notion  of  reprobation,  and  yet  desirous  of  hold- 
ing the  tenet  of  election,  he  fancied  that  sin  was  to 
be  considered  as  a  disease,  for  which  the  death  of 
our  Redeemer  was  the  remedy  ;  and  that,  as  evil  had 
been  introduced  into  human  nature  by  the  first  Adam, 
who  was  of  the  earth,  earthly,  so  must  it  be  expelled 
by  the  second,  who  is  from  heaven,  and  therefore 
heavenly.  Pursuing  this  notion,  he  taught  that 
Christ,as  a  Mediator,  was  united  to  mankind,  and,  by 
his  obedience  and  sufferings,  had  as  fully  restored 
the  whole  human  race  to  the  divine  favour,  as  if  all 
had  obeyed  or  sufTered  in  their  own  persons.  So  he 
preached  a  finished  salvation,  which  included  the 
final  restitution  of  all  fallen  intelligences.  Sin  being 
only  *  a  disease,  could  not  deserve  punishment :  it 
was  in  itself,  and  in  its  consequences,  a  sufficient 
evil  ;  for,  while  it  existed,  darkness  and  unbelief  ac- 
companied it,  and  occasioned  a  privation  of  that  hap- 
piness which  the  Almighty  designed  for  all  his  crea- 
tures ;  but,  in  the  end,  all  would  be  delivered,  and 
the  elect  were  only  chosen  to  be  the  first  fruits, — the 
pledges  and  earnest  of  the  general  harvest.  Relly 
had  for  his  co-adjutor  one  William  Cud  worth,  of 
whom  Wesley  observed,  after  an  interview  with  him, 
"  that  his  opinions  were  all  his  own,  quite  new,  and 
his  phrases  as  new  as  his  opinions  :  that  all  these 
opinions,  yea,  and  phrases  too,  he  affirmed  to  be  ne- 
cessary to  salvation  ;  maintaining,  that  all  who  did 
not  receive  them  worshipped  another  God  ;  and  that 
he  was  as  incapable  as  a  brute  beast  of  being  con- 
vinced, even  in  the  smallest  point."  On  ^j^her  oc- 
casion he  remarks,  that  Cudworth,  Relly^  and  their 
associates,  abhorred  him  as  much  as  they  did  the 
pope,  and  ten  times  more  than  they  did  the  devil. — 

*  James  Relly  should  have  read  an  old  treatise  upon  the  Sinfulness 
of  Sin,  which,  not\vithst;\nding  its  odd  title,  is  the  work  of  a  sound  and 
powerful  intellect.   If  I  remember  rightly,  it  is  by  Bishop  Reynolds. 


230 


WESLEY  Iff  MIDDLE  AGE. 


The  devil,  indeed,  was  no  object  of  abhorrence  with 
them  :  like  Uncle  Toby,  they  were  sorry  for  him  ; 
and,  like  Origen,  they  expected  his  reformation. — 
They  formed  a  sect,  which  continues  to  exist  in  Ame- 
rica, as  well  as  in  England,  by  the  name  of  the  Rel- 
lyan  Universalists  ;  and  it  is  said,  that  Washington's 
chaplain  was  a  preacher  of  this  denomination. 

Tlie  tendency  of  these  opinions  was  to  an  easy 
and  quiet  latitudinarianism.  Antinomianism,  with 
which  they  were  connected,  was  far  more  mischiev- 
ous when  combined  with  enthusiasm, — and  this  was 
the  evil  to  which  Methodism  always  perilously  inclin- 
ed. There  is  in  the  Antinomian  scheme,  and,  indeed, 
in  all  predestinarian  schemes,  an  audacity  which  is 
congenial  to  certain  minds.  They  feel  a  pride  in 
daring  to  profess  doctrines  which  are  so  revolting  to 
the  common  sense  and  feelings  of  mankind.  Minds 
of  a  similar  temper,  but  in  a  far  worse  state,  main- 
tain the  notion  of  the  necessity  *  of  human  actions, 
but  reject  a  first  cause.  It  is  from  a  like  effrontery 
of  spirit  that  this  last  and  worst  corruption  proceeds ; 
and  as  the  causes  are  alike,  so  also  the  practical 
consequences  of  antinomianism  and  atheism  would 
be  the  same,  if  men  were  always  as  bad  as  their  opin- 
ions ;  for  the  professors  of  both  have  emancipated 
themselves  from  any  other  restraint  than  what  may 
be  imposed  by  the  fear  of  human  laws. 

AVesley  was  mistaken  in  supposing  the  doctrine, 
that  there  is  no  sin  in  believers,  was  never  heard  of 
till  the  time  of  Count  Zinzendorf.  It  is  as  old  in 
England  as  the  t  Reformation,  and  might  undoubt- 
edly be  traced  in  many  an  er"ly  heresy.  The  Mo- 
ravians had  the  rare  merit  of  sometimes  acknowledg- 
ing their  errors,  and  correcting  them  ;  on  this  point, 
they  modified  their  language  till  it  became  reasona- 
ble ;  but  the  Methodists  had  caught  the  error,  and 

*  Archbishop  Sancroft,  says  well  of  the  fatalist :  "  he  uses  necessity 
as  the  old  philosophers  did  an  occult  quality,  though  for  a  different  pur- 
pose :  Hull  was  their  refus;e  for  ignorance  ;  this  is  his  sanctuary  for  sin." 

t  B:n-net  speaks  of  certain  "  corrupt  Gospellers,  who  thought,  if  they 
magriili-'d  (jhrist  much,  and  depended  on  his  merits  and  intercession, 
they  could  not  perish,  which  way  soever  they  led  thc^ir  lives.  And  spe- 
cial cai-e  was  taken  in  the  Homilies  to  rectify  this  error." 


Wesley  In  middle  ^geI. 


231 


<3id  not  so  easily  rid  themselves  of  it.  "  God  thrust 
us  out,"  says  Wesley,  speaking  of  himself  and  his 
brother,  *'  utterly  against  our  will,  to  raise  a  holy  peo- 
ple. When  Satan  could  no  otherwise  prevent  this, 
he  threw  Calvinism  in  our  way,  and  then  *  Antino- 
mianism,  which  struck  at  the  root  both  of  inward  and 
outward  holiness."  He  acknowledged  that  they 
had,  unawares,  leaned  too  much  toward  both  ;  and 
that  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  lies  within  a  hair's 
breadth  of  them  :  "  So,"  said  he,  "  that  it  is  altoge- 
ther foolish  and  sinful,  because  we  do  not  quite 
agree  either  with  one  or  the  other,  to  run  from  them 
as  far  as  ever  we  can."  The  question,  "  Wherein 
may  we  come  to  the  very  edge  of  Calvinism  was 
proposed  in  the  second  Conference  ;  and  the  answer 
was,  "  In  ascribing  all  good  to  the  free-grace  of  God ; 
in  denying  all  natural  free-will,  and  all  power  ante- 
cedent to  grace ;  and  in  excluding  all  merit  from 
man,  even  for  what  he  has  or  does  by  the  grace  of 
God."  This  was  endeavouring  to  split  the  hair. — 
"  Wherein  may  we  come  to  the  edge  of  Antinomi- 
anism  .'^"  was  asked  likewise  ;  and  the  answer  was 
less  objectionable,  "  In  exalting  the  merits  and  love 
of  Christ ;  in  rejoicing  evermore." 

In  endeavouring  to  approach  the  edge  of  this  pe- 
rilous notion,  Wesley  went  sometimes  too  near. 
But  his  general  opinion  could  not  be  mistaken  ;  and 
when  any  of  his  followers  fell  into  the  error,  he 
contended  against  it  zealously.  It  was  a  greater 
hindrance,  he  said,  to  the  word  of  God,  than  any,  or 

*  This  pernicious  doctrine  was  well  explained  in  the  first  Conference  . 
"  Q-  What  is  Antinoinianisni  ? 

A.  The  doctrine  which  makes  void  the  law  through  faith. 

Q.  What  are  the  main  pillars  thereof  ? 

A.  1.  That  Christ  abolished  the  moral  law  : 

2.  That  therefore  Christians  are  not  obliged  to  observe  it  : 

3.  That  one  branch  of  Christian  liberty  is  liberty  from  obeying  the 

commandments  of  God  : 

4.  That  it  is  bondage  to  do  a  thing,  because  it  is  commanded  ;  or 

forbear  it  because  it  is  forbidden  : 

0.  That  a  believer  is  not  obliged  to  use  the  ordinances  of  God,  or 
to  do  good  works  : 

6.  That  a  preacher  ought  not  to  exhort  to  good  works  ;  not  un- 
believers, because  it  is  hurtful  ;  not  believers,  because  it  is 
useless." 


232 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


all  others  put  together :  and  he  sometimes  complains, 
that  most  of  the  seed  which  had  been  sown  during 
so  many  years,  had  been  rooted  up  and  destroyed  by 
"  the  wild  boars,  the  fierce,  unclean,  brutish,  blas- 
phemous* Antinomians."  From  this  reproach,  in- 
deed, which  attaches  to  many  of  his  Calvinistic  op- 
ponents, he  was  entirely  clear,  and  the  great  body 
of  his  society  has  continued  so.  But  his  disposition 
to  believe  in  miraculous  manifestations  of  divine  fa- 
vours, led  him  sometimes  to  encourage  an  enthusi- 
asm which  impeached  his  own  judgment,  and  brought 
a  scandal  upon  Methodism. 

Among  the  converts  to  Methodism  at  this  time 
were  Mr.  Berridge,  vicar  of  Everton,  in  Bedfordshire, 
and  Mr.  Hickes,  vicar  of  VVrestlingworth,  in  the  same 
neighbourhood.  These  persons,  by  their  preaching, 
produced  the  same  contagious  convulsions  in  their 
hearers,  as  had  formerly  prevailed  at  Bristol ;  and 
though  time  had  sobered  Mr.  Wesley's  feelings,  and 
matured  his  judgment,  he  was  so  far  deceived,  that 
he  recorded  the  things  which  occurred,  not  as  psy- 
cholo.o"ical,  but  as  religious  cases.  They  were  of  the 
most  frightful  and  extraordinary  kind.    An  eye  wit- 

*  The  annexed  extract  from  Wesley's  Journal  will  show  that  this  lan- 
guage is  not  too  strong:  "I  came  to  Wensbury.  The  Antinomian  teach- 
ers had  laboured  hard  to  destroy  this  poor  people.  I  talked  an  hour 
with  the  chief  of  them,  Stephen  Timmins.  I  was  in  doubt  whether 
pride  had  not  made  him  mad.  An  uncommon  wildness  and  fierceness 
in  his  air,  his  words,  and  the  whole  manner  of  his  behaviour,  almost  in- 
duced me  to  think  God  had,  for  a  season,  given  him  up  into  the  hands 
of  Satan.    In  the  evening  I  preached  at  Birmingham.    Here  another  of 

their  pillars,  J         W  ,  came  to  me,  and  looking  over  his  shoulder, 

said,  'Don't  think  I  want  to  be  in  your  society;  but  if  you  are  free  to 
speak  to  me,  you  may.'  I  will  set  down  the  conversation,  dreadful  as  it 
was,  in  the  very  manner  wherein  it  passed,  that  every  serious  person 
may  see  the  true  picture  of  Antinomianism  full  grown ;  and  may  know 
what  these  men  mean  by  their  favourite  phrase  of  being  ^er/i-ct  in  Christ, 
not  in  themselves.  'Do  you  believe  you  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
law  of  God?'  'I  have  not.  I  am  not  under  the  law.  I  live  by  faith.' 
— '  Have  you,  as  living  by  faith,  a  right  to  every  thing  in  the  %vorld  ?'  '  I 
have.  All  is  mine,  since  Christ  is  mine.'—'  May  you  then  take  any  thing 
you  will,  any  where  ?  Suppose,  out  of  a  shop,  without  the  consent  or 
knorw  ledge  of  the  owner?'  '  I  may,  if  I  want  it;  for  it  is  mine  ;  only  I 
will  not  give  offence.' — '  Have  you  also  a  right  to  all  the  women  in  the 
world?'  '  Yes,  if  they  consent' — •  And  is  not  that  a  sin  ?'  'Yes,  to  him 
that  thinks  it  a  sin  :  but  not  to  those  whose  hearts  are  free.'  The  same 
thing  that  wretch,  Roger  Ball,  affirmed  in  Dublin.  Surely  these  are  the 
first-born  children  of  Satan  !" 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


233 


iiess  described  the  church  at  Everton  as  crowded 
with  persons  from  all  the  country  round ;  "  the  w  in- 
dows,"  he  says,  "  being  filled,  within  and  without, 
and  even  the  outside  of  the  pulpit,  to  the  very  top, 
so  that  Mr.  Berridge  seemed  almost  stifled  with  their 
breath ;  yet,"  the  relater  continues,  feeble  and 
sickly  as  he  is,  he  was  continually  strengthened,  and 
his  voice,  for  the  most  part,  distinguishable  in  the 
midst  of  all  the  outcries.  When  the  power  of  reli- 
gion begun  to  be  spoke  of,  the  presence  of  God  real- 
ly filled  the  place ;  and  while  poor  sinners  felt  the 
sentence  of  death  in  their  souls,  w  hat  sounds  of  dis- 
tress did  I  hear!  The  greatest  number  of  them  Mho 
cried,  or  fell,  were  men!  but  some  women  and 
several  children,  felt  the  power  of  the  same  Almigh- 
ty Spirit,  and  seemed  just  sinking  into  hell.  This 
occasioned  a  mixture  of  various  sounds;  some  shriek- 
ing, some  roaring  aloud.  The  most  general  was  a 
loud  breathing,  like  that  of  people  half-strangled, 
and  gasping  for  life ;  and,  indeed,  almost  all  the  cries 
were  like  those  of  human  creatures  dying  in  bitter 
anguish.  Great  numbers  wept  without  any  noise; 
others  fell  down  as  dead  ;  some  sinking  in  silence^ 
some  Avith  extreme  noise  and  violent  agitation.  I 
stood  on  the  pew  seat,  as  did  a  young  man  in  the  op- 
posite pew.an  able-bodied, fresh,  healthy  countryman; 
but,  in  a  moment,  while  he  seemed  to  think  of  nothing 
less,  down  he  dropt,  with  a  violence  inconceivable. 
The  adjoining  pews  seemed  shook  with  his  fall :  I 
heard  afterwards  the  stamping  of  his  feet,  ready  to 
break  the  boards,  as  he  lay  in  strong  convulsions  at 

the  bottom  of  the  pew.     When  he  fell,  Mr.  B  11 

and  I  felt  our  souls  thrilled  with  a  momentary  dread ; 
as,  when  one  man  is  killed  by  a  cannon-ball,  another 
often  feels  the  wind  of  it.  Among  the  children  who 
felt  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty,  I  saw  a  sturdy  boy, 
about  eight  years  old,  who  roared  above  his  fellows, 
and  seemed,  in  his  agony,  to  struggle  with  the  strength 
of  a  grown  man.  His  face  was  red  as  scarlet;  and 
almost  all  on  whom  God  laid  his  hand,  turned  either 
very  red,  or  almost  black." 
VOL.  II.  30 


234 


WESLEY   IX  MIDDLE  AGE. 


The  congregation  adjourned  to  Mr.  Berridge's 
house,  whither  those  who  \vere  slill  in  the  fit  were 
carried  :  the  maddened  people  were  eager  for  more 
stimulants,  and  the  insane  vicar  was  as  willing  to  ad- 
minister more,  as  they  wore  to  receive  it.  "  I  stayed 
in  the  next  room,"  says  the  relaler,  "  and  saw  a  girl, 
whom  I  had  observed  peculiarly  distressed  in  the 
church,  lying  on  tlie  floor  as  one  dend,  but  without 
any  ghastliness  in  her  face.  In  a  few  minutes  we 
were  informed  of  a  woman  filled  with  peace  and  joy^ 
who  was  crying  out  just  before.  She  had  come  Ihir* 
teen  miles,  and  is  the  same  person  who  dreamed  Mr. 
Berridge  would  come  to  his  village  on  that  very  day 
whereon  he  did  come,  though  without  either  knowing 
the  place  or  the  way  to  it.  She  was  convinced  at  that 
time.  J  ust  as  we  heard  of  her  deliverance,  the  girl 
on  the  fioor  began  to  stir.  She  was  then  set  in  a  chair, 
and,  after  sighing  a  whi'e,  suddenly  rose  up,  rejoicing 
in  God.  Her  face  was  covered  with  the  most  beau- 
tiful smile  I  ever  saw.  She  frequently  fell  on  her 
knees,  but  was  generally  running  to  and  fro,  speak- 
ing these  and  the  like  words:  ''Oh,  what  can  Jesus 
do  for  lost  sinners!  He  has  forgiven  all  my  sins!  I 
am  in  Heaven!  1  am  in  Heaven!  Oh,  how  ho  loves 
me,  and  how  I  love  him !"  Meantime  I  saw  a  thin 
pale  girl,  Meeping  with  sorrow  for  herself,  and  joy 
for  her  companion.  Quickly  the  smiles  of  Heaven 
came  likewise  on  her,  and  her  praises  joined  w|th 
those  of  the  other.  I  also  then  laughed  with  extreme 

joy;  so  did  Mr.  B  11,  who  said  it  was  more  than 

he  could  bear;  so  did  all  who  knew  the  Lord,  and 
some  of  those  who  were  waiting  for  salvation,  till  the 
cries  of  them  who  were  struck  with  the  arrows  of  con- 
viction, were  almost  lost  in  the  sounds  of"  joy. — Mr. 
Berridge  about  this  time  retired  ;  We  continued, 
praising  God  with  all  our  might,  and  his  work  went 
on.  1  had  for  some  time  observed  a  young  woman  all 
in  tears,  but  now  her  countenance  changed  :  the  un- 
Bpeakable  joy  appeared  in  her  face,  which,  quick  as 
lightning,  was  filled  with  smiles,  and  became  a  crim- 
son colour.  About  the  same  time  John  Keeling,  of 
t^otton,  fell  into  an  agony;  but  he  grew  calm  in  about 


WESLEY   IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


23^ 


a  quarter  of  an  hour,  though  without  a  clear  sense  of 
pardon.  Immediately  after,  a  stranger,  well  dressed, 
who  stood  facing  me,  fell  backward  to  the  wall,  then 
forward  on  his  knees,  wringing  his  hands,  and  roar- 
ing like  a  bull.  His  face  at  first  turned  quite  red, 
then  almost  black.  He  rose  and  ran  against  the 
wall,  till  Mr,  Keeling  and  another  held  him.  He 
screamed  out,  '  Oh,  what  shall  I  do !  what  shall  I  do  ! 
Oh,  for  one  drop  of  the  blood  of  Christ!'  As  he 
spoke,  God  set  his  soul  at  liberty:  he  knew  his  sins 
were  blotted  out ;  and  the  rapture  he  was  in  seemed 
too  great  for  human  nature  to  bear.  He  had  come 
forty  miles  to  hear  Mr.  Berridge. 

"  I  observed,  about  the  time  that  Mr.  Coe  (that 
was  his  name)  began  to  rejoice,  a  girl  eleven  or 
twelve  years  old,  exceedingly  poorly  dressed,  who 
appeared  to  be  as  deeply  wounded,  and  as  desirous 
of  salvation,  as  any.  But  I  lost  sight  of  her,  till  I 
heard  the  joyful  sound  of  another  born  in  Sion,  and 
found,  upon  inquiry,  it  was  her,  the  poor,  disconso- 
late, gypsy-looking  child.  And  now  did  I  see  such  a 
sight  as  I  do  not  expect  again  on  this  side  eternity. 
The  faces  of  the  three  justified  children,  and,  I  think, 
of  all  the  believers  present,  did  really  shine;  and 
such  a  beauty,  such  a  look  of  extreme  happiness,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  of  divine  love  and  simplicity,  did  I 
never  sec  in  human  fices  till  now.  The  newly  justi- 
fied eagerly  embraced  one  another,  weeping  on  each 
other's  necks  for  joy,  and  besought  both  men  and  wo- 
men to  help  them  iii  praising  God."  The  same  fits 
were  produced  by  Mr.  Hlckes's  preaching  at  Wrest- 
lingworth,  whither  this  relater  proceeded  ;  and  there 
also  the  poor  creatures,  who  were  under  th<!  parox- 
ysm, were  carried  into  the  parsonage,  where  some 
lay  as  if  they  were  dead,  and  others  lay  struggling. 
In  both  churches  several  pews  and  benches  were 
broken  by  the  violent  struggling  of  the  sufferers; 

yet,"  says  the  narrater,  "  it  is  common  for  people 
to  remain  unaffected  there,  and  afterward  drop  down 
in  their  way  home.  Some  have  been  found  lying  as 
dead  in  the  road  ;  otliers  in  Mr.  Berridge's  garden, 
not  being  able  to  walk  from  the  church  to  his  house, 


236 


WESLEV   IN  MIDDLE  AGE, 


though  it  is  not  two  hundred  yards."  The  person 
who  thus  minutely  described  the  progress  of  this  pow. 
erful  contagion,  observes,  that  few  old  people  expe- 
rienced any  thing  of  what  he  called  the  work  of  God, 
and  scarce  any  of  the  rich  ;  and,  with  that  uncharita- 
ble spirit,  which  is  one  of  the  surest  and  worst  effects 
of  such  superstition,  he  remarks,  that  three  farmers, 
in  three  several  villages,  who  set  themselves  to  op- 
pose it,  all  died  within  a  month. 

Such  success  made  Berridge  glorious  in  his  own 
eyes,  as  well  as  in  those  of  all  the  fanatics  round 
about.  He  travelled  about  the  country,  making 
Everton  still  the  centre  of  his  excursions;  and  he 
confesses  that,  on  one  occasion,  when  he  mounted  a 
table  upon  a  common  near  Cambridge,  and  saw  near- 
ly ten  thousand  people  assembled,  and  many  gowns- 
men among  them,  he  paused  after  he  had  given  out 
his  text,  tliinking  of  something  pretty  to  set  off  with  ; 
but,"  says  he,  "  the  Lord  so  confounded  me,  (as  in- 
deed it  was  meet,  for  I  was  seeking  not  his  glory,  but 
my  own,)  that  I  was  in  a  perfect  labyrinth,  and  found 
that,  if  I  did  not  begin  immediately,  I  must  go  down 
without  speaking;  so  I  broke  out  with  the  first  word 
that  occurred,  not  knowing  whether  I  should  be  able 
to  add  any  more.  Then  the  Lord  opened  my  mouth, 
enabling  me  to  speak  near  an  hour,  without  any  kind 
of  perplexity,  and  so  loud,  that  every  one  might 
hear."  For  a  season  this  man  produced  a  more  vio- 
lent influenza  of  fanaticism,  than  had  ever  followed 
upon  either  Whitefield's  or  Wesley's  preaching.  The 
people  flocked  to  hear  him  in  such  numbers,  that  his 
church  could  not  contain  them,  and  they  adjourned 
into  a  field.  "  Some  of  them,"  says  an  eye-witness. 
"  who  were  here  pricked  to  the  heart,  were  affected 
in  an  astonishing  manner.  The  first  man  1  saw- 
wounded  would  have  dropped,  but  others,  catching 
him  in  their  arms,  did  indeed  prop  him  up ;  but  were 
so  far  from  keeping  him  still,  that  he  caused  all  of 
them  to  totter  and  tremble.  His  own  shaking  ex- 
ceeded that  of  a  cloth  in  the  wind.  It  seemed  as  if 
the  Lord  came  upon  him  like  a  giant,  taking  him  by 
the  neck,  and  shaking  all  his  bones  in  pieces.  One 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


237 


woman  tore  up  the  ground  with  her  hands,  filling 
them  with  dust,  and  with  the  hard-trodden  grass,  on 
which  I  saw  her  lie  with  her  hands  clinched,  as  one 
dead,  when  the  multitude  dispersed  :  another  roared 
and  screamed  in  a  more  dreadful  agony  than  ever  I 
heard  before.  I  omit  the  rejoicing  of  believers,  be- 
cause of  their  number,  and  the  frequency  thereof: 
though  the  manner  was  strange,  some  of  them  being 
quite  overpowered  with  divine  love,  and  only  show- 
ing enough  of  natural  life  to  let  us  know  they  were 
overwhelmed  with  joy  and  life  eternal.  Some  conti- 
nued long  as  if  they  were  dead,  but  with  a  calm 
sweetness  in  their  looks.  I  saw  one  who  lay  two  or 
three  hours  in  the  open  air,  and  being  then  carried 
into  the  house,  continued  insensible  another  hour,  as 
if  actually  dead.  The  first  sign  of  life  she  showed 
was  a  rapture  of  praise,  intermixed  with  a  small  joy- 
ous laughter."  It  may  excite  astonishment  in  other 
countries,  and  reasonable  regret  in  this,  that  there 
should  be  no  authority  capable  of  restraining  extra- 
vagancies and  indecencies  like  these. 

Berridge  had  been  curate  of  Stapleford,  near  Cam- 
bridge, several  years,  and  now,  after  what  he  called 
his  conversion,  his  heart  was  set  upon  preaching  a 
"  gospel-sermon"  there,  which,  he  said,  he  had  never 
done  before.  Some  fifteen  hundred  persons  assem- 
bled in  a  field  to  hear  him.  The  contagion  soon  be- 
gan to  show  itself  among  those  who  were  pre-dispos- 
ed  for  it :  others,  of  a  different  temper,  mocked  and 
mimicked  these  poor  creatures  in  their  convulsions ; 
and  some  persons,  who  were  in  a  better  state  of  mind 
than  either,  indignant  at  the  extravagance  and  inde- 
cency of  the  scene,  called  aloud  to  have  those 
wretches  horsewhipped  out  of  the  field.  "  Well  (says 
the  fanatical  writer)  may  Satan  be  enraged  at  the 
cries  of  the  people,  and  the  prayers  they  make  in  the 
bitterness  of  their  souls,  seeing  we  know  these  are 
the  chief  times  at  which  Satan  is  cast  out." — "  I  heard 
a  dreadful  noise,  on  the  further  side  of  the  congrega- 
tion (says  this  writer),  and  turning  thither,  saw  one 
Thomas  Skinner  coming  forward,  the  most  horrible 
human  figure  I  ever  saw.    His  large  wig  and  hair 


238 


WE8LEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


were  coal-black ;  his  face  distorted  beyond  all  de- 
scription. He  roared  incessantly,  throwing  and  clap- 
ping his  hands  together  with  his  whole  force.  Seve- 
ral were  terrified,  and  hastened  out  of  his  way.  1 
was  giad  to  hear  him,  after  a  while,  pray  aloud.  Not 
a  few  of  the  trillers  grew  serious,  while  his  kindred 
and  acquaintance  were  very  unwilling  to  believe 
even  their  own  eyes  and  ears.  They  would  fain 
have  got  him  away ;  but  he  fell  to  the  earth,  crying, 
*  My  burden  !  my  burden  !  I  cannot  bear  it!'  Some 
of  his  brother  scoiJers  were  calling  for  horsew  hips, 
till  they  saw  him  extenden  on  his  back  at  full  length  : 
they  then  said  he  was  dead  ;  and  indeed  the  only 
sign  of  life  was  the  working  of  his  breast,  and  the 
distortions  of  his  face,  while  the  veins  of  his  neck 
were  swelled  as  if  ready  to  burst.  He  was,  just  be- 
fore, the  chief  captain  of  Satan's  forces :  none  was  by 
nature  more  fitted  for  mockery ;  none  could  swear 
more  heroically  to  whip  out  of  the  close  all  w  ho  were 
affected  by  the  preaching." — Berridge  bade  the  peo- 
ple take  warning  by  him,  while  he  lay  roaring  and 
tormented  on  the  ground.  "  His  agonies  lasted  some 
hours;  then  his  body  and  soul  were  eased." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that,  of  the  many  persons  who 
have  gone  through  this  disease,  no  one  should  have 
recorded  his  case  who  was  capable  of  describing  his 
sensations  accurately,  if  not  of  analyzing  them.  Ber- 
ridge and  Hickes  are  said  to  have  "  awakened" 
about  four  thousand  souls  in  the  course  of  twelve 
months.  Imposture  in  all  degrees,  from  the  first  na- 
tural exaggeration  to  downright  fraud,  kept  pace  with 
enthusiasm.  A  child,  seven  years  old,  saw  visions, 
and  astonished  tiie  neighbours  with  her  innocent, 
awful  manner  of  relating  them."  A  young  man, 
whose  mother  affirmed  tliat  he  had  had  fits,  once  a- 
day  at  least,  for  the  last  two  years,  began  to  pray  ia 
those  fits  ;  protesting  afterwards,  that  he  knew  not  a 
word  of  what  he  had  spoken,  but  was  as  ignorant  of 
tfie  matter  as  if  he  had  been  dead  all  the  while. — 
This  impostor,  when  he  was  about  to  exhibit,  stiffen- 
ed himself  like  a  statue;  "his  very  neck  seemed 
made  of  iron."  After  he  had  finished,  his  body  grew 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


239 


flexible  by  degrees,  but  seemed  to  be  convulsed  from 
liead  to  loot ;  and  when  he  thought  proper  to  reco- 
ver, he  said,  "  he  was  quite  resigned  to  the  will  of 
God,  w  ho  gave  him  such  strength  in  the  inner  man, 
that  he  did  not  find  it  grievous,  neither  could  ask  to 
be  delivered  from  it." — 1  discoursed,"  says  the  cre- 
dulous relater  of  these  things,  "  with  Anne  Thorn, 
who  told  me  of  much  heaviness  following  the  visions 
w  ith  w  hich  she  had  been  favoured  ;  but  said  she  was, 
at  intervals,  visited  still  with  so  much  overpowering 
love  and  joy,  especially  at  the  Lord's  supper,  that  she 
often  lay  in  a  trance  for  many  hours.  She  is  twenty- 
one  years  old.  We  were  soon  after  called  into  the 
garden,  where  Fatty  Jenkins,  one  of  the  same  age, 
was  so  overwhelmed  with  the  love  of  God,  that  she 
sunk  down,  and  appeared  as  one  in  a  pleasant  sleep, 
only  with  her  eyes  open.  Yet  she  had  often  just 
strength  to  utter,  with  a  low  voice,  ejaculations  of 
joy  and  praise  ;  but  no  words  coming  up  to  w  hat  she 
felt,  she  frequently  laughed  while  she  saw  his  glory. 
This  is  quite  unintelligible  to  many,  for  a  stranger 
intermeddleth  not  w  ith  our  joy.  So  it  was  to  Mr.  M., 
who  doubted  whether  God  or  the  devil  had  filled  her 
with  love  and  praise.  Oh,  the  depth  of  human  wis- 
dom! Mr.  R.,  in  the  meari  time,  was  tilled  with  a  so- 
lemn awe.  I  no  sooner  sate  down  by  her,  than  the 
Spirit  of  God  poured  the  same  blessedness  into  my 
soul." 

Whether  this  were  folly  or  fraud,  the  consequences 
that  were  likely  to  result  did  not  escape  the  appre- 
hension of  persons  who,  though  themselves  affected 
strongly  by  the  disease,  still  retained  some  command 
of  reason.  They  began  to  doubt  whether  such 
trances  were  not  the  work  of  Satan  ;  \v\ih  the  majo- 
rity, however,  they  passed  for  effects  of  grace.  Wes- 
ley, who  believed  and  recorded  them  as  such,  inquir- 
ed of  the  patients,  when  he  came  to  Everton,  con- 
cerning their  state  of  feeling  in  these  trances.  The 
persons,  who  appear  to  have  been  all  young  women 
and  girls,  agreed,  "  that  when  they  ivcnt  away,  as  the>' 
termed  it,  it  was  always  at  the  time  they  were  fullest 
of  the  love  of  God :  that  it  came  upon  them  in  a 


210 


TV'ESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


moment,  without  any  previous  notice,  and  took  away 
all  their  senses  and  strength  :  that  there  were  some 
exceptions,  but,  generally,  from  that  moment  they 
w  ere  in  another  world,  knowing  nothing  of  what  was 
done  or  said  by  all  that  were  round  about  them." 
He  had  now  an  opportunity  of  observing  a  case. — 
Some  persons  were  singing  hymns  in  Berridge's 
house,  about  five  in  the  afternoon,  and  presently 
Wesley  was  summoned  by  Berridge  himself,  with  in- 
formation that  one  of  them,  a  girl  of  fifteen,  w  as  fallen 
into  a  trance.  "  I  went  down  immediately,"  says 
Mr.  Wesley,  "  and  found  her  sitting  on  a  stool,  and 
leaning  against  the  wall,  with  her  eyes  open  and  fixed 
upw  ard.  I  made  a  motion,  as  if  going  to  strike  ;  but 
they  continued  immoveable.  Her  face  showed  an 
unspeakable  mixture  of  reverence  and  love,  while 
silent  tears  stole  down  her  cheek.  Her  lips  were  a 
little  open,  and  sometimes  moved,  but  not  enough  to 
cause  any  sound.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  ever  saw 
a  human  face  look  so  beautiful.  Sometimes  it  was 
covered  with  a  smile,  as  from  joy  mixing  with  love 
and  reverence  ;  but  the  tears  fell  still,  though  not  so 
fast.  Her  pulse  was  quite  regular.  In  about  half  an 
hour  I  observed  her  countenance  change  into  the 
form  of  fear,  pity  and  distress.  Then  she  burst  into 
a  flood  of  tears,  and  cried  out,  '  Dear  Lord  !  they 
will  be  damned  !  they  ivill  all  be  damned  !'  But,  in 
about  five  minutes,  her  smiles  returned,  and  only 
love  and  joy  appeared  in  her  face.  About  half  an 
hour  after  six,  1  observed  distress  take  place  again, 
and  soon  after  she  wept  bitterly,  and  cried,  '  Dear 
Lord,  they  tvill  go  to  hell !  the  world  will  go  to  hell !' 
Soon  after  she  said,  '  Cry  aloud  !  spare  not !'  and  in 
a  few  moments  her  look  was  composed  again,  and 
spoke  a  mixture  of  reverence,  joy,  and  love.  Then 
she  said  aloud,  '  Give  God  the  glory  !'  About  seven, 
her  senses  returned.  I  asked,  '  Where  have  you 
been?' — 'I  have  been  with  my  Saviour.' — 'In  hea- 
ven, or  on  earth  ?' — '  I  cannot  tell ;  but^I  was  in  glo- 
ry !' — '  Why,  then,  did  you  cry .?' — '  Not  for  myself, 
but  for  the  world ;  for  I  saw  they  were  on  the  brink 
of  hell.' — '  Whom  did  you  desire  to  give  the  glory  to 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


241 


God  ?' — '  Ministers  that  cry  aloud  to  the  world  ;  else 
they  will  be  proud ;  and  then  God  will  leave  them, 
and  they  will  lose  their  own  souls.' " 

With  all  his  knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  (and 
few  persons  have  had  such  opportunities  of  exten- 
sive and  intimate  observation,)  Wesley  had  not  dis- 
covered that,  when  occasion  is  afforded  for  impos- 
ture of  this  kind,  the  propensity  to  it  is  a  vice  to 
which  children  and  young  persons  are  especially  ad- 
dicted. If  there  be  any  natural  obliquity  of  the  mind, 
sufficient  motives  are  found  in  the  pride  of  deceiv- 
ing their  elders,  and  the  pleasure  which  they  feel  in 
exercising  the  monkey-like  instinct  of  imitation. — 
This  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  recorded  tales  of 
witchcraft  in  this  country,  in  New-England,  and  in 
Sweden  ;  and  it  is  from  subjects  like  this  girl,  whose 
acting  Wesley  beheld  with  reverential  credulity,  in- 
stead of  reasonable  suspicion,  that  the  friars  have 
made  regular  bred  saints,  such  as  Rosa  of  Peru,  and 
Catharine  of  Sienna.  With  regard  to  the  bodily 
effects  that  ensued,  whenever  the  spiritual  influenza 
began,  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  their  reaHty  ;  but 
it  had  so  much  the  appearance  of  an  influenza,  ra- 
ging for  a  while,  affecting  those  within  its  sphere,  and 
then  dying  away,  that  Wesley  could  not  be  so  fully 
satisfied  concerning  the  divine  and  supernatural  ex- 
citing cause,  as  he  had  been  when  first  the  disease 
manifested  itself  at  Bristol,  and  as  he  still  desired  to 
be.  "  I  have  generally  observed,"  said  he,  "  more 
or  less  of  these  outward  symptoms  to  attend  the  be- 
ginning of  a  general  work  of  God.  So  it  was  in  New- 
England,  Scotland,  Holland,  Ireland,  and  many  parts 
of  England :  but,  after  a  time,  they  gradually  de- 
crease, and  the  work  goes  on  more  quietly  and  si- 
lently. Those  whom  it  pleases  God  to  employ  in  his 
work,  ought  to  be  quite  passive  in  this  respect :  they 
should  choose  nothing,  but  leave  entirely  to  him  all 
the  circumstances  of  his  own  work." 

Returning  to  Everton,  about  four  months  after- 
wards, he  found  "  a  remarkable  differerjce  as  to  the 
manner  of  the  work.  None  now  were  in  trances, 
jione  cried  out,  none  fell  down,  or  were  convulsed 

VOL.  11.  31 


242 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


Only  some  trembled  exceedingly ;  a  low  murmur  was 
heard,  and  many  were  refreshed  with  the  multitude  of 
peaceV  The  disease  had  spent  itself,  and  the  reflec- 
tions which  he  makes  upon  this  change,  show  that 
others  had  begun  to  suspect  its  real  nature,  and  that 
he  himself  was  endeavouring  to  quiet  his  own  sus- 
picions. "  Tlie  danger  wo*,"  says  he,  "  to  regard 
extraordinary  circumstances  too  much, — such  as  out- 
cries, convulsions,  visions,  trances,  as  if  these  were 
essential  to  the  inward  work,  so  that  it  could  not  go 
on  without  them.  Perhaps  the  danger  ?>,  to  regard 
them  too  little  ;  to  condemn  them  altogether  ;  to 
imagine  they  had  nothing  of  God  in  them,  and  were 
a  hindrance  to  his  work  ;  whereas  the  truth  is,  1. 
God  suddenly  and  strongly  convinced  many  that  they 
w  ere  lost  sinners,  the  natural  consequences  whereof 
were  sudden  outcries,  and  strong  bodily  convulsions. 
2.  To  strengthen  and  encourage  them  that  believed, 
and  to  make  his  work  more  apparent,  he  favoured 
several  of  them  with  divine  dreams;  others  with 
trances  and  visions.  3.  In  some  of  these  instances, 
after  a  time,  nature  mixed  with  grace.  4.  Satan 
likewise  mimicked  this  work  of  God,  in  order  to  dis- 
credit the  whole  work  ;  and  yet  it  is  not  wise  to 
give  up  this  part^  any  more  than  to  give  up  the 
whole.  At  first  it  was,  doubtless,  wholly  from  God : 
it  is  partly  so  at  this  day;  and  He  will  enable  us  to 
discern  how  far,  in  every  case,  the  work  is  pure,  and 
when  it  mixes  or  degenerates.  Let  us  even  suppose 
that,  ill  some  few  cases,  there  was  a  mixture  of 
dissimulation ;  that  persons  pretended  to  see  or 
feel  what  they  did  not,  and  imitated  the  cries  or 
convulsive  motions  of  those  who  were  really  over- 
powered by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  yet  even  this 
should  not  make  us  either  deny  or  undervalue  the 
real  work  of  the  Spirit.  The  shadow  is  no  dispa- 
ragement of  the  substance,  nor  the  counterfeit  of  the 
real  diamond." 

His  tone,  perhaps,  was  thus  moderated,  because, 
by  recording  former  extravagancies  of  this  kind  in 
full  triumph,  he  had  laid  himself  open  to  attacks 
which  he  had  not  been  able  to  repel.  Warburton 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


243 


had  censured  these  things  with  his  strong  sense  and 
powers  of  indignant  sarcasm ;  and  thej  had  been 
exposed  still  more  effectually  by  Bishop  Lavii)gton, 
of  Exeter,  in  '-A  Comparison  between  the  Enthusi- 
asm of  Methodists  and  of  Papists."  Here  Wesley, 
who  was  armed  and  proof  at  other  points,  was  vulne- 
rable. He  could  advance  plausible  arguments,  even 
for  the  least  defensible  of  his  doctrines  ;  and  for  his 
irregularities,  some  that  were  valid  and  incontesta- 
ble. On  that  score  he  was  justified  by  the  positive 
good  which  Methodism  had  done,  and  was  doing; 
but  here  he  stood  convicted  of  a  credulity  discredi- 
table to  himself,  and  dangerous  in  its  consequences; 
the  whole  evil  of  scenes  so  disorderly,  so  scandalous, 
and  so  frightful,  was  distinctly  seen  by  his  opponents ; 
and  perhaps  they  did  not  make  a  sufficient  allow- 
ance for  the  phenomena  of  actual  disease,  and  the 
manner  in  which,  upon  their  first  appearance,  they 
were  likely  to  affect  a  mind,  heated  as  his  had  been 
at  the  commencement  of  his  career.  In  all  his  other 
controversies,  Wesley  preserved  that  urbane  and 
gentle  tone,  which  arose  from  the  genuine  benignity 
of  his  disposition  and  manners ;  but  he  replied  to 
Bishop  Lavington  with  asperity  ;  the  attack  had  gall- 
ed him ;  he  could  not  but  feel  that  his  opponent  stood 
upon  the  vantage  ground,  and,  evading  the  main 
charge,  he  contented  himself  in  his  reply*  with  ex- 
plaining away  certain  passages,  which  were  less  ob- 
noxious than  they  had  been  made  to  appear,  and 
disproving  some  personal  chargesf  which  the  Bi- 
shop had  repeated  upon  evidence  that  appeared,  up- 
on inquiry,  not  worthy  of  the  credit  he  had  given  to 

*  His  Journal  shows  that  he  undertook  the  task  with  no  alacrity.  "  I 
began  writing  a  letter  to  the  Comparer  of  the  Papists  and  Methodists. 
Heavy  work  ;  suclias  I  should  never  choose  ;  but  sometimes  it  must  be 
done.  Weil  might  tiie  ancient  say,  "  God  made  practical  divinity  ne- 
cessary ;  the  devil,  controversial."  But  it  is  necessary.  We  must  resist 
the  devil,  or  he  will  not  flee  from  us." 

I  On  this  point  it  is  proper  to  state,  that  he  does  justice  to  the  Bishop 
in  his  Journal.  For  when  he  notices  that,  calling  upon  the  person 
who  was  named  as  tlie  accuser,  she  told  him  readily  and  repeatedly, 
that  she  "never  saw  or  knew  any  harm  by  him,"  he  adds,  "yet  I  am 
not  sure  that  she  has  not  said  just  the  contrary  to  others.  If  so,  she, 
not  I,  must  give  account  for  it  to  God." 


244 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


it.  But  Wesley's  resentments  were  never  lasting ; 
of  this  a  passage  in  his  Journal,  written  a  few  years 
afterwards,  affords  a  pleasing  proof.  Having  attend- 
ed service  at  Exeter  cathedral,  he  says,  "  I  was  well 
pleased  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  supper  with  my  old 
opponent,  Bishop  Lavington.  Oh,  may  we  sit  down 
together  in  the  kingdom  of  our  Father  !"  He  under- 
stood the  happiness  of  his  temper  in  this  respect, 
and  says  of  it,  "I  cannot  but  stand  amazed  at  the 
goodness  of  God.  Others  are  most  assaulted  on  the 
weak  side  of  their  soul ;  but  with  me  it  is  quite  other- 
wise. If  I  have  any  strength  at  all,  (and  1  have  none 
but  what  I  received,)  it  is  in  forgiving  injuries  ;  and  on 
this  very  side  am  1  assaulted  more  frequently  than 
on  any  other.  Yet  leave  me  not  here  one  hour  to 
myself,  or  I  shall  betray  myself  and  Thee  !" 

Warburton,  though  a  more  powerful  opponent,  as- 
sailed him  with  less  effect.  Wesley  replied  to  him 
in  a  respectfui  tone,  and  met  the  attack  fairly.  He 
entered  upon  the  question  of  Grace,  maintained  his 
own  view  of  that  subject,  and  repeated,  in  the  most 
explicit  terms,  his  full  belief,  that  the  course  which 
he  and  his  coadjutors  had  taken,  was  approved  by 
miracles.  "  I  have  seen  with  my  eyes,"  said  he, 
"  and  heard  with  my  ears,  several  things  which,  to 
the  best  of  my  judgment,  cannot  be  accounted  for  by 
the  ordinary  course  of  natural  causes,  ajid  which,  I 
therefore  believe,  ought  to  be  ascribed  to  the  extra- 
ordinary interposition  of  God.  If  any  man  choose  to 
call  these  miracles,  I  reclaim  not.  I  have  weighed 
the  preceding  and  following  circumstances ;  I  have 
strove  to  account  for  them  in  a  natural  way  ;  but 
could  not,  without  doing  violence  to  my  reason."  He 
instanced  the  case  of  John  Haydon,  and  the  manner 
in  which  ho  himself,  by  an  efTort  of  faith,  had  thrown 
off' a  fever.  The  truth  of  these  facts,  he  said,  was 
supported  by  the  testimony  of  competent  witnesses, 
ill  as  h\gU  a  degree  as  any  reasonable  man  could  de- 
sire :  the  witnesses  were  many  in  number,  and  could 
not  be  deceived  themselves  ;  for  they  saw  with  their 
own  eyes,  and  heard  with  their  own  ears.  He  dis- 
claimed for  himself  any  part  in  these  and  the  other 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


245 


cases,  which  might  appear  to  redound  to  his  praise : 
his  will,  or  choice,  or  desire,  he  said,  had  no  place  in 
them :  and  this,  he  argued,  had  always  been  the  case 
with  true  miracles;  for  God  interposed  his  miracu- 
lous powers  always  according  to  liis  own  sovereign 
will ;  not  according  to  the  will  of  man,  neither  of  him 
by  whom  he  wrought,  nor  of  any  other  man  whatso- 
ever. So  many  such  interpositions,  he  aHirmed,  had 
taken  place,  as  would  soon  leave  no  excuse  either 
for  denying  or  despising  them.  "  We  desire  no  /a- 
vowr,"  said  he,  "  but  (he  justice^  that  diligent  inquiry 
may  be  made  concerning  them.  We  are  ready  to 
name  the  persons  on  whom  the  power  was  shown, 
which  belongeth  to  none  but  God,  (not  one,  or  two, 
or  ten  or  twelve  only,) — to  point  out  their  places  of 
abode;  and  we  engage  they  shall  answer  every  per- 
tinent question  fairly  and  directly  ;  and,  if  required, 
shall  give  all  their  answers  upon  oath,  before  any 
who  are  empowered  to  receive  them.  It  is  our  par- 
ticular request,  that  the  circumstances  which  went 
before,  which  accompanied,  and  which  followed  af- 
ter the  facts  under  consideration,  may  be  thoroughly 
examined,  and  punctually  noted  down.  Let  but  this 
be  done,  (and  is  it  not  highly  needful  it  should,  at 
least  by  those  who  would  form  an  exact  judgment  ?) 
and  we  have  no  fear  that  any  reasonable  man  should 
scruple  to  say,  "  this  hath  God  wrought." 

It  had  never  entered  into  Wesley's  thoughts,  when 
he  thus  appealed  to  what  were  called  the  outward 
signs,  as  certainly  miraculous,  that  they  were  the 
manifestations  of  a  violent  and  specific  disease,  pro- 
duced by  excessive  excitement  of  the  mind,  commu- 
nicable by  sympathy,  and  highly  contagious.  We 
are  yet  far  from  understanding  the  whole  power  of 
the  mind  over  the  body ;  nor,  perhaps,  will  it  ever 
be  fully  understood.  It  was  very  little  regarded  in 
Wesley's  time ;  these  phenomena  tfierefore  were 
considered  by  the  Methodists,  and  by  those  who  be- 
held them,  as  wholly  miraculous ;  by  all  other  per- 
sons, as  mere  exhibitions  of  imposture.  Even  Charles 
Wesley,  when  he  discovered  that  much  was  volun- 
tary, had  no  suspicion  that  the  rest  might  be  natural ; 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


and  John,  in  all  cases  where  any  thing  supernatural 
was  pretended,  was,  of  all  men,  the  most  credulous. 
In  the  excesses  at  Everton,  he  had,  however  reluc- 
tantly, perceived  something  which  savoured  oflraud ; 
and,  a  few  years  afterward,  circumstances  of  much 
greater  notoriety  occurred,  when,  from  the  weakness 
of  his  mind,  he  encouraged  at  first  a  dangerous  en- 
thusiasm, which  soon  broke  out  into  open  madness. 

Among  his  lay-preachers,  there  was  a  certain 
George  Bell,  who  had  formerly  been  a  life-guards- 
man. Mr  Wesley  published,  as  plainly  miraculous, 
an  account  of  an  instantaneous  cure  wrought  by  this 
man:  it  was  a  surgical*  Case,  and  must,  therefore, 
either  have  been  miracle  or  fraud.  A  judicious  in- 
quiry woul  1  have  shown  that  Bell,  who  was  not  in  a 
sane  mind,  had  been  a  dupe  in  this  business;  but 
Wesley  contented  himself  with  the  patient's  own  re- 
lation^ accredited  it  without  scruple,  and  recorded 
it  in  atone  of  exultation  Bell  was  at  that  time  cra- 
zy, and  any  doubt  which  he  might  have  entertained 
of  his  own  supernatural  gifts,  was  removed  by  this 
apparent  miracle,  the  truth  of  which  was  thus  attest- 
ed. Others  who  listened  to  him  became  as  crazy  as 
himself;  and  Wesley  was  persuaded  that,  "  being 

*  Dec.  26,  1760.  I  made  a  particular  inquiry  into  the  case  of  Mary 
Special,  a  young  woman  then  in  Tottenham-court  Road.  She  said, 
'  Four  years  since,  I  found  much  pain  in  my  hreasts,  and  afterwards 
hard  lumps.  Four  months  ago  my  left  breast  broke,  and  kept  running 
continually.  Growing  worse  and  worse,  after  some  time  I  was  recom- 
mended to  St.  George's  Hospital.  I  was  let  blood  many  times,  and 
took  hemlock  thrice  a  day  ;  hut  I  was  no  better,  the  pain  and  the  lumps 
were  the  same,  and  both  my  hreasts  were  quite  hard,  and  black  as  soot; 
when,  yesterday  se'ennight,  I  went  to  Mr.  Owcn^s,  where  there  was  a 
meeting  for  prayer.  Mr.  Bell  saw  me,  and  asked.  Have  you  faith  to  be 
healed.'  I  said,  yes.  He  prayed  for  me,  and,  in  a  moment,  all  my 
pain  was  gone.  But  the  next  day  I  felt  a  little  pain  again  :  I  clapped 
my  hands  on  my  breasts,  and  crit;d  out.  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst 
make  nie  whole !  It  was  gone ;  and.  from  that  hour,  1  have  had  no 
pain,  no  soreness,  no  lumps  or  swelling,  but  both  my  breasts  were  per- 
fectly well,  and  I  have  been  so  ever  since.'  "  Now,"  says  Mr.  Wesley, 
"  here  are  plain  facts:  1.  she  was  ill ;  2  she  is  ^Vell :  8.  she  became  so 
in  a  moment.  Which  of  these  can,  with  any  modesty  be  denied It 
is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that,  after  Bell  had  become  decidedly  crazy, 
recovered  his  wits,  forsaken  the  Methodists,  and  professed  himself  a 
thorough  unbeliever,  Mr.  NVesIey  should  still  have  believed  this  story, 
and  have  persisted  in  asking  the  same  question,  without  suspecting  any 
deceit  in  either  party.  The  fraud  lay  in  the  woman,  Bell  being  a  tho- 
rough enthusiast  at  that  time. 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


247 


ilillof  love,"  they  were  actually  "  favoured  with  ex- 
traordinary revelations  and  manifestations  from  God. 
But  by  this  very  thing,"  says  he,  "  Satan  beguiled 
theai  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  By  in- 
sensible degrees,  they  were  led  to  value  these  ex- 
traordinary gitts,  more  than  the  ordinary  grace  of 
God  ;  and  I  could  not  convince  them,  that  a  grain  of 
humble  love  was  better  than  all  these  gifts  put  to- 
gether." 

In  the  height  of  George  Bell's  extravagance,  he 
attempted  to  restore  a  blind  man  to  sight,  touched 
his  eyes  with  spittle,  and  pronounced  the  word 
Ephpliatha.  The  ecclesiastical  authorities  ought  to 
have  a  power  of  sending  such  persons  to  Bedlam, 
for  the  sake  of  religion  and  of  decency,  and  for  the 
general  good  ;  but  such  madmen  in  England  are  suf- 
lered  to  go  abroad,  and  bite  whom  they  please  with 
impunity.  The  failure  of  the  blasphemous  experi- 
ment neither  undeceived  him  nor  his  believers  ;  and 
they  accounted  for  it  by  saying,  that  the  patient  had 
not  faith  to  be  healed.  Wesley  had  begun  to  suspect 
the  sanity  of  these  enthusiasts,  because  they  had 
taken  up  a  notion,  from  a  text  in  the  Revelations, 
that  they  should  live  for  ever.  As,  however,  one  of 
the  most  enthusiastic  happened  to  go  raving  mad, 
and  die,  he  thought  the  delusion  would  be  checked  ; 
as  if  a  disease  of  the  reason  could  be  cured  by  the 
right  exercise  of  the  diseased  faculty  itself!  More- 
over, with  their  enthusiasm  personal  feelings  were 
mixed  up,  of  dislike  towards  him  and  his  brother, 
arising  from  an  impatience  of  their  superiority  ;  and 
this  feeling  induced  Maxfield  to  stand  forward  as  the 
leader  of  tlie  innovators,  though  he  was  not  the  dupe 
of  their  delusions.  Mr.  Wesley  desired  the  parties 
to  meet  him,  that  all  misunderstandings  might  be  re- 
moved. Maxfield  alone  refused  to  come.  "  Is  this," 
said  Wesley,  "  the  first  step  towards  a  separation  ! 
Alas  for  the  man,  alas  for  the  people !"  It  is  said 
that  no  other  event  ever  grieved  him  so  deeply  as 
the  conduct  of  Maxfield  ;  for  it  at  once  impeached 
his  judgment,  and  wounded  him  as  an  act  of  ingrati- 
tude.   Maxfield  was  the  first  person  whom  he  had 


248 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


consented  to  hear  as  a  lay-preacher,  and  the  first 
whom  he  authorized  to  co-operate  with  him  in  that 
character:  and  so  highly  did  he  value  him,  that  he 
had  obtained  ordination  for  him  from  the  Bishop 
of  Londonderry.  This  prelate  was  one  of  the 
clergy  who  encouraged  Mr.  Wesley  in  Ireland  ; 
and  when  he  performed  the  ceremony,  he  said  to 
Maxfield,  "  Sir,  1  ordain  you  to  assist  that  good 
man,  that  he  may  not  work  himself  to  death  !" 
But  of  all  the  lessons  which  he  learnt  from  Wesley, 
it  now  appeared  that  that  of  insubordination  was  the 
one  in  which  he  was  most  perfect. 

The  breach,  however,  was  not  immediate:  some 
concessions  were  made  by  Maxfield,  and  Wesley, 
after  a  while,  addressed  a  letter  to  him  and  his  as- 
sociates, especially  George  Bell,  telling  them  what 
he  disliked  in  their  doctrines,  spirit,  and  outward 
behaviour.  He  objected  to  their  teaching  that  man 
might  be  as  perfect  as  an  angel ;  that  he  can  be  ab- 
solutely perfect;  that  he  can  be  infallible,  or  above 
being  tempted  ;  or,  that  the  moment  he  is  pure  in 
heart,  he  cannot  fall  from  it.  To  this,  however,  his 
own  language  had  given  occasion ;  for  the  doctrine 
which  he  taught  of  "  a  free,  full,  and  present  salva- 
tion from  all  the  guilt,  all  the  power,  and  all  the  in- 
being  of  sin,"  differs  but  a  hair's  breadth  from  the 
tenet  which  he  now  justly  condemned.  He  objected 
to  their  saying,  "  that  one  saved  from  sin  needs  no- 
thing more  than  looking  to  Jesus, — needs  not  to  hear 
or  think  of  any  thing  else  ;  believe,  believe,  is  enough  : 
that  he  needs  no  self-examination,  no  times  of  private 
prayer ;  needs  not  mind  little  or  outward  things ; 
and  that  he  cannot  be  taught  by  any  person  who  is 
not  in  the  same  state."  He  disliked,  he  said,  "  some- 
thing that  had  the  appearance  of  enthusiasm,  over- 
valuing feelings  and  inward  impressions ;  mistaking 
the  mere  work  of  imagination  for  the  voice  of  the 
Spirit;  expecting  the  end  without  the  means,  and 
undervaluing  reason,  knowledge,  and  wisdom  in 
general."  He  disliked  "  something  that  had  the 
appearance  of  Antinomianism ;  not  magnifying  the 
law  and  making  it  honourable  ;  not  enough  valuing 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


249 


tenderness  of  conscience,  and  exact  watchfulness  in 
order  thereto,  and  using  faith  rather  as  cowfra-dis- 
tinguished  from  holiness,  than  as  productive  of  it." 
He  blamed  them  for  slighting  any,  the  very  least,  rules 
of  the  Bands,  or  Society  ;  for  the  disorder  and  ex- 
travagancies wliich  they  introduced  in  their  public 
meetings;  and,  above  all,  for  the  bitter  and  unchari- 
table spirit  which  they  manifested  toward  all  who 
differed  from  them.  And  he  bade  them  read  this 
letter  of  mild  reproof,  calmly  and  impartially,  before 
the  Lord,  in  prayer;  so,  he  said,  should  the  evil 
cease,  and  the  good  remain,  and  they  would  then  be 
more  than  ever  united  to  him. 

Wesley  was  not  then  aware  of  Maxfield's  intention 
to  set  up  for  himself,  and  hardly  yet  suspected  the 
insanity  of  Beli,  his  colleague.  Upon  hearing  the 
latter  hold  forth,  he  believed  that  part  of  what  he 
said  was  from  God,  (so  willing  was  \Vesley  to  be  de- 
ceived in  such  things  !)  and  part  from  an  heated  ima- 
gination ;  and  seeing,  he  says,  nothing  dangerously 
wrong,  he  djd  not  think  it  necessary  to  hinder  him. 
The  next  trial,  however,  convinced  him  that  Bell 
must  not  be  suffered  to  pray  at  the  Foundry:  "  the 
reproach  of  Christ,"  said  he,  "I  am  willing  to  bear, 
but  not  the  reproach  of  enthusiasm,  if  I  can  help  it." 
That  nothing  might  be  done  hastily,  he  suffered  him 
to  speak  twice  more  ;  "  but,"  says  he,  "  it  was  worse 
and  worse.  He  now  spoke,  as  from  God,  what  1 
knew  God  had  not  spoken;  I  therefore  desired  that 
he  would  come  thither  no  more."  Tlie  excommuni- 
cation, indeed,  could  no  longer  be  *delayed,  for 

*  Wesley  was  evid*'ntly  conscious  that  he  had  delayed  it  too  long, 
and  that  he  had  lost  credit,  by  beint;,  or  appearing  to  be,  for  a  time  de- 
ceived by  this  madman.  '1  he  apology  which  he  makes  is  any  thing  but 
ingenuous.  "  Perhaps,"  he  says,  "  reason  (unenlightened)  makes  me 
simple.  If  I  knew  less  of  human  nature,  I  should  be  more  apt  to  stum- 
)3le  at  the  weakni'ss  of  it ;  and  if  I  had  not  too,  by  nature  or  by  grace, 
some  clearness  of  apprehension.  It  is  ouing  to  this  (under  God)  that 
I  never  staggered  at  all  at  the  reveries  of  George  Bell.  I  saw  instantly 
front)  the  beginning,  and  at  the  beginning,  what  was  right,  and  what  was 
wrong ;  but  I  saw,  withal,  '  I  have  many  things  to  speak,  but  ye  cannot 
bear  them  now.'  Hence  many  imagine  I  was  imposed  upon  and  ap- 
plauded themselves  on  their  own  greater  perspicuity,  as  the}'  do  at  this 
day.  But  if  you  knew  it,  said  his  friend  to  Gregorio  Lopez,  why  did 
you  not  tell  me  ?  I  answer  with  him,  '  I  do  not  speak  ail  I  know,  but 
what  I  judge  needful.'  " 

VOL.  II.  .32 


250 


WESLEY  IN  MIDDLE  AGE. 


George  Bell  had  commenced  prophet,  and  proclaim- 
ed every  where  that  the  world  was  to  be  at  an  end 
or)  the  2Hth  of  February  tollowing.  This,  Ijowever, 
was  the  signal  for  separation:  several  hundreds  of 
the  Society  in  London  threw  up  their  tickets,  and 
withdrew  from  their  connexion  with  Wesley,  saying, 
"  Blind  John  is  not  capable  of  tenching  us, — we  will 
keep  to  Mr.  Maxficld  !"  for  Maxtield  was  the  leader 
of  the  separatists,  and  Bell,  notwithstanding  his  pro- 
phetic pretensions,  appeared  only  as  one  of  his  fol- 
lowers. He,  indeed,  was  at  ihis  time  a  downright 
honest  madman.  The  part  which  IVlaxfield  acted 
was  more  suspicious ;  he  neither  declared  a  belief 
or  disbelief  in  the  prediction,  but  he  took  advantage 
of  the  prophet's  popularity,  to  collect  a  flock  among 
his  believers,  and  form  an  establishment  for  himself 

Often  as  the  end  of  the  world  has  been  propliesied 
by  madmen,  such  a  prediction  has  never  failed  to 
excite  considerable  agitation.  Wesley  exerted  him- 
yelf  to  counteract  the  panic  which  had  been  raised  ; 
and,  on  the  day  appointed,  he  exposed,  in  a  sermon, 
the  utter  absurdity  of  the  supposition  that  the  w  orld 
would  be  at  an  end  that  night.  But  he  says  that, 
notwithstanding  all  he  could  say,  many  were  afr?id 
to  go  to  bed,  and  some  wandered  about  the  fields, 
being  persuaded  that,  if  the  world  did  not  end,  at 
least  London  would  be  swallowed  up  by  an  earth- 
quake. He  had  the  prudence,  before  the  day  ar- 
rived, to  insert  an  advertisement  in  the  provincial 
newspapers,  disclaiming  all  connexion  with  the  pro- 
j)het  or  the  prophecy;  a  precaution  which  was  of 
great  service  to  poor  George  Story  ;  for,  in  the  course 
of  itinerating,  he  arrived  at  Darlington  on  the  day 
appointed.  The  people  in  that  neighbourhood  had 
been  sorely  frightened  ;  but  fear  had  gi\  en  place  to 
indignation,  and,  in  their  wrath,  they  threatet  ed  to 
pull  down  the  Methodist  preaching  house,  and  burn 
the  first  preacher  who  should  dare  to  show  his  face 
among  them.  Little  as  Story  was  of  an  enthusiast, 
he  told  the  mistress  of  the  house,  if  she  w  ould  ven- 
ture the  house,  he  would  venture  himself;  and,  upon 
producing  the  advertisement  in  the  Newcastle  paper. 


WESLEY   IN   MiJL>DLE  AGE. 


251 


and  reading  it  to  the  people,  they  were  satisfied, 
and  made  no  further  disturbance.  George  Bell  re- 
covered his  senses,  to  make  a  deplorable  use  of 
them;  passing  fro  n  one  extreme  to  another,  the  ig- 
norant eiuhiisiast  became  an  ignorant  infiilel ;  turned 
fanatic  in  politics  as  he  had  done  in  religion  ; 
and  having  gone  through  all  the  degrees  of  disaffec- 
tion and  disloyalty,  died,  at  a  great  age,  a  radical  re- 
former. 

This  aflTiir,  if  it  made  Wesley  more  cautious  for 
a  while,  did  not  lessen  his  habitual  credulity.  His 
disposition  to  believe  whatever  he  was  told,  however 
improbable  the  fact,  or  insutficient  the  evidence,  was 
not  confined  to  preternatural  tales.  He  listened  lo 
every  old  woman's  nostrum  for  a  disease,  and  collect- 
ed so  many  of  them,  that  he  thought  himself  quali- 
fied at  last  to  commence  practitioner  in  medicine. 
Accordingly  he  announced  in  London  his  intention 
of  giving  physic  to  the  poor,  and  they  came  for  many 
years  in  great  numbers,  till  the  expense  of  distribut- 
ing medicines  to  them  was  greater  than  the  Society 
could  support.  At  the  same  time,  for  the  purpose 
of  enabling  people  to  cure  themselves,  he  published 
his  collection  of  receipts,  under  the  title  of  J^rnnilivc 
Physic  ;  or,  an  easy  and  natural  Method  of  curing 
most  DFseases.  In  his  preface  he  showed,  that  the 
arToTHearmg  was  originally  founded  on  experiments, 
and  so  became  traditional :  inquiring  men,  in  process 
of  time,  began  to  reason  upon  the  facts  which  they 
knew,  and  Ibrmed  theories  of  physic  wliich,  when 
thus  made  theoretical,  was  soon  converted  into  a 
mystery  and  a  craft.  Some  lovers  of  mankind,  how- 
ever, had  still,  from  time  to  time,  endeavoured  to 
bring  it  back  to  its  ancient  footing,  and  make  it,  as  it 
was  at  the  beginning,  a  plain  intelligible  thing;  pro- 
fessing to  know  notliing  more,  than  that  certain  mala- 
dies might  be  removed  by  certain  medicines  ;  and  his 
mean  hand,  he  said,  had  made  a  like  attempt,  in 
which  he  had  only  consulted  experience,  common 
sense,  and  the  common,  interest  of  mankind. 

The  previous  directions  which  he  gave  for  pre- 
venting disease,  were  in  general  judicious.    He  ad- 


^52 


Weslev  in  middle  age. 


vised  earl}'  hours,  regular  exercise,  plain  diet,  and 
temperance ;  and  he  pointed  out,  not  without  efTect, 
the  physical  benefits  which  resulted  from  a  moral 
and  religious  life.  "  All  violent  and  sudden  passions," 
he  said,  "  dispose  to,  or  actually  throw  people  into 
acute  diseases.  The  slow  and  lasting  passions,  such 
as  grief,  and  hopeless  love,  bring  on  chroiiical  dis- 
eases. Till  the  passion  which  caused  the  disease  is 
calmed,  medicine  is  applied  in  vain.  The  love  of 
God,  as  it  is  the  sovereign  remedy  of  all  miseries, 
so,  in  particular,  it  effectually  prevents  all  the  bodily 
disorders  the  passions  introduce,  by  keeping  the 
passions  themselves  within  due  bounds;  and.  by  the 
unspeakable  joy,  and  perfect  calm  serenity  and  tran- 
quillity it  gives  the  mind,  it  becomes  the  most  power* 
ful  of  all  i^he  means  of  health  and  long  life."  In  his 
directions  to  the  sick,  he  recommends  them  to  "  add 
to  the  rest  (for  it  is  not  labour  lost)  that  old  unfash- 
ionable medicine,  prayer;  and  to  have  faith  in  God, 
who  '  killeth  and  maketh  alive,  who  bringelh  down 
to  the  grave  and  bringeth  up.'  "  The  book  itself 
must  have  done  great  mischief,  and  probably  may 
still  continue  so  to  do  ;  for  it  has  been  most  *  exten- 
sively circidated,  and  it  evinces  throughout  a  lament- 
able want  of  judgment,  and  a  perilous  rashness,  ad- 
vising sometimes  aieans  of  ridiculous  inetficacy  in 
the  most  dangerous  cases,  and  sometimes  remedies 
so  rude,  that  it  would  be  marvellous  if  they  did  not 
destroy  the  patient.  He  believed,  however,  that  he 
had  cured  himself  of  what  w^as  pronounced  to  be  a 
confirmed  consumption,  and  had  every  symptom  of 
it,  by  his  favourite  prescription  for  pleurisy,  a  plas- 
ter of  brimstone  and  white  of  egg^  spread  upon 

*  The  cuh-ent  edition,  which  is  now  before  rne,  is  the  twenty-eighth. 
The  cold-bath  is  prescribed  for  ague,  just  before  the  cold  fit ;  for  pre- 
venting apoplexy  ;  for  v.  r  Ic  infii-.ts,  ev^ry  day  :  and  for  cancer.  For 
films  in  the  sight,  the  eyes  are  to  be  touched  with  lunar  caustic  every 
day  ;  or  zihdhum  occidental  dried  slowly,  and  fmcly  pulverized,  is  to 
he  blown  into  them.  For  siphylis,  an  ounce  of  quicksilver  every  morn- 
ing ;  and  for  the  twisting  bf  the  Intestines,  quicksilver,  ounce  by  ounce, 
to  the  imount  of  one,  two,  or  three  pounds  !  Toasted  cheese  is  recom- 
mended for  a  cut ;  and,  for  a  rupture  in  children,  "  l)oil  a  spoonful  of 
iegg-shells,  dried  in  an  oven,  and  powdered,  in  a  pint  of  milk,  and  feed 
the  child  constantly  with  bread  boiled  in  this  milk." 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  253 


brown  paper.  Upon  applying  this,  the  pain  in  his 
side,  liC  says,  was  removed  in  a  few  minutes,  the  fe- 
ver in  half  an  hour,  jjnd,  from  that  hour,  he  began  to 
recover  strength.  His  deatii  had  been  so  fully  ex- 
pected, that  VVhitcfield  wrote  him  a  farewell  letter, 
in  the  most  affectionate  terms,  and  a  consolatory  one 
to  his  brother  Charles.  And  lie  himself,  not  know- 
ing, he  says,  how  it  might  please  God  to  dispose  of 
him,  and  to  prevent  vile  panegyric,  wrote  his  own 
epitaph,  in  these  words  : 

HERE  LIETH 
THE  BODY  OF  JOHN  WESLEY, 
A  BRAND  PLUCKED  OUT  OF  THE  BURNING  : 
WHO  DIED  OF    A   CONSUMPTION     IN   THE    FIFTY-FIRST  YEAR 
OF  HIS  AGE, 

NOT   LEAVING,   AFTER  HIS  DEBTS   ARE   PAID,  TEN  POUNDS 
BEHIND    HIM  ; 
PRAYING 

GOD   BE  MERCIFUL  TO  ME  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT  ! 

*'  He  ordered  that  this  (if  any)  inscription  should  be  placed  ori 
his  tomb-stone." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

PROGRESS      OF      CALVINISTIC      METHODISM.  DEATH  OF 

WHITEFIELD.— FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN  WESLEY  AND 
THE  CALVINISTS. 

Whitefield  had  not  continued  long  at  enmity  with 
Wesley.  He  was  sensible  that  he  had  given  him 
great  and  just  offence  by  publishing  the  story  of  the 
lots,  and  he  acknowledged  this,  and  asked  his  par- 
don. Wesley's  was  a  heart  in  which  resentment 
never  could  strike  root :  the  difference  between  them, 
therefore,  as  far  as  it  was  personal,  was  made  up ; 
but,  upon  the  doctrines  in  dispute,  they  remained  as 


254  PROGRESS  OF  CALVIMSTIC  MtTIlODISM. 


widely  separate  as  ever,  and  tlieir  respective  follow- 
ers were  less  charitable  than  tlieinselves. 

W  hitefield,  ,^lao,^^^^^^  become  ^  married  man.  He 
bad  determined  upon  thIs"Tiflitnerica7~ajii(r~bpened 
his  intentions  in  a  characteristic  letter  to  the  parents 
of  the  lady  whom  he  was  disposed  to  clioose.  He 
told  tliem,  that  he  found  a  mistress  was  necessary 
for  the  management  of  his  increasing  family  at  the 
Orphan-house,  and  it  had  tlierefore  been  much  im- 
pressed upon  his  heart  that  he  should  marry,  in  or- 
der to  have  a  help  meet  for  him  in  the  work  whcre- 
unto  he  was  called.  "  I'his,"  he  proceeded,  comes 
(like  Abraham's  servant  to  Rebekah's  relations)  to 
know  whether  you  tliink  your  daughter,  Miss  E.,  is  a 
proper  person  to  engage  in  such  an  undertaking.'*  If 
so,  whether  you  vvi  i  be  pleased  to  give  me  leave  to 
propose  marriage  unto  her  You  need  not  be  afraid 
of  sending  me  a  refusal ;  for,  I  bless  God,  if  I  know 
any  thing  of  my  own  heart,  I  am  free  from  that  fool- 
ish passion  which  the  world  calls  love.  I  write,  only 
because  I  believe  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  I  should 
alter  my  state ;  but  your  denial  will  fully  convince 
me,  that  your  daughter  is  not  the  person  appointed 
by  God  for  me.  But  1  have  sometimes  thought  Miss 
E.  would  be  my  help  mate,  for  she  has  often  been  im- 
pressed upon  my  heart.  After  strong  crying  and 
tears  at  the  throfie  of  grace  for  direction,  and  after 
unspeakable  trouble  with  my  own  heart,  I  write  this. 
Be  pleased  to  spread  the  letter  belbre  the  Lord  ;  and 
if  you  think  this  motion  to  be  of  Him,  be  pleased  to 
deliver  the  enclosed  to  your  daughter.  If  not,  say 
iiothirjg;  oidy  let  me  know  you  disapprove  of  it,  and 
that  shall  satisfy  your  obliged  friend  anJ  servant  in 
Ciirist."  Ttie  letter  to  the  lady  was  written  in  the 
same  temper.  It  invited  her  to  partake  of  a  way  of 
life,  which  nothing  but  devotion  and  enthusiasm  like 
his  could  render  endurable.  He  told  her  he  had 
great  reason  to  believe  it  was  the  divine  will  that  he 
should  alter  his  condition,  and  had  often  thought  she 
was  the  person  appointed  for  him  ;  but  he  should  still 
wait  on  the  Lord  for  direction,  and  heartily  entreat 
him,  that,  if  this  motion  were  not  of  Him,  it  might 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


255 


come  to  nought.  "  I  much  like,"  said  he,  "  the  man- 
ner of  Isaac's  marrying  with  Robekah  ;  and  think  no 
marriage  can  succeed  well,  unless  both  parties  con- 
cerned are  like-minded  with  Tobias  and  his  wife.  I 
make  no  great  profession  to  you,  because  I  believe 
you  think  me  sincere.  The  passionate  expressions 
which  carnal  courtiers  use,  I  think,  ought  to  be 
a\oided  by  those  that  would  marry  in  the  Lord.  I 
can  only  promise,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  keep  my 
matrimonial  vow,  and  to  do  wliat  I  can  towards  help- 
ing you  forward  in  the  great  work  of  your  salvation. 
If  you  think  marriage  will  be  any  way  prejudicial 
to  your  better  part,  be  so  kind  as  to  send  me  a  denial." 
The  Moravian  arrangement  for  pairing  their  mem- 
bers would  have  been  very  convenient  for  a  person 
of  this  temper. 

■^rhe  reply  which  ho  received  informed  him,  that 
the  lady  was  in  a  srckijig  state  only,  and  surely,  he 
said,  that  would  not  do  :  he  must  have  one  that  was  full 
of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Such  an  one  he  thought 
he  had  found  in  a  widow  at  Abergavenny,  by  name 
James,  who  was  between  thirty  and  forty,  and,  by 
his  ow  n  account,  neither  rich  nor  beautiful,  but  hav- 
ing once  been  gay,  was  now  "a  despised  follower 
of  the  Lamb."  He  spoke  of  his  marriage  in  lan- 
guage which  would  seem  profane,  unless  large  al- 
lowances were  made  for  the  indiscreet  and  offensive 
phraseology  of  those  who  call  themselves  religious 
professors.  The  success  of  his  preaching  appears 
at  this  time  to  have  intoxicated  him  ;  he  fancied  that 
something  like  a  gift  of  prophecy  had  been  imparted 
to  him;  and,  when  his  wife  became  pregnant,  he 
announced  that  the  child  would  be  a  boy,  and  become 
a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  It  proved  a  boy,  and  the 
father  publicly  baptized  him  in  the  Tabernacle,  and, 
in  the  presence  of  a  crow  ded  congregation,  solemnly 
devoted  him  to  the  service  of  God.  At  the  end  of 
four  months  the  child  died,  and  Whitetield  then  ac- 
knowledged that  he  had  been  under  a  delusion: 
''Satan,''  he  said,  "  had  been  permitted  to  give  him 
some  wrong  impressions,  whereby  he  had  misappli- 
ed several  texts  of  scriplure."'    The  lesson  was  se- 


256 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


vere,  but  not  in  vain,  for  it  saved  him  from  any  future 

extravagancies  of  that  kind.  His  maixiajgewas  not* 
a  happy  one ;  and  the  death  of  his  wife  is  saT37^y  one 
of  his  friends,  to  have  set  hia  mind  mucK  aTli^ 
ty/'  It  is  asserted  that  she  did  not  behave  in  all  re- 
spects as  she  ought;  but  it  is  admitted,  that  their 
disagreement  was  increased  by  some  persons  wlio 
made  pretensions  to  more  holiness  than  they  possess- 
ed. Whitefield  was  irritable,  and  impatient  of  con- 
tradiction ;  and,  even  if  his  temper  had  been  as  hap- 
pily cofistituted  as  Wesley's,  his  habits  of  life  must 
have  made  him,  like  Wesley,  a  most  uncomfortable 
husband. 

His  popularity,  however,  was  greatly  on  the  in^ 
crease.  So  great,  indeed,  was  his  confidence  in  his 
powers  over  the  rudest  of  mankind,  that  he  ventured 
upon  preaching  to  the  rabble  in  Moorfields  during 
the  Whitsun  holydays,  when,  as  he  said,  Satan's  chil- 
dren kept  up  their  annual  rendezvous  there.  This 
was  a  sort  of  pitched  battle  with  Satan,  and  White- 
fiold  displayed  some  generalship  upon  the  occasion. 
He  took  the  field  betimes,  with  a  large  congregation 
of  "praying  people"  to  attend  him,  and  began  at  six 
in  the  morning,  before  the  enemy  had  mustered  in 
strength.  INot  above  ten  thousand  persons  were  as- 
sembled waiting  for  the  sports  ;  and,  having  nothing 
else  to  do.  they,  for  mere  pastime,  presently  flecked 
round  his  field-pulpit.  "Glad  was  I  to  find,"  says 
he,  "  that  I  had,  for  once,  as  it  were,  got  the  start  of 
the  devil."  Encouraged  by  the  success  of  his  morn- 
ing preaching,  he  ventured  there  again  at  noon, 
when,  in  his  own  words,  "  the  fields,  the  whole  fields, 
seemed,  in  a  bad  sense  of  the  word,  all  white,  ready, 
not  for  the  Redeemer's,  but  Beelzebub's  harvest.  All 
his  agents  were  in  full  motion ;  drummers,  trumpet- 
ers, merry-andrews,  masters  of  puppet-shows,  exhi- 
bilers  of  wild  beasts,  players,  &c.  &c.  all  busy  in  en- 
tertaining their  respective  auditories."    He  estima- 

*  It  was  not  likfly  to  he  so,  as  may  be  judged  from  what  he  says  to 
one  of  his  married  friends:  "  I  hope  you  are  not  nimis  itronus.  Take 
heed,  my  dear  B.,  take  heed  !  Time  is  short.  It  remains  that  those  who 
have  wives,  be  as  tiiough  they  had  none.  Let  nothing  intercept  or  in- 
terrupt your  communion  with  the  bridegroom  of  the  Church." 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVIMSTIC  METHODISM. 


257 


ted  the  crowd  to  consist  of  from  twenty  to  thiity 
thousand  persons;  and  thinking  (hat,  like  St.  Paul, 
he  should  now,  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  be  called 
to  tiijht  with  wild  beasts,  iie  took  lor  his  text, ''Great 
is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians." — "  You  may  easily  guess," 
says  he,  *'  that  there  was  some  noise  among  the  crafts- 
men, and  that  I  was  honoured  with  having  a  few 
stones,  dirt,  rotten  eggs,  and  pieces  of  dead  cats 
thrown  at  me.  while  engaged  in  calling  them  from 
their  favourite  but  lying  vanities.  My  soul  was,  in- 
deed, among  lions;  but  lar  the  greatest  part  of  my 
congregation,  Mhich  was  very  large,  seemed  for 
a  while  to  be  turjied  into  lambs."  He  then  gave  no- 
tice that  he  would  preach  again  at  six  in  the  evening. 
"I  came,"  he  says,  "  I  saw, — but  what  ? — thousands 
and  thousands  more  than  before,  if  possible,  still 
more  deeply  engaged  in  their  unhappy  diversions, 
but  some  thousands  amongst  them  waiting  as  ear- 
nestly to  hear  the  Gospel.  This  Satan  could  not 
brook.  One  of  his  choicest  servants  was  exhibiting, 
trumpeting  on  a  large  stage  ;  but,  as  soon  as  the  peo- 
ple saw  me  in  my  black  robes,  ar)d  my  pulpit,  I  tliink 
all,  to  a  man,  left  him  and  rati  to  me.  For  a  while  I 
was  enabled  to  lift  up  my  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and 
many  heard  the  joyful  sound.  God's  people  kept 
praying,  and  the  enemy's  agents  made  a  kind  of  l  oar- 
ing  at  some  distance  from  our  camp.  At  length  they 
approached  nearer,  and  the  merry-andrew  (attended 
by  others,  who  complained  that  they  had  taken  ma- 
ny pounds  less  that  day.  on  account  of  my  preaching) 
got  upon  a  man's  shoulders,  and  advancing  near  the 
pulpit,  attempted  to  slash  me  w  ith  a  long  heavy  w  hip 
several  times,  but  always,  with  the  violence  of  his 
motion,  tumbled  down."  Soon  afterwards,  they  got 
a  recruiting  sergeant,  with  his  drums,  fifes,  and  fol- 
lowers, to  pass  through  the  congregation.  But 
Whitelield,  by  his  tactics.  balTled  this  manoeuvre  :  he 
ordered  them  to  make  way  for  the  king's  otficers; 
the  ranks  opened,  and  when  the  party  had  marched 
through,  closed  again.  When  the  upioar  became, 
as  it  sometimes  did,  such  as  to  overpower  his  siiigle 
voice,  he  called  the  voices  of  all  his  people  to  his 
VOL.  J  I.  3  :^ 


258 


PROGRKSS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


aid,  and  began  singing;  and  thus,  what  with  singing, 
praying,  and  preaching,  he  continued,  by  his  own  ac- 
count, three  hours  upon  the  ground,  till  the  darkness 
made  it  time  to  break  up.  So  great  was  the  impres- 
sion which  this  wonderful  mati  produced  in  this  ex- 
traordinary scene,  that  more  than  a  thousaiid  notes 
were  handed  up  to  him,  from  persons  who,  as  the 
phrase  is,  were  brought  under  concern  by  his  preaching 
that  day,  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  persons  joined 
his  congregation. 

On  the  Tuesday  he  removed  to  Mary-le-bone  fields, 
a  place  of  similar  resort.  Here  a  Quaker  had  pre- 
pared a  very  high  pulpit  for  him,  but  not  having  fix- 
ed the  supports  well  in  the  ground,  the  preacher 
found  himself  in  some  jeopardy,  especially  when  the 
mob  endeavoured  to  push  the  circle  of  his  friends 
against  it,  and  so  to  throw  it  down.  But  he  had  a 
narrower  escape  after  he  had  descended  ;  "  for  as  I 
was  passing,"  says  he,  "  from  the  pulpit  to  the  coach, 
I  felt  my  wig  and  hat  to  be  almost  ofT :  I  turned  about, 
and  observed  a  sword  just  touching  my  temples.  A 
young  rake,  as  I  afterwards  found,  was  determined 
to  stab  me ;  but  a  gentleman,  seeing  the  sword 
thrusting  near  me,  struck  it  up  with  his  cane,  and  so 
the  destined  victim  providentially  escaped."  The 
man  who  made  this  atrocious  attempt,  probably  in  a 
fit  of  drunken  fury,  was  seized  by  the  people,  and 
would  have  been  handled  as  severely  as  he  deserved, 
if  one  of  Whitefield's  friends  had  Jiot  sheltered  him. 
The  followingday  VVhitefield  returned  to  the  attack 
in  Moorfields ;  and  here  he  gave  a  striking  example 
of  that  ready  talent  which  turns  every  thing  to  its 
purpose  A  merry-andrew,  finding  that  no  common 
acts  of  buffoonery  were  of  any  avail,  got  into  a  tree 
near  the  pulpit,  and,  as  much,  perhaps,  in  despite,  as 
in  insult,  exposed  his  bare  posteriors  to  the  preacher, 
in  the  sigfit  of  all  the  people.  The  more  brutal  mob 
applauded  him  with  loud  laughter,  while  decent  per- 
sons were  abashed ;  and  Whitefield  himself  was,  for 
a  moment,  confounded;  but  instantly  recovering 
himself,  he  appealed  to  all,  since  now  they  had  such 
a  spectacle  before  them,  whether  he  had  wronged 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVIMSTIC  METHODISM.  259 


human  nature  in  saying,  with  Bishop  Hail,  that  man, 
when  left  to  himself,  is  half  a  fiend  and  half  a  brute; 
or,  in  calling  him,  with  William  Law,  a  motley  mix- 
ture of  the  beast  and  devil!  The  appeal  was  not 
lost  upon  the  crowd,  whatever  it  might  be  upon  the 
wretch  by  whom  it  was  occasioned.  A  circumstance 
at  these  adventurous  preachings  is  mentioned,  which 
affected  \\  hitefield  himself,  and  must  have  produced 
considerable  efff'ct  upon  others: — several  children, 
of  both  sexes,  used  to  sit  round  him,  on  the  pulpit, 
while  he  preached,  for  the  purpose  of  handing  to  him 
the  notes,  which  were  delivered  by  persons  upon 
whom  his  exhortations  had  acted  as  he  desired. — 
These  poor  children  were  exposed  to  all  the  missiles 
with  which  he  was  assailed  :  however  much  they 
were  terrified  or  hurt,  they  never  shrunk,  "  but,  on 
the  contrary,"  says  l)e,  every  time  I  w  as  struck,  they 
turned  up  their  little  weeping  eyes,  and  seemed  to 
wish  they  could  receive  the  blows  for  me." 

Shortly  after  his  separation  from  Wesley,  some 
Calvinistic  dissenters  built  a  large  shed  for  him,  near 
the  Foundry,  upon  a  piece  of  ground  w  hich  was  lent 
for  the  purpose,  till  he  should  return  to  America. — 
From  the  temporary  nature  of  the  structure,  they 
called  it  a  Tabernacle,  in  allusion  to  the  moveable 
place  of  worship  of  the  Israelites  during  their  jour- 
ney in  the  wilderness ;  and  the  name  being  in  puri- 
tanical taste,  became  the  designation  of  all  the  cha- 
pels of  the  Calvinistic  Methodists.  In  this  place 
VVhitefield  was  assisted  by  Cennick,  and  others,  who 
sided  with  him  at  the  division  ;  and  he  employed  lay- 
preachers  with  less  reluctance  than  Wesley  had  done, 
because  the  liking  which  he  had  acquired  in  Ameri- 
ca for  the  old  puritans  had,  in  some  degree,  alienated 
his  feelings  from  the  church,  and  his  predestinarian 
opinions  brought  him  in  contact  with  the  dissenters. 
But  Whitefield  had  neither  the  ambition  of  founding 
a  separate  community,  nor  the  talent  for  it ;  he  would 
have  contented  himself  with  being  the  founder  of  the 
Orphan-house  at  Savannah,  and  with  the  effect  which 
he  produced  as  a  roving  preacher ;  and  Calvinistic 
Methodism,  perhaps,  might  never  have  been  embo- 


269  PROGRESS  Of  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


died  into  a  separate  sect,  if  it  had  not  found  a  pa- 
troness in  Selina,  Countess  of  fluntingdon. 

This  "  nohle  and  elect  hi<lj,"  as  her  followers 
have  called  her,  was  daughter  of  Washington  Earl 
of  Ferrers,  and  widow  of  Theophilus  Earl  of  Hunt- 
ingdon. There  was  a  decided  insanity  in  her  family. 
Her  sisters-in-law,  Lady  Betty  aiul  Lady  Margaret 
Hastings,  were  of  a  religious  temppr  ;  the  former  had 
been  the  patroness  of  the  tirst  Methodists  at  Oxford; 
the  latter  had  become  a  disciple,  and  at  length  mar- 
ried Wesley's  old  pupil  and  fellow-missionary  Ing- 
ham. Lady  Margaret  communicated  her  opinions  to 
the  Countess ;  the  Wesleys  were  called  in  to  her, 
after  a  dangerous  Illness,  which  had  been  terminated 
by  the  new  birth ;  and  her  husband's  tutor.  Bishop 
Benson,  who  was  sent  for  afterwards,  in  hopes  that 
he  might  restore  her  to  a  saner  sense  of  devotion, 
found  all  his  arguments  ineffectual:  instead  of  re- 
ceiving i[istructioiis  from  him,  she  was  disposed  to  be 
the  teacher,  quoted  the  homilies  against  him,  insist- 
ed upon  her  own  interpretation  of  the  articles,  and 
attacked  hitn  upon  thfi  awful  responsibility  of  his 
station.  All  this  is  said  to  have  irritated  him  ;  the 
emotion  which  he  must  needs  have  felt,  miglit  have 
been  more  truly,  as- well  as  more  charitably,  inter- 
preted ;  and  when  he  left  her,  he  lamented  that 
he  had  ever  laid  his  hands  upon  George  White- 
field.  "  My  lord,"  she  replied,  "  mark  my  words  ! 
when  you  come  upon  your  dying  bed.  that  m  ill  be  one 
of  the  few  ordinations  you  will  reflect  upon  with 
complacence." 

During  the  Earl's  life  she  restrained  herself,  in 
deference  to  his  wishes  ;  but,  becoming  mistress 
of  herself,  and  of  a  liberal  income,  at  his  death, 
she  took  a  more  decided  and  public  part,  and,  had 
means  permitted,  Mould  have  done  as  much  for 
Methodism  as  the  Countess  Matilda  did  for  the  Pa- 
pacy. Upon  Whitefield's  return  from  America,  in 
IT^S,  he  was  invited  to  her  house  at  Chelsea  as  soon 
as  he  landed.  And  after  he  had  ofliciated  there 
twice,  she  wrote  to  him,  inviting  him  again,  that  some 
of  the  nobility  might  hear  him.    "  Blessed  be  God," 


PROGRESS         CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  261 


he  says,  in  his  reply,  "  that  the  rich  and  great  begin 
to  have  ?n  hearing  ear:  1  think  it  is  a  good  sign  that 
our  Lord  intends  to  give,  to  some  at  least,  an  obedi- 
ent heart.  How  wonderfully  does  our  Redeemer 
deal  with  souls  !  If  they  will  hear  the  Gospel  only  un- 
der a  ceiled  roof,  ministers  shall  be  sent  to  them 
there:  if  only  in  a  church,  or  a  field,  they  shall  have 
it  there.  A  word  in  the  lesson,  when  I  was  last  with 
your  ladyship,  struck  me, — Paul  preached  jjrivalehj  to 
those  that  were  of  reputation.  This  must  be  the  way,  I 
presume,  of  dealing  with  the  nobility,  who  yet  know 
not  the  Lord."  This  is  characteristic ;  and  his  an- 
swer to  a  second  note,  respecting  the  time,  is  still 
more  so.  "  Ever  since  the  reading  your  ladyship's 
condescending  letter,  my  soul  has  been  overpowered 
with  His  presence,  who  is  all  in  all.  When  your  la- 
dyship styled  me  your  frietul,  I  was  amazed  at  your 
condescension  ;  but  w/ien  I  thought  that  Jesns  was 
my  friend,  it  quite  overcame  me,  and  made  me  to  lie 
prostrate  before  Him,  crying.  Why  me?  why  me  ?  I 
just  now  rose  from  the  ground,  after  praying  the  Lord 
of  all  lords  to  water  your  soul,  honoured  madam, 
every  moment.  As  there  seems  to  be  a  door  opening 
for  the  nobility  to  hear  the  Gospel,  I  will  defer  my 
journey,  and,  God  willing,  preach  at  your  ladyship's. 
Oh  that  God  may  be  with  me,  and  make  me  humble  ! 
I  am  ashamed  to  think  your  ladyship  will  admit  me 
under  your  roof;  much  more  am  1  amazed  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  will  make  use  of  such  a  creature  as  I 
am; — quite  astonislied  at  your  ladyship's  condescen- 
sion, and  the  unmerited  superabounding  grace  and 
goodness  of  Him  who  has  loved  me,  and  given  Him- 
self for  me."  Wesley  would  not  have  written  in  this 
strain,  which,  for  its  servile  adulation,  and  its  cantir)g 
vanity,  might  well  provoke  disgust  and  indignation, 
were  not  the  real  genius  and  piety  of  the  writer  be- 
yond all  doubt.  Such,  however,  as  the  language  is, 
it  was  natural  in  W^hitefield,  and  not  ill  suited  for  the 
person  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 

Lord  Chesterfield  and  Bolingbroke  were  among 
his  auditors  at  Chelsea  :  the  Countess  had  done  well 
in  inviting  those  persons  who  stood  most  in  need  of 


262  PROGRESS  OF  CALVINI8TIC  METHODISM. 


repentance.  The  former  complimented  the  preachei 
with  his  usual  courthness ;  the  latter  is  said  to  have 
been  much  moved  at  the  discourse:  he  invited  White- 
iield  to  visit  him,  and  seems  to  have  endeavoured  to 
pass  from  infidelity  to  Calvinism,  if  he  could.  Lady 
Huntingdon,  flattered,  perhaps,  by  the  applause 
which  was  bestowed  upon  the  performance,  appoint- 
ed Wiiitefield  one  of  her  chaplains.  He,  at  this  time, 
writing  to  Mr.  Wesley,  says,  What  have  you  thought 
about  an  union  ?  I  am  afraid  an  external  one  is  im- 
practicable. I  find,  by  your  sermons,  that  we  differ 
in  principles  more  than  I  thought,  and  I  believe  we 
are  upon  two  different  plans.  My  attachment  to 
America  will  not  permit  me  to  abide  very  long  in 
England,  consequently  I  should  but  weave  a  Pe- 
nelope's web  if  I  formed  societies ;  and,  if  I  should 
form  them,  I  have  not  proper  assistants  to  take  care 
of  them :  1  intend,  therefore,  to  go  about  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  In  saying  that  he  had 
"no  party  to  be  at  the  head  of,"  and  that,  through 
God's  grace,  he  would  I. Five  none,  Whitefield  only 
disclaimed  the  desire  of  clacing  himself  in  a  situation 
which  he  was  not  competent  to  fill:  at  this  very  time 
he  was  sufficiently  willing  that  a  party  should  be 
formed,  of  which  he  might  be  the  honorary  head, 
while  the  management  was  in  other  hands.  For  he 
told  the  Elect  Lady  that  a  leader  was  wanting;  and 
that  that  honour  had  been  put  on  her  ladyship  by 
the  great  Head  of  the  church, — an  honour  which  had 
been  conferred  on  few,  but  which  was  an  earnest  of 
what  she  was  to  receive  before  men  and  angels  when 
time  should  be  no  more,  '^fhat  honour  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon accepted.  She  built  chapels  in  various  pla- 
ces, which  were  called  hers,  and  procured  Calvin- 
islic  clergymen  to  officiate  in  them.  After  a  time,  a 
sufficient  supply  of  ordained  ministers  could  not  be 
found,  and  some  began  to  draw  back,  when  they  per- 
ceived that  the  course  of  action,  in  which  they  were 
engaged,  tended  manifestly  to  schism.  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  deter  her  ladyship  from  proceeding; 
she  followed  the  example  of  Mr.  Wesley,  and  em- 
ployed laymen  without  scruple ;  and  as  the  chapels 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM.  263 


were  called  Lady  Huntingdon's  chapels,  the  persons 
who  officiated  were  called  Lady  Huntingdon's 
preachers.  At  length  she  set  up  a  seminary  for  such 
preachers,  at  Trevecca,  in  South  Wales ;  and  this 
was  called  Lady  Huntingdon's  College,  and  the  Cal- 
vinistic  Methodists  went  by  the  name  of  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon's Connexion.  The  terms  of  admission  were, 
that  the  students  sliould  be  truly  converted  to  God, 
and  resolved  to  dedicate  themselves  to  his  service. — 
During  three  years  they  were  to  be  boarded  and  in- 
structed gratuitously,  at  her  ladyship's  cost,  and  sup- 
plied every  year  with  a  suit  of  clothes  :  at  the  end  oi 
that  time  they  were  either  to  take  orders,  or  enter 
the  ministry  among  dissenters  of  any  deiiomination. 

Sincere  devotee  as  the  Countess  was,  she  retained 
much  of  the  pride  of  birth.  For  this  reason  White- 
field,  who  talked  of  her  amazing  condescension  in 
patronizing  him,  would  have  been  more  acceptable 
to  her  than  Wesley,  even  if  he  had  not  obtained  a 
preference  in  her  esteem,  because  of  his  Calvinism  ; 
and  perhaps  this  disposition  inclined  her,  uncon- 
sciously, to  favour  a  doctrine  which  makes  a  privi- 
leged order  of  souls.  Wesley,  therefore,  who  nei- 
ther wanted,  nor  would  have  admitted,  patron  or  pa- 
troness to  be  the  temporal  head  of  the  societies 
which  he  had  formed,  and  was  as  little  Hkely  to  act 
a  subordinate  part  under  Lady  Huntingdon  as  under 
Count  Zinzendorf,  seems  never  to  have  been  cor- 
dially liked  by  her,  and  gradually  grew  into  disfavour. 
The  reconciliation  with  Whitefield  was,  perhaps, 
produced  more  by  a  regard  to  appearances  on  both 
sides,  than  by  any  feeling  on  either.  Such  a  wound 
as  had  been  made  in  their  friendship  always  leaves  a 
scar,  however  well  it  may  have  healed.  They  inter- 
changed letters,  not  very  frequently ;  and  they 
preached  occasionally  in  each  other's  pulpits ;  but 
there  was  no  cordial  intercourse,  no  hearty  co-opera- 
tion. Whitetield  saw,  and  disapproved  in  Wesley, 
that  ambition  of  which  the  other  was  not  conscious  in 
himself,  largely  as  it  entered  into  the  elements  of  his 
character;  and  Wesley,  on  the  other  hand,  who  felt 
his  own  superiority  in  intellect  and  knowledge,  re- 


26i 


PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISTIC  METHODISM. 


garded,  probably,  as  a  weakness,  the  homae:e  which 
was  paid  by  Whitefield  to  persons  in  high  life.  Yet 
they  did  justice  to  each  other's  intentions  and  vir- 
tues; and  old  I'eehngs  sometimes  rose  again,  as  from 
tlie  dead,  like  the  blossoming  of  spring  flowers  in  au- 
tumn, which  remind  us  that  the  season  of  iiope  and 
of  joyance  is  gone  by.  It  is  pleasant  to  observe,  that 
this  tenderficss  increased  as  they  advanced  toward 
the  decline  of  life.  When  Whitefield  returned  from 
America  to  England  for  the  last  time,  Wesley  was 
struck  with  the  change  in  his  appearance  :  "  he  seem- 
ed," says  he  in  his  Journal,  to  be  an  old  man,  being 
fairly  worn  out  in  his  Master's  service,  though  he  has 
hardly  seen  fifty  years ;  and  yet  it  pleases  God  that 
I,  who  am  now  in  my  sixty-tliird  year,  find  no  disor- 
der, no  weakness,  no  decay,  no  difference  from  what 
I  was  at  five-and-twenty ;  only  that  I  have  fewer 
teeth,  and  more  gray  hairs." 

Lady  Huntingdon  had  collected  about  her  a  knot 
of  Calvitiistic  clergy,  some  of  them  of  high  birth,  and 
abounding  as  much  with  bigotry  and  intolerance  as 
with  zeal.  Whitefield,  however,  at  this  time,  to  use 
Wesley's  language,  breathed  nothing  but  peace  and 
love.  "  Bigotry,"  said  he,  "  cannot  stand  before 
him,  but  hides  its  head  wherever  he  comes.  My  bro- 
ther and  I  conferred  with  him  every  day  ;  and,  let 
the  honourable  men  do  what  they  please,  we  resolv- 
ed, by  the  grace  of  God,  to  go  on  hand  in  hand, 
through  honour  and  dishonour."  Accordingly  Wes- 
ley [)reachecl  in  the  Countess's  chapel,  where,  he 
says,  many  were  not  a  little  surprised  at  seeing  him, 
and  where,  it  appears,  that  he  did  not  expect  to  be 
often  invited  ;  for  he  adds,  that  he  was  in  no  concern 
whether  he  preached  there  again  or  not.  Whitefield 
and  Howel  Harris  (a  man  whose  genuine  charity 
was  no  ways  corrupted  by  his  opinions)  attended  at 
the  next  Conference. 

This  union  continued  till  Whitefield  returned  to 
America,  in  1769,  af)d  died  there  in  the  following 
year.  A  fear  of  outliving  his  usefulness  had  often 
depressed  him  :  and  one  day,  when  givii.'g  way  to  an 
irritable  temper,  he  brought  tears  from  one  who  had 


DF.ATH  OF  WHITEFIELD. 


26j 


not  deserved  such  treatment,  he  hurst  into  tears  him- 
self, and  exclaimed,  "  1  shall  live  to  be  a  poor  pee- 
vish old  man,  and  every  body  will  be  tired  of  me !" — 
He  wished  for  a  sudden  death,  and  that  blessing  was 
so  far  vouchsafed  him,  that  the  illness  Avhich  proved 
fatal  was  only  of  a  few  hours'  continuance.  It  was  a 
fit  of  asthma :  when  it  seized  liim  first,  one  of  his 
friends  expressed  a  wish  that  he  would  not  preach 
so  often ;  and  his  reply  was.  "  I  had  rather  wear  out 
than  rust  out."  He  died  at  New  bury  port,  in  New- 
England,  arid,  according  to  his  own  desire,  was  bu- 
ried before  the  pulpit,  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
that  town.  E\  ery  mark  of  respect  was  shown  to  his 
remains:  all  the  bells  in  the  towii  toiled,  and  the 
ships  in  the  harbour  fired  mourning  guns,  and  hung 
their  dags  half  mast  high  In  Georgia,  all  the  black 
cloth  in  the  stores  was  bought  up,  and  the  church  was 
hung  with  black :  the  governor  and  council  met  at 
the  State-house  in  deep  mourning,  and  went  in  pro- 
cession to  hear  a  funeral  sermon.  Funeral  honours 
also  were  performed  throughout  the  tabernacles  in 
England.  He  had  been  asked  who  should  preach 
his  funeral  sermon,  in  case  of  his  dying  abroad  :  whe- 
ther it  should  be  his  old  friend  Mr.  Wesley ;  and  had 
always  replied,  he  is  the  man.  Mr.  Wesley,  there- 
fore, by  desire  of  the  executors,  preached  at  the  ta- 
bernacle in  Tottenham-court  Road,  (the  high-church 
of  the  sect,)  and  in  many  other  places  did  the  same, 
vrishing,  he  said,  to  show  all  possible  respect  to  the 
memory  of  so  great  and  good  a  man.  Upon  this  oc- 
casion he  expresses  a  hope  in  his  Journal,  that  God 
had  now  given  a  blow  to  that  bigotry  which  had  pre- 
vailed for  many  years :  but  it  broke  out,  ere  long, 
with  more  virulence  than  ever. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Wesley's  endeavours  to 
guard  his  followers  against  the  Antinomian  errors, 
the  stream  of  Methodism  had  set  in  that  way.  It  is 
a  course  wliich  enthusiasm  naturally  takes,  wherever, 
from  a  blind  spirit  of  antipathy  to  the  Romanists, 
solifidianism  is  preached.  To  correct  this  perilous 
tendency,  (for,  of  all  doctrinal  errors,  there  is  none 
of  which  the  practical  consequences  are  so  perni 

VOL.  II.  34 


266 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


cioiis,)  Wesley  saiJ,  in  the  Conference  of  1771, 
"  Take  heed  to  your  doctrine !  we  have  leaned  loo 
much  toward  Calvinism.  1.  With  regard  to  man's 
faithfulness :  our  Lord  himself  taught  us  to  use  the 
expression,  and  we  ought  never  to  be  ashamed  of  it. 

2.  With  regard  to  ivo)-king  for  life :  this  also  our  Lord 
has  expressly  commanded  us.  Labour,  i^ya^iB-e,  lite- 
rally, rvorkjor  the  vieat  tlmt  endnrcth  to  everlasting  life. 

3.  We  have  received  it  as  a  maxim,  that  a  man  is  to 
do  nothing  in  orc/er  justification.  Nothing  can  be 
more  false.  Whoever  desires  to  find  favour  with 
God,  should  cease  from  evil,  and  learn  to  do  well.  W  ho- 
ever repents,  should  do  icorlts  meet  for  repentance. 
And  if  this  is  not  in  order  to  find  favour,  what  does 
he  do  tiiem  for.-^  Is  not  this  salvation  by  works.-* 
Not  by  the  merit  of  works,  but  by  works  as  a  condition. 
What  have  we  then  been  disputing  about  for  these 
thirty  years  }  I  am  afraid  about  icords.  As  to  merit 
itself,  of  which  we  liavc  been  so  dreadfully  afraid, 
we  are  rewarded  according  to  our  works,  yea,  because 
of  our  tcorlcs.  Ho\v  does  this  differ  from  for  the  sake 
of  our  ivorks  ?  And  how  differs  this  from  secundum 
merita  operum.,  as  our  works  deserve  ?  Can  you  split 
this  hair.^  I  doubt  I  cannot. — Does  not  talking  of  a 
justified  or  sanctified  state  tend  to  mislead  men,''  al- 
most naturally  leading  them  to  trust  in  what  was 
done  in  one  moment ;  whereas  we  are  every  hour, 
and  every  moment,  pleasing  or  displeasing  to  God, 
according  to  our  works ;  according  to  the  whole  of 
our  inward  tempers,  and  our  outward  behaviour."' 

This  language,  candid,  frank,  and  reasonable  as 
it  is, — in  every  way  honourable  to  Mr.  Wesley, 
shocked  the  high-flying  Calvinisls.  The  alarm  was 
taken  at  Trcvecca;  and,  notwithstanding  the  spe- 
cious liberality  which  had  been  professed.  Lady 
Huntingdon  declared,  that  whoever  did  not  fully  dis- 
avow these  minutes,  must  quit  the  college.  The 
students  and  masters  were  calli  d  upon  to  deliver 
their  sentiments  in  writing,  without  reserve.  The 
superintendent,  in  so  doing,  explained,  vindicated, 
and  approved  the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Wesley,  though  he 
considered  the  wording  as  unguarded,  and  not  suf- 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


267 


ticiently  explicit ;  and  he  resigned  his  appointment 
accordingly,  wishing  that  the  Countess  might  find  a 
minister  to  preside  there  less  insufficient  than  him- 
self, and  more  willing  to  go  certain  lengths  iti  party 
spirit. 

Jean  Guillaume  de  la  Flechere,  who  thus  with- 
drew from  Trcvecca,  was  a  man  of  rare  talents,  and 
rarer  virtue.  No  age  or  country  has  ever  produced 
a  man  of  more  fervent  piety,  or  more  perfect  charity; 
no  church  has  ever  possessed  a  more  apostolic  mi- 
nister. He  was  born  at  Nyon,  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud, 
of  a  respectable  Bernese  family,  descended  from  a 
noble  house  in  Savoy.  Having  been  educated  for 
the  ministry  at  Geneva,  he  found  himself  unable  to 
subscribe  to  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  and  re- 
solved to  seek  preferment  as  a  soldier  of  fortune. 
Accordingly  he  went  to  Lisbon,  obtained  a  commis- 
sion in  the  Portuguese  service,  and  was  ordered  to 
Brazil.  A  lucky  accident,  which  confined  him  to 
his  bed  when  the  ship  sailed,  saved  him  from  a  situ- 
ation where  his  fine  intellect  would  have  been  lost, 
and  his  philanthropic  piety  would  have  had  no 
room  to  display  itself  He  left  Portugal  for  the 
prospect  of  active  service  in  the  Low  Countries,  and 
that  prospect  also  being  disappointed  by  peace,  he 
came  over  to  England,  improved  himself  in  the  lan- 
guage, and  became  tutor  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Hill, 
of  Fern  Hall,  in  Shropshire.  The  love  of  God  and 
of  man  abounded  in  his  heart ;  and  finding,  among 
the  Methodists,  that  sympathy  which  he  desired,  he 
joined  them,  and,  for  a  time,  took  to  ascetic  courses, 
of  which  he  afterwards  acknowledged  the  error. 
He  lived  on  vegetables,  and,  for  some  time,  on  milk 
and  water,  and  bread ;  he  sat  up  two  whole  nights 
in  every  week,  for  the  purpose  of  praying,  and  read- 
ing and  meditating  on  religions  things ;  and,  on  the 
other  nights,  never  allowed  himself  to  sleep,  as  long 
as  he  could  keep  his  attention  to  the  book  before 
him.  At  length,  by  the  advice  of  his  friends,  Mr. 
Hill,  and  of  Mr.  Wesley,  whom  he  consulted,  he  took 
orders  in  the  Englisli  church.  The  ordination  took 
place  in  the  Cliapel- Royal,  St.  James's,  and,  as  soon 


268 


MR.  FLETCHER. 


as  it  was  over,  he  went  to  the  Methodist  cliapel  in 
VYrst-street,  where  he  assisted  in  administeriiig  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Weslej  had  never  received  so  sea- 
sonable an  assistance.  "  How  wonderlui  are  the 
ways  of  God  said  he,  in  his  Journal.  W  hen  my 
bodily  strength  failed,  and  none  in  England  were 
able  and  willing  to  assist  me,  He  sent  me  help  from 
the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  and  an  help  meet  for 
me  in  every  respect.  Where  could  I  have  found 
such  another  !"  It  proved  a  more  efficient  and  im- 
portant help  than  Mr.  Wesley  could  then  have  an- 
ticipated. 

Mr.  Fletcher  (for  so  he  now  called  himself,  being 
completely  anglicised,)  incurred  some  displeasure, 
by  the  decided  manner  in  which  he  connected  him- 
self with  the  Methodists :  neither  his  talents  nor  his 
virtues  were  yet  understood  beyond  the  circle  of  his 
friends.  By  Mr,  Hill's  means,  however,  he  was  pre- 
sented to  the  vicarage  of  Madely,  in  Shropshire, 
about  three  years  after  his  ordination.  It  is  a  popu- 
lous village,  in  which  there  were  extensive  collieries 
and  iron  works ;  and  the  character  of  the  inhabi- 
tants was,  in  consequence,  what,  to  the  reproach  and 
curse  of  England,  it  generally  is,  wherever  mines  or 
manufactures  of  any  kind  have  brought  together  a 
crowded  population.  Mr.  Fletcher  had,  at  one  time, 
officiated  there  as  curate ;  he  now  entered  upon  his 
duty  with  zeal  proportioned  to  the  arduous  nature  of 
the  service  which  he  had  pledged  himself  to  per- 
form. That  zeal  made  him  equally  disregard ful  of 
appearances  and  of  danger.  The  whole  rents  of  his 
small  patrimonial  estate  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud  were 
set  apart  for  charitable  uses,  and  he  drew  so  liberal- 
ly from  his  other  funds  for  the  same  purpose,  that  his 
furniture  and  wardrobe  were  not  spared.  Because 
some  of  his  remoter  parishioners  excused  themselves 
for  not  attending  the  morning  service,  by  pleading 
that  they  did  not  wake  early  enough  to  get  their 
families  ready,  for  some  months  he  set  out  every  Sun- 
day, at  five  o'clock,  with  a  bell  in  his  hand,  and  went 
round  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  parish,  to  call  up 
the  people.    And  wherever  hearers  could  be  collect- 


MR.  FLETCHER. 


269 


ed  in  the  surrounding  country,  within  ten  or  fifteen 
miles,  thither  he  went  to  preach  to  them  on  week 
days,  though  he  seldom  got  home  before  one  or  two 
in  Uie  morning.    At  first,  the  rabble  of  his  parishion- 
ers resented  the  manner  in  which  he  ventured  to  re- 
prove and  exhort  them  in  the  midst  of  their  lewd 
revels  and  riotous  meetings  ;  for  he  would  frequently 
burst  in  upon  them,  without  any  fear  of  the  conse- 
quence to  nimself  The  publicans  and  maltmen  were 
his  especial  enemies.    A  mob  of  colliers,  who  were 
one  day  baiting  a  bull,  determined  to  pull  him  oft'  his 
horse  as  he  went  to  preach,  set  the  dogs  upon  him, 
and.  in  their  own  phrase,  bait  the  parson :  but  the 
bull  broke  loose,  and  dispersed  them  before  he  ar- 
rived.   In  spite,  however,  of  the  opposition  which 
his  eccentricities  excited,  not  from  the  ignorant  only, 
but  from  some  of  the  neighbouring  clergy  and  ma- 
gistrates, he  won  upon  the  people,  rude  ai.d  brutal 
as  they  were,  by  the  invincible  benevolence  which 
was  manifested  in  his  whole  manner  of  life ;  till  at 
length  his  church,  which  at  first  had  been  so  scan- 
tily attended,  that  he  was  discouraged  as  well  as 
mortified  by  the  smallness  of  the  congregation,  be- 
gan to  overflow. 

Such  was  the  person  who,  w  ithout  any  emolument, 
had  undertaken  the  charge  of  superintending,  in  oc- 
casional visits,  the  college  at  Trevecca,  and  who 
withdrew  from  that  charge  when  Lady  Huntingdon 
called  upon  al!  persons  in  that  seminary  to  disavow 
the  doctrines  of  Mr.  Wesley's  minutes,  or  leave  the 
place.  He  had  at  that  time  no  intention  or  ap- 
prehension of  taking  any  further  part  in  the  dispute. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  Honourable  Walter  Shirley, 
one  ot  her  Ladyship's  chaplains,  and  of  the  Calvin- 
istic  clergy  who  had  formed  a  party  under  her  pa- 
tronage, sent  forth  a  circular  letter,  staling,  that 
whereas  Mr.  Wesley's  next  Conference  was  to  be  held 
at  Bristol,  it  was  proposed  by  Lady  Huntingdon,  and 
many  other  Christian  friends,  to  have  a  meeting  in 
that  city  at  the  same  time,  of  such  principal  persons, 
both  clergy  and  laity,  who  disapproved  of  the  ob- 
noxious minutes  ;  and,  as  the  doctrines  therein  avow- 


270 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


ed  were  thought  injurious  to  the  very  fundamental 
principles  ol'  Christianity,  it  was  further  proposed, 
that  these  persons  should  go  in  a  body  to  the  Con- 
ference, and  insist  upon  a  formal  recantation  of  the 
said  iniDutes,  and,  in  case  of  a  refusal,  sign  and  pub- 
iisli  (heir  protest  against  them.  "Your  presence, 
Sir,"  the  letter  proceeded,  "  is  particularly  request- 
ed ;  but  if  it  should  not  suit  your  convenience  to  be 
there,  it  is  desired  that  you  will  transmit  your  senti- 
ments on  the  subject  to  such  person  as  you  think 
proper  to  produce  them,  it  is  submitted  to  you, 
whether  it  would  not  be  right,  in  the  opposition  to  be 
m!\de  to  such  a  dreadful  heresy,  to  recommend  it  to 
as  many  of  your  Christian  friends,  as  well  of  the 
Dissenters  as  of  the  established  Church,  as  you  can 
prevail  on,  to  be  there,  the  cause  being  of  so  public 
a  nature."  Lodgings  were  to  be  provided  for  the 
persons  who  attended. 

The  proceedings  were  not  so  furious  as  might  have 
been  expected  from  a  declaration  of  war  like  this. 
The  iteat  of  the  Calvinistic  party  seemed  to  have 
spent  itself  in  the  first  explosion.  Mr.  Wesley  was 
truly  a  man  of  peace  ;  and  when  the  Conference  and 
the  anti-council  met,  the  result,  unlike  that  of  most 
other  pitched  disputations  upon  points  of  theology, 
was  something  like  an  accommodation.  The  meet- 
ing was  managed  with  perfect  temper  on  both  sides, 
and  with  a  conciliatory  spirit  on  the  part  of  Shirley 
himsell";  a  man  whose  intentions  were  better  than 
his  judgment.  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  Conference  de- 
clared, that,  in  framing  the  obnoxious  minutes,  no 
such  meaning  was  intended  as  was  imputed  to  them. 
"We  abhor,"  they  said,  "the  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion by  works,  as  a  most  perilous  and  abominable 
doctrine ;  and  as  the  said  minutes  are  not  sufficient- 
ly guarded  in  the  way  they  are  expressed,  we  hereby 
solemnly  declare,  in  the  sight  of  God,  that  we  hive 
no  trust  or  confidence  but  in  the  alone  merits  ol  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  justification  or  salvation,  either 
in  life,  death,  or  the  day  of  judgment ;  and  though 
no  one  is  a  real  Christian  believer  (and  consequent- 
ly cannot  be  saved)  wiio  doth  not  good  works,  where 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINTSTS. 


271 


iherc  is  time  and  opportunity,  yet  our  works  have  no 
part  in  meriting  or  purchasing  our  justification,  either 
in  whole  or  in  part."  Mr.  Shirley  declared  himself 
satisfied  with  this  declaration,  and  the  interview  was 
concluded  with  prayer,  and  professions  of  peace  and 
love. 

These  were  but  fallacious  appearances  :  the  old 
question  had  been  mooted,  and  the  *  dispute  broke 
out  with  greater  violence  than  ever.  On  the  part  of 
the  Arminians  it  was  carried  on  by  Vt' alter  Sellon, 
who  was  originally  a  baker,  then  one  of  Wesley's 
lay-preachers,  and  had  afterwards,  by  means  of  lady 
Huntingdon's  influence,  obtained  orders ;  by  Tho- 
mas Olivers,  who,  like  a  sturdy  and  honest  Welsh- 
man as  he  was,  refused,  at  the  Conference,  to  sub- 
scribe the  declaration  ;  and  by  Mr.  Fletcher.  On 
the  part  of  the  Calvinists,  the  most  conspicuous  wri- 
ters were  the  brothers  Richard  (afterwards  Sir  Rich- 
ard) and  Rowland  Hill,  and  Augustus  Montague 
Toplady,  vicar  of  Broad  Hembury,  in  Devonshire. 
Never  were  any  writings  more  thoroughly  saturated 
with  the  essential  acid  of  Calvinism,  than  those  of 
the  predestinarian  champions.  It  would  scarcely  be 
credible,  that  three  persons,  of  good  birth  and  edu- 
cation, and  of  unquestionable  goodness  and  piety, 
should  have  carried  on  controversy  in  so  vile  a  man- 
ner, and  with  so  detestable  a  spirit, — if  the  hatred  of 
theologians  had  not,  unhappily,  become  proverbial. 
Berridge,  of  Everton,  also,  who  was  buflToon  as  well 
as  fanatic,  engaged  on  their  side :  and  even  Har- 
vey's nature  was  so  far  soured  by  his  opinions,  that 
he  wrote  in  an  acrimonious  style  against  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, whose  real  piety  he  knew,  and  whom  he  had 
once  regarded  as  his  spiritual  father. 

The  ever-memorable  Toplady,  as  his  admirers  call 

*  The  sort  of  recantation  which  was  madfi  in  this  declaration  gave  oc- 
casion to  the  following  verses  by  one  of  the  hostile  party : 

Whereas  the  religion,  and  fate  of  three  nations, 

Depend  on  the  importance  of  our  conversations ; 

Whereas  some  objections  are  thrown  in  our  way, 

And  words  have  been  construed  to  mean  what  they  say ; 

Be  it  known,  from  henceforth,  to  each  friend  and  each  brother 

Wjiene'cr  we  say  one  thing,  we  mean  quite  another. 


272 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


him,  and  who,  they  say,  "  stands  paramount  in  the 
plenitude  of  dignity  above  most  of  his  contempora- 
ries," was  bred  at  Westminster,  and,  according  to  his 
own  account,  converted  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  by  the 
sermon  of  an  ignorant  lay-  preacher,  in  a  barn  in  Ire- 
land. He  was  an  injudicious  man,  hasty  in  forming 
conclusions,  and  intemperate  in  advancing  them ; 
but  his  intellect  was  quick  and  Hvely,  and  his  man- 
ner of  writing,  though  coarse,  was  always  vigorous, 
and  sometimes  fortunate.  A  little  before  that  Con- 
ference which  brought  out  the  whole  Calvinistic 
force  against  W esley,  Mr.  Toplady  published  a  Trea- 
tise upon  absolute  Predestination,  chiefly  translated 
from  the  Latin  of  Zanchius.  Mr.  Wesley  set  forth 
an  analysis  of  tliis  treatise,  for  the  purpose  of  expos- 
ing its  monstrous  doctrine,  and  concluded  in  these 
words  :  "  The  sum  of  all  this : — one  in  twenty  (sup- 
pose) of  mankind  are  elected  ;  nineteen  in  twenty 
are  reprobated.  The  elect  shall  be  saved,  do  what 
they  will ;  the  reprobate  shall  be  damned,  do  what 
they  can.    Reader,  believe  this,  or  be  damned. 

Witness  my  hand,  A  T  ."    Toplady  denied 

the  consequences,  and  accused  Mr.  Wesley  of  in- 
tending to  palm  the  paragraph  on  the  world  as  his. 
"  In  almost  any  other  case,"  said  he,  "  a  similar  for- 
gery would  transmit  the  criminal  to  Virginia  or  Ma- 
ryland, if  not  to  Tyburn.  The  satanic  guilt  of  the 
person  who  could  excogitate  and  publish  to  the 
world  a  position  like  that,  baffles  all  power  of  de- 
scription, and  is  only  to  be  exceeded  (if  exceedable) 
by  the  satanic  shamelessness  w  hich  dares  to  lay  the 
black  position  at  the  door  of  other  men." 

Most  certairdy  Mr.  Wesley  had  no  intention  that 
this  passage  should  pass  for  Mr.  Toplady's  writing. 
He  gave  it  as  the  sum  of  his  doctrine  ;  and,  stripping 
that  doctrine  of  all  disguise,  exposed  it  thus  in  its 
naked  monstrosity.  After  vindicating  himself  by 
stating  this,  he  left  Olivers  to  carry  on  the  contest 
with  his  incensed  antagonist.  This  provoked  Top- 
lady the  more.  "  Let  Mr.  Wesley,"  said  he,  "  fight 
his  own  battles.  I  am  as  ready  as  ever  to  meet  him 
with  the  sling  of  reason  and  the  stone  of  God's  word 


WESLET  AKD  THE  CALVfMST3. 


273 


ID  my  hand.  But  let  him  not  fight  br  proxj  ;  let  his 
cobblens  keep  to  their  stalls:  let  his  tirtkers  meod 
th^ir  brazen  vessels:  let  his  barbers  confine  them- 
selres  to  their  blocks  aad  basins  :  let  his  black- 
smiths blow  more  suitable  coals  than  those  of  nice 
controver-y :  every  man  in  his  own  order."  And, 
becaase  Olivers  had  been  a  shoemaker,  he  attacked 
him  on  that  score  with  abusive  ridicule,  both  in  prose 
and  in  rhy  ue*  But  when  he  spoke  of  Wesley  him- 
self, and  Wesley's  doctrines,  it  was  with  a  bitterer 
temper.  The  very  titles  which  he  affixed  to  his 
writings  were  in  the  manner  of  Martin  iMarpre- 
late. — -  More  Work  for  Mr.  Jotin  Wesley — An 
Old  Fox  tarrel  and  feathered it  seemed  as 
if  he  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  sectarian  scurrility, 
from  the  tracalent  libellers  of  the  puritanical  age, 
with  whom  he  sympathized  almost  as  much  in  opi- 

*He  makes  Wesky  speak  of  him  thus,  m  a  doggrti  £aIopie : 

I're  Tbooias  CNirer,  the  oobbkr, 

(Xo  stay  m  C^slaod  holds  a  noiikr,) 

A  irr^t  of  til  tents  omrersaL 

Whfc.'eof  in  si^e  a  brief  lebearsd : 

He  wieids  be  jood  most  other  men, 

HU  awi,  his  razor,  and  his  pen  -  ^ 

My  beard  tie  shares,  repairs  my  ^oe, 

Aad  wites  my  p^'^.-r-'^^  "  '-•  ■ 

B'u  with  «>Qe  :!L 

Caj  ko'^ck  do»  HiU; 

■\V~iih  equal  ear c.  rz'ioetd. 

Can  dam  my  5TA>ct.c^  i-a  inj  creed ; 

Can  dfire  a' sail  or  ptv  the  oeedle. 

Hem  baodkerdueC  and  scrapt^  the  ^diBe  ; 

Chop  locdc  as  ao  ass  cbews  thstle, 

Ntm^kitfafiy  than  yo«  can  wtnstle: 

Aod  then  w  .  -      -  Jk>s<iphitts, 

No  so  j  I :' '  'rise  is. 

Of  all  e:.  -at. 

This  cob  .    .  ^<5tcoQteat; 

My  forgeries  j-i::         a  d -feader, 

>Iy  barber,  champion,  and  sboe-meoder. 

1  -vever,  Top^ady  d!-d  jastice  to  tfe  aotaganist.    After  a 

c  -  ^ith  bim-  waicn.  for  its  good  iMmev,  was  crefitaUe 

t,.  -  ~3t;.  »o  a  c^-^o^n&eau  '"To  say  the  tnMk,  I  am 

glad  iieiw  Mr  .1  -  Lu  bea  p«oii  of  stewogwseBaei, 

aad  b-ittr  beh^  i     Had  lus  aader9taa£i(B  bees 

ei'-.iv--/^  1  St  ^.  .    -  .^re  he  woold  hare  made  suae 

.  vK  -r.'s'spaiBpiiiet,  bat  be  had  dK  right 

bad  ooC  muBtaiaed  hb  caose  with  le* 
3id  oot  have  bees  iinrlkm»l  («■  socb 


5> 


ajj  occii.jn  b\  VVt^c..^_-  ^.-aised  by  Fletcher. 


VOL.  II. 


3j 


274 


FiNAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


nions  as  in  temper.  Blunders  and  blasphemies,  he 
said,  were  two  species  of  commodities  in  which  Mr. 
Wesley  had  driven  a  larger  traffic,  than  any  other 
blunder-merchant  this  country  had  produced.  Con- 
sidered as  a  reasoner,  he  called  him  one  of  the  most 
contemptible  writers  that  ever  set  pen  to  paper. — 
And,  abstracted  from  all  warmth,  and  from  all  pre- 
judices," says  he,  "  I  believe  him  to  be  the  most  ran- 
corous hater  of  the  Gospel  system  that  ever  appear- 
ed in  this  island."  The  same  degree  of  coohiess  and 
impartiality  appeared  when  he  spoke  of  the  doc- 
trines which  he  opposed.  He  insisted  that  Socinus 
and  Arminius  were  the  two  necessary  supporters  of 
a  free-willer's  coat  of  arms  ;  "  for,"  said  he,  in  his  vi- 
gorous manner,  "  Arminianism  is  the  head,  and  So- 
cinianism  the  tail  of  one  and  the  self-same  serpent ; 
and,  when  the  head  works  itself  in,  it  will  soon  draw 
the  tail  after  it."  A  tract  of  Wesley's,  in  which  the 
fatal  doctrine  of  Necessity  is  controverted  and  ex- 
posed, he  calls  "  the  famous  Moorfields  powder, 
whose  chief  ingredients  are  an  equal  portion  of  gross 
Heathenism,  Pelagianism,  Mahometanism,  Popery, 
Manichaeism,  Ranterism,  and  Antinomianism,  culled, 
dried,  and  pulverized,  and  mingled  with  as  much 
palpable  Atheism  as  you  can  scrape  together."  And 
he  asserted,  and  attempted  to  prove,  that  Arminian- 
ism and  Atheism  came  to  the  same  thing.  A  more 
unfair  reasoner  has  seldom  entered  the  lists  of  the- 
ological controversy,  and  yet  he  was  not  so  uncharita- 
ble as  his  writings,  nor  by  any  means  so  bad  as  his 
opinions  might  easily  have  made  him.  He  much 
questioned  whether  an  Arminian  could  go  to  heaven; 
and  of  course  must  have  supposed  that  Wesley,  as 
the  Arch-Arminian  of  the  age,  bore  about  him  the 
stamp  of  reprobation.  Nevertheless,  in  one  of  his 
letters,  he  says,  "God  is  witness  how  earnestly  I 
wish  it  may  consist  with  the  Divine  will,  to  touch  the 
heart  and  open  the  eyes  of  that  unhappy  man  !  I 
hold  it  as  much  my  duty  to  pray  for  his  conversion, 
as  to  expose  the  futulity  of  his  railings  against  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel."  And,  upon  a  report  of  Wes- 
ley's death,  he  would  have  stopped  the  publication 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CaLVINIST* 


275 


of  one  of  his  bitter  diatribes,  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
punging whatever  reflected  with  asperity  upon  the 
dead.  There  was  no  affectation  in  this;  the  letters 
in  which  these  redeeming  feelings  appear  were  not 
intended  or  expected  to  go  abroad  into  the  world. 
Tiie  wise  and  gentle  Tillotson  has  observed,  that  we 
shall  have  two  wonders  in  heaven ;  the  one,  how 
many  come  to  be  absent  whom  we  expected  to  find 
there  ;  the  other,  how  many  are  there  whom  we  had 
no  hope  of  meeting. 

Toplady  said  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  works,  that,  in  the 
very  few  pages  which  he  had  perused,  the  serious 
passages'  were  dulness  double-condensed,  and  the 
lighter  passages  impudence  double-distilled  :  "  So 
hardened  was"  his  own  front,"  to  use  one  of  his 
own  expressions,  and  so  thoroughly  was  he  drench- 
ed in  the  petrifying  water  of  a  party."  If  ever  true 
Christian  charity  was  manifested  in  polemical  writ- 
ing, it  was  by  Fletcher  of  Madely.  Even  theologi- 
cal controversy  never,  in  the  slightest  degree,  irri- 
tated his  heavenly  temper.  On  sending  the  manu- 
script of  his  first  Check  to  Antinomianism  to  a  friend 
much  younger  than  himself,  he  says,  "  I  beg,  as  upon 
my  bended  knees,  you  would  revise  and  correct  it, 
and  take  off  quod  durius  sonat  in  point  of  works,  re- 
proof, and  style.  I  have  followed  my  light,  which  is 
but  that  of  smoking  flax  ;  put  yours  to  mine.  1  am 
charged  hereabouts  with  scattering  fire-brands,  ar- 
rows, and  death.  Quench  some  of  my  brands  ; 
blunt  some  of  my  arrows  ;  'and  take  off  all  my  deaths, 
except  that  which  I  design  for  Antinomianism." — 
"  For  the  sake  of  candour,"  he  says,  in  one  of  his 
prefaces,  "  of  truth,  of  peace, — for  the  Reader's 
sake,  and,  above  all,  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and  the 
honour  of  Christianity,  whoever  ye  are  that  shall 
next  enter  the  lists  against  us,  do  not  wire-draw  the 
controversy,  by  uncharitably  attacking  our  persons, 
and  absurdly  judging  our  spirits,  instead  of  weighing 
our  arguments,  and  considering  the  scriptures  which 
we  produce;  nor  pass  over  fifty  solid  reasons,  and  a 
hundred  plain  passages,  to  cavil  about  non-essentials, 
and  to  lay  the  stress  of  your  answer  upon  mistakes, 


276 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


which  (3o  not  affect  the  strength  of  the  cause,  and 
which  we  are  ready  to  correct  as  soon  as  they  shall 
be  pointed  out.  I  take  the  Searcher  of  liearts,  and 
my  judicious  unprejudiced  readers  to  witness,  that 
through  the  whole  of  this  controversy,  far  frcni  con- 
ceaHng  the  most  plausible  objections,  or  avoiding  the 
strongest  arguments  which  are  or  may  be  advanced 
against  our  reconciling  doctrine,  I  have  careiully 
searched  them  out,  and  endeavoured  to  encounter 
them  as  openly  as  David  did  Goliath.  Had  our  op- 
ponents followed  this  method,  I  doubt  liot  but  the 
controversy  would  have  ended  long  ago,  in  the  des- 
truction ot  our  prejudices,  and  in  the  rectifying  of 
our  mistakes.  Oh  !  if  we  preferred  the  unspeakable 
pleasure  of  finding  out  the  truth,  to  the  pitiful  honour 
of  pleasing  a  party,  or  of  vindicating  our  own  mis- 
takes, how  soon  would  the  useful  fan  of  scriptural, 
logical,  and  brotherly  controversy  purge  the  tloor  of 
the  (  hurch  !  How  soon  would  the  light  of  truth,  and 
the  flame  ol  love,  burn  the  chaff  of  error,  and  the 
thorns  of  prejudice,  with  fire  unquenchable  !" 

In  such  a  temper  did  this  saintly  man  address  him- 
self to  the  work  of  controversy ;  and  he  carried  it 
on  with  correspondent  candour,  and  with  distinguish- 
ed ability.  His  manner  is  diffuse,  and  the  florid 
parts,  and  the  unction,  betray  their  French  origin ; 
but  the  reasoning  is  acute  and  clear;  the  spirit  of 
his  writings  is  beautiful,  and  he  was  master  of  the 
subject  in  all  its  bearings.  His  great  object  was 
to  conciliate  the  two  parties,  and  to  draw  the  line 
between  the  Solifidian  and  Pelr^gian  errors.  For 
this  purpose  he  composed  a  treatise,  v^hich  he 
called  an  Equal  Check  to  Pharisaism  and  Anti- 
nomianism  ;  or.  Scripture  Scales  to  weigh  the  gold 
of  Gospel  truth,  and  to  balance  a  multitude  of 
opposite  scriptures."  Herein  he  brought  together, 
side  by  side,  the  opposite  texts,  and  showed  how 
they  qualified  each  other:  the  opinion  which  he  in- 
ferred seems  to  correspond  more  nearly  with  that  of 
Baxter  than  of  any  other  divine.  He  traced,  histori- 
cally, the  growth  of  both  the  extremes  against  which 
be  contended.    JLuther,  being  an  Augustinian  monk, 


WESLEV   AND  THE  CALVINISTS, 


277 


brought  with  him,  from  his  convent,  the  favourite 
opinions  of  Augustine,  to  whicli  he  became  the  more 
attached,  because*  of  the  value  which  the  Romanists 
afiixed  to  their  superstitious  works,  and  the  fooleries 
and  abominations  which  had  sprung  from  this  cause. 
Most  of  the  reformers,  and  more  especially  Calvin, 
took  the  same  ground.  The  Jesuits,  seeing  their 
error,  inclined  the  Romish  church  to  the  opposite 
extreme  ;  and,  after  a  while,  Jansenius  formed  aCal- 
vinistic  party  among  the  Catholics,  while  Arminius 
tempered  the  doctrine  of  the  reformed  churches. 
Antinomianism  was  the  legitimate  consequence  on 
the  one  part,  and  Mr.  Fletcher  thought  that  the 
English  clergy  were  tending  toward  Pelagianism  on 
the  other.  His  great  object  was  to  trim  the  balance, 
and,  above  all,  to  promote  Christian  charity  and 
Christian  union.  "  My  regard  for  unify,"  said  he, 
"  recovers  my  drooping  spirits,  and  adds  new  strength 
to  my  wasted  body  (he  was  believed,  at  that  time, 
to  be  in  the  last  stage  of  a  consumption);  I  stop  at 
the  brink  of  the  grave,  over  which  I  bend,  and,  as 
the  blood  oozing  from  my  decayed  lungs  does  not 
permit  me  vocally  to  address  my  contending  brethren, 
by  means  of  my  pen  I  will  ask  them,  if  they  can  pro- 
perly receive  the  holy  communion,  while  they  wilfully 
remain  in  disunion  with  their  brethren,  from  w  hom 
controversy  has  needlessly  parted  them  !"  He  was 
then  about  to  leave  England,  for  what  appeared  to 
be  a  forlorn  hope  of  deriving  benefit  from  his  native 
air ;  but,  before  his  departure,  he  expressed  a  desire 
of  seeing  those  persons  with  whom  he  had  been  en- 
gaged in  this  controversy,  that,  "  all  doctrinal  dif- 
ferences apart,  he  might  testify  his  sincere  regret  for 
having  given  them  the  least  displeasure,  and  receive 
from  them  some  condescetiding  assurance  of  recon- 
ciliation and  good-will,"  All  of  them  had  not  gene- 
rosity enough  to  accept  the  invitation ;  they  who  did 

*  Thus  the  old  author  of  Neonomianism  inimasked,  places  *'  The 
Calvinian  Fociety  in  Gracious-street,  at  the  sign  of  the  Geneva  Arms, 
just  opposite  to  the  sign  of  Cardinal  Bellarniine's  Head,  at  the  foot  of 
the  bridf^e  that  crosses  Rt  fornoation  River,  that  divides  between  the 
Protestant  and  Popish  cantons." 


278 


]^INAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


were  edified,  as  well  as  affected,  by  the  interview; 
and  some  of  them,  who  had  had  no  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  him  before,  "  expressed  the  highest 
satisfaction,"  says  liis  biographer,  "  at  being  intro- 
duced to  the  company  of  one  whose  air  and  counte- 
nance bespoke  him  fitted  rather  for  the  society  of 
angels  than  the  conversation  of  men."  Upon  the 
score  of  controversial  offences,  few  men  have  ever 
had  60  little  need  to  ask  forgiveness. 

When  Mr.  Fletcher  offended  his  antagonists,  it 
was  not  by  any  personalities,  or  the  slightest  breath- 
ing of  a  malicious  spirit,  but  by  the  ironical  mannef 
in  which  he  displayed  the  real  nature  of  ihe'it  mon- 
strous doctrine.  For  his  talents  were  of  the  quick 
mercurial  kind  ;  his  fancy  was  always  active,  and 
he  might  have  held  no  inconsiderable  rank,  both  as 
a  humorous  and  as  an  impassioned  writer,  if  he 
had  not  confined  himself  wholly  to  devotional  sub- 
jects. But  his  happy  illustrations  had  the  effect  of 
provoking  his  opponents.  Mr.  Wesley  also,  by  the 
unanswerable  manner  in  which  he  treated  the  Cal- 
vinistic  question,  drew  upon  himself  the  fierce  resent- 
ment of  a  host  of  enemies.  They  were  confounded, 
but  they  would  not  be  convinced  ;  and  they  assailed 
him  with  a  degree  of  rancorous  hatred,  which,  even 
in  theological  controversy,  has  never  been  exceeded. 
"  He  was  as  weak  as  he  was  vicious,"  they  said  :  "  he 
was  like  a  monkey,  an  eel,  or  a  squirrel,  perpetually 
twisting  and  twining  all  manner  of  ways.  There  was 
little  probity,  or  common  honesty,  discoverable  in 
that  man — that  Arminian  priest: — he  was  incapable 
of  appreciating  real  merit ;  and  his  blasphemous 
productions  were  horror  to  the  soul,  and  torture  to 
the  ear.  And  for  his  doctrine, — the  cursed  doctrine 
of  free-will, — it  was  the  most  God-dishonouring  and 
soul-distressing  doctrine  of  the  day;  it  was  one  of 
the  prominent  features  of  the  Beast ;  it  was  the  ene- 
my of  God,  and  the  offspring  of  the  wicked  one;  the 
insolent  brat  of  hell.  Arminianism  was  the  spiritual 
pestilence  which  had  given  the  Protestant  churches 
the  plague  :  like  a  mortal  scorpion,  it  carries  a  sting 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINI9TS. 


279 


in  its  tail,  that  affects  with  stupefaction,  insensibility, 
and  death,  all  whom  it  strikes." 

The  unforgivable  offence,  which  drew  upon  Wes- 
ley and  his  doctrine  this  sort  of  obloquy,  with  which 
volumes  have  been  filled,  was  the  sermon  upon  Free 
Grace,  that  had  been  the  occasion  of  the  breach 
with  Whitefield.  It  is  one  of  the  most  able  and  elo- 
quent of  all  his  discourses;  a  triumphant  specimen  of 
impassioned  argument.  "  Call  it  by  whatever  name 
you  please,"  said  he,  attacking  the  Calvinistic  doc- 
trine, "  Election,  Preterition,  Predestination,  or  Re- 
probation, it  comes  to  the  same  thing.  The  sense  is 
plainly  this:  by  virtue  of  an  eternal,  unchangeable, 
irresistible  decree  of  God,  one  part  of  mankind  are 
infallibly  saved,  and  the  rest  infallibly  damned  ;  it 
being  impossible  that  any  of  the  tbrmer  should  be 
damned,  or  that  any  of  the  latter  should  be  saved." 
He  proceeded  to  shou-,  that  it  made  all  preaching 
vain,  as  needless  to  the  elect,  and  useless  to  the  re- 
probate;  and,  therefore,  that  it  could  not  be  a  doc- 
trine of  Gorl,  because  it  makes  void  his  ordinance: 
that  it  tended  to  produce  spiritual  pride  in  some, 
absolute  despair  in  others,  and  to  destroy  our  zeal 
for  good  works  :  that  it  made  revelation  contradicto- 
ry and  useless  :  and  that  it  was  full  of  blasphemy, — 
"of such  blasphemy,"  said  he,  "as  I  should  dread 
to  mention,  but  that  the  honour  of  our  gracious  God, 
and  the  cause  of  truth,  will  not  suffer  me  to  be  silent. 
In  the  cause  of  God,"  he  pursues,  "  and  from  a  sin- 
cere concern  for  the  glory  of  his  great  name,  I  will 
mention  a  few  of  the  horrible  blasphemies  contained 
in  this  horrible  doctrine.  But  first  I  must  warn 
every  one  of  you  that  hears,  as  ye  will  answer  it  at 
the  great  day,  not  to  charge  me,  as  some  have  done, 
with  blaspheming,  because  I  mention  the  blasphemy 
of  others.  And  the  more  you  are  grieved  with  them 
that  do  thus  blaspheme,  see  that  ye  '  confirm  your 
love  towards  them'  tlie  more,  and  that  your  heart's 
desire,  and  continual  prajer  to  God,  be,  '  Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do  !' 

"  This  premised,  let  it  be  observed,  that  this  doc- 
trine represents  our  blessed  Lord,  '  Jesus  Christ,  the 


280 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


righteous,  the  onlj-begotten  son  of  the  Father,  full 
of  grace  and  truth,'  as  an  hypocrite,  a  deceiver  of 
the  people,  a  man  void  of  common  sincerity.  For  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  he  every  where  speaks  as  if 
he  were  willing  that  all  men  sliould  be  saved;  there- 
fore, to  say  he  was  not  willing  that  all  men  should  be 
saved,  is  to  represent  him  as  a  mere  hypocrite  and 
dissembler.  It  cannot  be  denied,  that  the  gracious 
words  which  came  out  of  his  mouth  are  full  of  invi- 
tations to  all  sinners;  to  say,  then.  He  did  not  intend 
to  save  all  sinners,  is  to  represent  him  as  a  gross  de- 
ceiver of  the  people.  You  cannot  deny  that  he  says, 
'  Coma  unto  me,  all  ye  that  are  weary  and  heavy  la- 
den !'  If,  then,  you  say  He  calls  those  that  cannot 
come,  those  whom  he  knows  to  be  unable  to  come, 
those  whom  he  can  make  able  to  come,  but  will  not, 
how  is  it  possible  to  describe  greater  insincerity.'' — 
You  represent  him  as  mocking  his  helpless  creatures, 
by  offering  what  he  never  intends  to  give.  You  de- 
scribe him  as  saying  one  thing  and  meaning  another; 
^"^fe  pretending  the  love  which  he  had  not.  Him,  in 
^  in  whose  mouth  was  no  guile,  you  make  full  of  deceit, 
void  of  common  sincerity :  then,  especially  when 
drawing  nigh  the  city,  he  wept  over  it,  and  said,  '  O 
Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  prophets, 
and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often 
would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  and  ye 
(>)SfA>)<r<K  Mx)  «K  >jS£Ajj(r<»Ts).  Now,  if  you  say  they  would, 
but  he  ivoi'ld  7iot,  you  represent  him  (which  who  could 
hear !)  as  weeping  crocodile  tears  over  the  prey 
which  he  had  doomed  to  destruction  ! 

"  Such  blasphemy  this,  as,  one  would  think,  might 
make  the  ears  of  a  Christian  to  tingle  !  But  there  is 
yet  more  behind  ;  for,  just  as  it  honours  the  Son,  so 
doth  this  doctrine  honour  the  Father.  It  destroys 
all  his  attributes  at  once:  it  overturns  both  his  jus- 
tice, mercy,  and  truth.  Yes,  it  represents  the  Most 
Holy  God  as  worse  than  the  devil ;  as  more  false, 
more  cruel,  and  more  unjust.  More  false,  because 
the  devil,  liar  as  he  is,  hath  never  said  he  willeth  all 
mankind  to  be  saved  :  more  unjust,  because  the  de- 
vil cannot,  if  he  would,  be  guilty  of  such  injustice  as 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


281 


jou  ascribe  to  God,  when  you  say,  that  God  con- 
demned millions  of  souls  to  everlastirsg  lire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  Ijis  angels,  for  continuing  in  sin, 
which,  for  want  of  that  grace  he  u-ill  )iot  give  them, 
they  cannot  avoid :  and  more  cruel,  because  that  un- 
happy spirit  •  seeketh  rest,  and  tindeth  none,'  so  that 
his  own  restless  misery  is  a  kind  of  temptation  to  him 
to  tempt  others.  But  God  '  resteth  in  his  high  and 
holy  place;'  so  that  to  suppose  him  out  of  his  mere 
motion,  of  his  pure  will  and  pleasure,  happy  as  he  is, 
to  doom  his  crea'ures,  whether  they. will  or  not,  to 
endless  misery,  is  to  impute  such  cruelty  to  him.  as 
we  cannot  impute  even  to  the  great  enemy  of  God 
and  man.  It  is  to  represent  the  Most  High  God  (he 
that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear!)  as  more  cruel, 
false,  and  unjust  than  the  devil ! 

"  This  is  the  blasphemy  clearly  contained  in  the 
horrible  decree  of  Predestination.  And  here  I  fix  my 
foot.  On  this,!  join  issue  with  every  asserter  of  it. 
You  represent  God  as  worse  ^an  the  devil ;  more 
false,  more  cruel,  more  unjust.  But  you  say,  you  will 
prove  it  by  scripture.  Hold  !  What  will  you  prove 
by  scripture  ?  that  God  is  worse  than  the  devil  ?  It 
cannot  be.  Whatever  that  scripture  proves,  it  ne- 
ver proves  this :  whatever  be  its  true  meaning,  it  can- 
not mean  this.  Do  you  ask  what  is  its  true  meaning 
then  ?  If  1  say,  1  know  not,  you  have  gained  nothing; 
for  there  are  many  scriptures,  the  true  sense  whereof 
neither  you  nor  I  shall  know,  till  death  is  swallowed 
up  in  victory.  But  this  I  know,  better  it  were  to  say 
it  had  no  sense  at  all.  than  to  say  it  had  such  a  sense 
as  this,  it  cannot  mean,  whatever  it  mean  beside, 
that  the  God  of  truth  is  a  liar.  Let  it  mean  what  it 
will,  it  cannot  mean  that  the  Judge  of  all  the  world 
is  unjust.  No  scripture  can  mean  that  God  is  not 
love,  or  that  his  mercy  is  not  over  all  his  works:  that 
is,  whatever  it  prove  beside,  no  scripture  can  prove 
Predestination^^ 

"  This  is  the  blasphemy  for  which  I  abhor  the  doc- 
trine of  Predestination;  a  doctrine,  upon  the  suppo- 
sition of  w  hich,  if  one  could  possibly  suppose  it  for  a 
moment,  call  it  election,  reprobation,  or  what  you 

▼  OL.  II.  3b 


282 


FINAL  BREACH  BETWEEN 


please,  (for  all  comes  to  the  same  thing,)  one  might 
say  to  our  adversary  the  devil,  '  Thou  tool,  why  dost 
thou  roar  about  nuy  longer?  Thy  lying  in  wait  for 
souls  is  as  needless  and  useless  as  our  preaching. — 
Hearest  Ihou  not,  that  God  hath  taken  thy  work  out 
of  thy  liands,  and  that  he  doth  it  more  effectually  ? 
Thou,  with  all  thy  principahties  ar)d  powers,  canst 
only  so  assault  that  we  may  resist  thee  ;  but  he  can 
irresistibly  destroy  both  body  and  soul  in  hell  !  Thou 
canst  only  entice  ;  but  his  unchangeable  decree  to 
leave  thousands  of  souls  in  death,  compels  them  to 
continue  in  sin,  till  tliey  drop  into  everlasting  burn- 
ings. Thou  temptest ;  he  forceth  us  to  be  damned, 
for  we  cannot  resist  his  will.  Thou  fool !  why  goest 
thou  about  any  longer,  seeking  whom  thou  mayest 
devour.''  Hearest  thou  not  that  God  is  the  devour- 
ing lion,  the  destroyer  of  souls,  the  murderer  of  men? 
Moloch  caused  only  cliildren  to  pass  through  the 
fire,  and  that  fire  was  soon  (juenched;  or,  the  cor- 
ruptible body  beiiig  consumed,  its  torments  were  at 
an  end  ;  but  God,  thou  art  told,  by  his  eternal  de- 
cree, fixed  before  they  had  done  good  or  evil,  causes 
not  only  children  of  a  span  long,  but  the  parents  also, 
to  pass  through  the  fire  of  hell  ;  that  fire  which  ne^ 
ver  shall  be  quenched  :  and  the  body  which  is  cast 
thereinto,  being  now  incorruptible  and  immortal,  will 
be  ever  consuming  and  never  consumed  ;  but  the 
smoke  of  their  torment,  because  it  is  God's  good 
pleasure,  ascendeth  up  for  ever.' 

"  Oh,  how  would  the  enemy  of  God  and  man  re- 
joice to  hear  these  things  were  so !  How  would  he 
cry  aloud,  and  spare  not !  How  would  he  lift  up  his 
voice,  and  say.  To  your  tents,  O  Israel  !  fiee  from 
the  face  of  this  God,  or  ye  shall  utterly  perish.  But 
whither  will  ye  flee  !  Into  heaven  ?  He  is  there. 
Down  to  hell  ?  He  is  there  also.  Ye  cannot  flee 
from  an  omnipresent,  almighty  tyrant.  And  whether 
ye  flee  or  stay,  I  call  heaven,  hi?  throne,  and  earth, 
his  footstool,  to  witness  against  you  :  ye  siiall  perish, 
ye  shall  die  etert)ally  !  Sing,  O  hell,  and  rejoice,  ye 
that  are  under  the  earth  !  for  God,  even  the  mighty 
(jod,  hath  spokei),  and  devoted  to  death  thousands 


WESLEY  AND  THE  CALVIMStS. 


283 


of  souls,  from  the  risinjj;  of  the  sun,  unto  the  going 
down  tliereof  Here,  O  death,  is  thy  sting!  They 
shall  not,  cannot  escape,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it.  Here,  O  grave,  is  thy  victory  !  Na- 
tions yet  unhorn,  or  ever  they  have  done  good  or 
evil,  are  doomed  never  to  see  the  light  of  life,  but 
thou  shah  gnaw  upon  them  for  ever  and  ever.  Let 
all  those  morning  stars  sing  together,  who  fell  with 
Lucifer,  son  of  tfie  morning !  Let  al!  the  sons  of 
hell  shout  for  joy;  for  the  decree  is  past,  and  who 
shall  annul  it  .'^ 

"  Yes  !  the  decree  is  past;  and  so  it  was  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world.  But  what  decree 
Even  this:  '  I  will  set  before  the  sons  of  men  life  and 
death,  blessing  and  cursing;'  and  'the  soul  that 
chooseth  life  shall  live,  as  the  soul  that  choosetli 
death  die  '  Tlys_diecre.e,  vvbsreby  whom  God  •  did 
foreknow,  he  did  pred^^t,inate.'  was  indeed  from 
everlasting :  this,  whereby  all  who  suffer  Christ  to 
make  them  alive,  are  '  elect  according  to  the  fore- 
knowledge of  God,' now 'standeth  fast,  even  as  the 
moon,  and  the  faithful  witness  in  heaven ;  and  when 
heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  yet  this  shall  not 
pass  away,  for  it  is  as  unchangeable  and  eternal  as 
the  being  of  God  that  gave  it.  This  decree  yields 
the  strongest  encouragement  to  abound  in  all  good 
works,  and  in  all  holiness  ;  and  it  is  a  well-spring  of 
joy,  of  happiness  also,  to  our  great  and  endiess  com- 
fort. This  is  worthy  of  God.  It  is  every  way  con- 
sistent with  the  perfection  of  his  nature.  It  gives  us 
the  noblest  -view  both  of  his  justice,  mercy,  and 
truth.  To  this  agrees  the  w  hole  scope  of  the  Chris- 
tian Revelation,  as  well  as  all  the  parts  thereof.  To 
this  Moses  and  all  the  prophets  bear  witness;  and 
our  blessed  Lord,  and  all  his  apostles.  Thus  Moses, 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  '  I  call  heaven  and  earth 
to  record  against  you  this  day,  that  I  have  set  before 
you  life  and  death,  blessing  and  cursing,  therefore 
choose  life,  that  thou  and  thy  seed  may  live.'  Thus 
Ezekiel  (to  cite  one  prophet  for  all,)  •  J  he  soul  that 
sinneth,  it  shall  die  ;  tlie  son  shall  not  bear  (eternal- 
ly) the  iniquity  of  the  father.    The  righieousness  of 


284 


FINAL  BREACH  BETVVEEi\ 


the  righteous  shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wickedness 
of  the  wiq;  ed  bhali  be  upon  him.'  Thus  our  blessed 
Lord,  '  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  to  me  and 
drink  !'  ^  hus  his  great  apostle  St.  Paul,  '  God  com- 
mandeth  all  men,  every  where,  to  repent,'  j^ll  men, 
every  where  ;  every  man,  in  every  place,  without  any 
exception,  either  of  place  or  person.  Thus  St.  James, 
'  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who 
giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not,  and 
it  shall  be  given  h\m  !'  Thus  St.  Peter,  '  The  Lord  is 
not  willing  that  ar)y  should  perish,  but  that  all  should 
come  to  repentance.'  And  thus  St.  John,  '  If  any  man 
sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father;  and  he  is 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins  ;  and  not  for  ours  only, 
but  tor  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.' 

"  O  hear  ye  this,  ye  that  forget  God  !  ye  cannot 
charge  your  death  upon  him.  '  Have  I  any  pleasure 
at  all  that  the  wicked  should  die  ?  saith  the  Lord 
God.  Repent  and  turn  from  all  your  transgressions, 
so  iniquity  shall  not  be  your  ruin.  Cast  away  from 
you  all  your  transgressions,  whereby  ye  have  trans- 
gressed ;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ? 
For  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that  di- 
eth,  saith  the  Lord  God.  Wherefore,  turn  yourselves, 
and  live  ye.' — '  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have 
no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked.  Turn  ye, 
turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways ;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O 
house  of  Israel  ?''  " 

"  A  history  of  Wesley's  life  would  be  imperfect,  un- 
less it  contained  this  memorable  passage, — the  most 
remarkable  and  the  most  powerful  in  all  his  works. 
It  exasperated,  beyond  measure,  those  who,  in  their 
own  conceit,  had  taken  out  their  patent  of  election, 
and  considered  themselves,  in  Mr.  Toplady's  lan- 
guage, (himself  one  of  the  number.)  as  "kings  eVi- 
co«-.,  travelling,  disguised  like  pilgrims,  to  their  do- 
minions above."  Even  temperate  Calvinists  were 
shocked,  and  have  said,  that  Mr.  Wesley's  "  horrid 
appeal  to  all  the  devils  in  hell  gave  a  sort  of  infernal 
tone  to  the  controversy."  It  is,  indeed,  in  a  tremen- 
dous strain  of  eloquence,  and  shows  with  what  in- 
dignation the  preacher,  in  liis  zeal  for  God,  and  in 


WESLEY   AND  THE  CALVINISTS. 


285 


his  love  for  his  fellow-creatures,  regarded  a  doctrine 
I  so  injurious  to  both,  in  an  evil  hour  did  le  restless 
mind  of  man  devise  for  itself  the  perilops  question 
of  fatalism;  and,  lu  a  more  unhappy  one  was  it  in- 
troduced into  Christian  theology.  The  fathers  of  our 
church  perceived  the  danger  on  both  sides,  and  en- 
deavoured to  keep  the  goUlen  mean.  "  All  men," 
said  they,  "  be  to  be  monished,  and  chiefly  preachers, 
I  that,  in  this  high  matter,  they,  looking  on  both  sides, 
so  attempter  and  moderate  themselves,  that  neither 
they  so  preach  the  grace  of  God,  that  they  take  away 
thereby  free-will,  nor,  on  the  other  side,  so  extol  free- 
will, that  injury  be  done  to  the  grace  of  God."  And 
in  the  directions  for  preachers,  which  were  set  forth 
in  the  latter  years  of  James  I  it  was  enjoined,  "  that 
no  preacher,  of  what  title  soever,  uiider  the  degree 
of  a  bishop,  or  dean  at  the  least,  should,  from  thence- 
forth, presume  to  proach,  in  any  popular  auditory, 
deep  points  of  predestination,  election,  reprobation, 
or  of  the  urtiversaiity,  efficacy,  resistibility,  or  irre- 
sistibility of  God's  grace;  but  leave  those  themes 
rather  to  be  handled  by  learned  men,  and  that  mo- 
derately and  modestly,  by  way  of  use  and  applica- 
tion, rather  than  by  way  of  positive  doctrines,  being 
fitter  for  the  schools  than  for  simple  auditories  "—;^ 
The  puritans  exclaimed  ngainst  this  prohibition, 
whereby,  they  said,  man  made  that  the  forbid- 
den fruit,  which  God  appointed  for  the  tree  of  life. 
But,  upon  this  point,  even  the  popes  themselves, 
in  the  plenitude  of  their  power,  were  not  able  to 
impose  silence. 

Wesley  had  otice  a  whimsical  proof  of  the  horror 
with  which  the  high-flying  Calvinists  regarded  him. 
One  afternoon,  on  the  road  from  Newport- Pagnel  to 
Northampton,  "  I  overtook,"  says  he,  "  a  serious 
man,  with  whom  I  itnmediately  fell  into  conversation. 
He  presently  gave  me  to  know  what  his  opinions 
were  ;  therefore  1  said  nothing  to  contradict  them 
But  that  did  not  content  him  ;  he  was  quite  uneasy 
to  know  whether  I  held  the  doctrine  of  the  decrees 
as  he  did  :  but  I  told  him.  over  and  over,  we  had 
better  keep  to  practical  things,  lest  we  should  be  an- 


2»6 


Wesley's  clerical  coadjutous. 


gry  at  one  another.  And  so  we  did  for  two  miles, 
till  he  caught  me  unawares,  and  dragged  me  into 
the  dispute  before  1  knew  where  I  was.  He  then 
grew  warmer  and  m  armer,  told  me  I  was  rotten  at 
heart,  and  supposed  I  was  one  of  John  Wesley's  fol- 
lowers. I  told  him  '  no,  1  am  John  Wesley  him- 
self!'   Upon  which, 

Improvisum  aspi-is  veluti  qui  sentibus  anguem 
Press  it, 

he  would  gladly  have  run  away  outright :  but  being 
the  better  mounted  of  the  two,  I  kept  close  to  his 
side,  and  endeavoured  to  show  him  his  heart,  till  we 
came  into  the  street  of  Northampton." 


CHAPTER  XXVI.  , 
Wesley's  clerical  coadjutors. — mr.  grimshaw. — 

DR.  COKE.  THE  GREEK  BISHOP.  WESLEY's  CREDU- 
LITY. 

A  FEW  years  before  this  final  and  irreparable 
breach  witli  the  Calvinists,  Wesley  had  attempted  to 
form  an  open  and  active  unioti  between  all  such  cler- 
gymen as  have  more  recently  arrogated  to  themselves 
the  appellation  of  Evangelical,  or  Gospel  ministers. 
With  this  hope  he  sent  round  a  circular  letter,  to 
some  fifty  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England,  where- 
in he  proposed  that,  leaving  free  the  disputable  points 
of  predestination  on  one  side,  and  perfection  on  the 
other;  laying  no  stress  upon  expressions,  and  binding 
themselves  to  no  peculiar  disciplir)e,  but  some  re- 
maining quite  regular,  others  quite  irregular;  and 
others,  again,  partly  the  one  and  partly  the  other, 
they  should  think  and  speak  kindly  of  each  other, 
form,  as  it  were,  a  defensive  league,  and  each  help 
the  other  on  in  his  work,  and  enlarge  his  influence  by 


MR.  GRIMSHAW. 


287 


all  rlg;htful  means.  If  any  thing  more  were  meant  hy 
this  than  that  each  should  occasionally  accommodate 
the  others  with  his  pulpit,  and  that  they  should  coun- 
tenance his  itinerant  lay-preachers,  the  meaning  is 
not  obvious.  On  this  occasion,  also,  Mr.  Wesley 
looked  for  an  omen,  and  relates,  with  evident  com- 
placency, at  the  end  of  the  letter,  that,  one  of  his 
friends  having  objected  to  him  the  impossibiliiy  of 
effecting  such  an  union,  he  went  up  stairs,  and,  after 
a  little  prayer,  opened  Kempis  on  tliese  words: 
Expecta  Dominnm  ;  viriliter  age  ;  noli  dijfidere  ;  noli  dis- 
cedere ;  sed  corpus  d  animam  exponc  constunter  pro  gloria 
Dei. 

The  greater  part  of  the  methodizing  clergy  ad- 
hered to  Lady  Huntingdon's  party  in  the  dispule. 
Among  those  who  remained  attached  to  Mr.  Wesley, 
Vincent  Perronet,  the  \  icar  of  Shorcham,  was  one, 
who  was,  either  by  birth  or  extraction,  a  Swiss,  and 
who,  in  the  Homish  church,  would  hove  been  beati- 
fied or  canonized,  tor  v\hat.  in  mystical  language, 
would  be  called  his  rapts.,  as  well  as  for  the  uniform 
piety  of  his  life.  William  Grirashaw.  wIjo  held  the 
perpetual  curacy  of  Haworth,  iti  oiie  of  the  wildest 
parts  of  the  West  Riding,  was  a  more  active  asso- 
ciate. In  his  unconverted  state,  this  person  was 
certainly  insane  ;  and,  had  he  given  utterance  at 
that  time  to  the  monstrous  and  horrible  imaginations, 
which  he  afterwards  revealed  to  his  spiritual  friends, 
he  would  desei  vedly  have  been  sent  to  Bedlam,  fils 
change  of  mind,  which  was  not  till  he  had  been  ten 
years  in  holy  orders,  was  preceded  by  what  he  sup- 
posed to  be  a  miraculous  impression  upon  his  senses, 
and  which  may  possibly  have  been  an  electrical*  or 
galvanic  effect:  and,  in  the  course  of  his  ministry, 

*  Mr.  Joseph  Williams,  of  Kidderminster,  relates  the  f  ict  from 
Grimsliaw's  own  testimony.  At  last  the  time  of  liii  deliveranee  canje. 
At  the  house  of  one  of  his  friends  he  lays  his  hand  on  a  book,  and  opens 
it  with  his  face  toward?  a  pewter  shelf.  Instantly  his  face  is  saluted 
with  an  uncommon  fl  i«;h  of  beat.  He  turns  to  the  title-page,  and  finds 
it  to  be  Dr.  Owen  on  Justification.  Immediately  he  is  snr])rised  with 
such  another  flash.  I  (e  bon  ows  the  book,  stiidit-s  it,  is  led  into  God's 
method  of  iustifyinj;  the  ungodly,  hath  a  new  heart  given  hiu),  and  now  , 
behold,  he  prayeth !" 


288 


Wesley's  clerical  coadjutors. 


he  was  favoured  with  a  vision  in  a  trance;  that  is  to 
say,  he  mistook*  dehrium  for  reality.  He  became, 
however,  a  very  zealous  parish  priest;  and  his  oddi- 
ties, which  procured  liim  the  name  of  Mad  Grim- 
shaw,  did  not  prevent  him  from  being  very  useful 
among  a  set  of  parishioners,  who  are  said  to  have 
been  as  wild  as  the  bleak  barren  country  which  they 
inhabited,  and  to  have  had  little  more  sense  of  reli- 
gion than  their  cattle. 

The  parish  contained  four  hamlets,  in  each  of 
which  he  made  it  a  rule  to  preach  three  times  a 
morjfh,  partly  for  the  sake  of  the  old  and  infirm,  but 
chiefly  tor  those  who  scarcely  ever  attended  the 
church  because  of  the  distance.  As  he  found  that 
people  were  willing  to  hear  him.  he  extended  his 
preaching  into  his  neighbour's  parishes,  w  ithout  trou- 
bling himseif  to  ask  the  consent  of  the  minister,  or 
caring  whether  he  liked  it  or  not.  In  this  way  he 
established  two  circuits  of  his  own,  which  he  went 
round  every  fortnigiit :  in  the  more  populous,  he 
preached  from  four-and-twejity  to  thirty  times  in  the 
week;  and,  in  the  other,  about  half  as  often,  where- 
fore he  called  this  his  idle  week.  While  he  was  at 
home,  he  had  a  morning  meeting  for  prayer  and  ex- 
hortation at  his  ow  n  house,  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
summer,  and  at  six  in  winter.  At  church  he  would 
stop  in  the  midst  of  the  prayers,  if  he  saw  any  person 
inattentive,  and  rebuke  the  otTender ;  and,  w  hile 
the  psalms  were  singing  before  sermon,  he  would  go 
out  to  sec  if  any  persons  were  idling  in  the  church- 
yard, or  in  the  street,  or  in  the  alehouses,  and  drive 
as  many  as  he  could  find  into  the  church  before  him. 
These  were  not  the  only  means  which  he  used  for 
bringing  his  parishioners  into  order.  Having  taken 
up  the  dismal  {)uritanical  notion,  that  it  is  sinful  to 
walk  in  the  tields  for  recreation  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
he  would  set  out  himself,  in  order  to  reprove  such 
persons  as  he  detected  in  the  fact.    This  odd  hu- 

*  The  case  seems  to  have  hcen  an  apoplectic  affection  of  the  slightest 
kind:  the  detail  may  be  seen  in  his  lite  by  Mr.  Myles  (p.  14.)  as  given 
by  himself  to  Mr.  Williams,  of  Kidderminster.  A  more  remarkable  case 
of  the  same  kind  is  noticed  in  tiie  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  x.  pp.  1 1 7, 1 1 8. 


MR.  GRIMSHAW. 


289 


naour  led  him  also,  like  the  Caliph  Haroun  Alraschid, 
in  the  Arabian  Tales,  to  go  out  in  disguise,  and  see 
in  what  manner  his  instructions  were  observed,  and 
how  far  tlie  people  were,  in  reality,  what  they 
made  tlicmselves  appear  to  him.  Thus  he  went 
to  the  door  of  a  great  professor  of  charity,  and 
begged  a  night's  lodging,  in  the  character  of  a  poor 
man,  and  was  turned  away  with  abuse.  And  he 
teased  a  purblind  woman,  by  touching  her  repeated- 
ly with  a  stick,  like  a  mischievous  boy,  till,  taking 
him  for  one,  and  finding  threats  insufficient,  she 
gave  her  tongue  the  reins,  and  began  to  swear. 
Neither  of  these  were  fair  trials  :  but  discretion  was 
no  part  of  his  character.  Such,  however,  was  the 
effect  which  he  produced  by  his  zeal,  his  vigilance, 
and  his  real  worth,  that  a  man  who,  being  on  his 
way  lor  a  midwife  one  Sunday,  wanted  his  horse 
shod  in  the  village,  could  not  prevail  upon  the  black> 
smith  to  do  the  job,  till  they  had  gone  together  to 
Mr.  Grimshaw,  and  he  had  granted  permission,  being 
satisfied  of  the  necessity  of  the  case.  And  it  was 
believed,  long  after  his  death,  that  he  had  put  a  stop 
to  the  races  at  Haworth  by  his  prayers,  because, 
when  he  had  often  and  vainly  attempted  to  dissuade 
the  people  from  subscribing  and  promoting  these 
meetings,  for  the  beriefit  of  the  publicans,  he  prayed 
at  length  that  the  Lord  would  be  pleased  to  put  a 
stop  to  the  evil  proceedings  in  his  own  way,  a  heavy 
rain  during  the  whole  three  days  spoiled  the  sport, 
and,  after  that  time,  the  mischievous  custom  was  not 
revived. 

Grimshaw  entered  entirely  into  Mr.  Wesley's  views, 
acted  as  assistant  in  the  circuit  wherein  he  resided, 
and  attended  the  Conference  every  third  year,  when 
it  was  held  at  Leeds.  When  Whitefield  or  Wesley 
came  to  visit  him,  a  scaffold  was  erected  for  them  in 
the  church-yard,  the  church  not  being  large  enough 
to  hold  the  concourse  that  assembled.  Prayers, 
therefore,  were  read  in  the  church,  the  preaching 
was  in  the  open  air,  and  the  sacrament  was  after- 
terwards  administered  to  successive  congregations, 
one  church-full  after  another.  Whitefield  happened, 

VOL.  II  37 


290 


Wesley's  clerical  coadjutors. 


in  one  of  his  sermons,  to  speak  as  if  he  believed  his 
hearers  had  profited  much  by  the  exertions  of  the 
faiihful  pastor  who  had  so  long  laboured  among  them  : 
but  Grimshaw  stood  up,  and  interrupted  him  imme^ 
dialely,  saying,  w  ith  a  loud  voice,  "  Oh,  Sir,  lor  God's 
sake  do  not  speak  so  I  I  pray  you,  do  not  Hatter  them  : 
I  fear  the  greater  part  ol  them  are  going  to  hell  with 
their  eyes  open."  Mis  admiration  of  the  iiineraiits 
was  very  great;  his  house  was  their  home,  they 
preached  in  his  kilclien,  and  he  always  gave  notice 
at  church  when  this  was  to  he ;  and,  that  their  ilock 
might  not  he  scattered  after  his  death,  when  a  more 
regular  and  less  zealous  minister  should  succeed  liim, 
he  built  a  chapel  and  dwelling  house  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, and  settled  it  upoii  the  Methodist  plan.  He 
not  only  received  the  preachers  as  his  guests,  but  as 
many  visitors  as  his  house  would  hold  ;  giving  up  his 
own  bed,  and  sleeping,  unknovvn  to  tijem,  in  the  hay- 
loft. No  olfice  appeared  to  him  too  humble  on  such 
occasions, — no  mark  of  respect  too  great  for  a  snc- 
cessfu!  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  He  was  once  found 
cleaning  the  boots  of  an  itinerant:  once  he  embraced 
a  preacher  after  his  sermon,  and  said.  "  the  Lord 
bless  thee,  Ben,  this  is  worth  a  hundred  of  my  ser- 
mons !"  and  he  fell  down  before  anotljer,  saying,  he 
was  not  worthy  to  stand  in  his  presence.  The  only 
son  of  this  singular  man  was  educated  at  Kingswood, 
and  became  a  drunkard,  "  notwithstanding  he  had 
been  favoured  with  a  religious  education,"  says  his 
father's  biographer,  "  and  had  been  prayed  for  by 
some  of  the  holiest  men  in  the  land."  The  severe 
and  injudicious  system  uiider  which  he  had  suffered 
at  school,  and  the  eccentricities  which  he  had  seen 
at  home,  may  easily  explain  the  wonder.  The  poor 
fellow,  however,  had  a  sense  of  his  own  worthless- 
iiess  and  degeneracy;  and  when  he  was  riding  home, 
in  a  state  of  intoxication,  would  sometimes  say  to  his 
horse,  the  one  which  Grimshaw  had  ridden  upon  his 
circuits,  "  Once  l/iou  carried  a  saint,  but  now  thou  ear- 
nest a  devil."  Disease  and  strong  pain,  the  bitter 
consequences  of  his  course  of  life,  brought  him  to  re- 
pentance and  to  the  grave;  and  gome  of  his  last 


DR.  COKE. 


291 


words  were,  "  what  will  my  father  say,  when  he  sees 
tliat  i  am  got  to  heaven !" 

Of  the  lew  clergymen  who  entered  into  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's view-,  and  heartily  co-operated  with  him,  Mr. 
Grimshaw  was  the  most  eccentric ;  Mr.  Fletcher  the 
most  remarkable  for  intellectual  powers;  the  one 
who  entered  most  entirely  into  the  atTairs  of  the  So- 
ciety was  1  honias  Coke.  This  person,  who  held  so 
distiijguished  a  piace  among  the  Methodists,  and  by 
whose  unwearied  zeal,  and  indefatigable  exertions, 
lhat  spirit,  which  Mr.  Wesley  h  .d  kindled  in  England, 
was  extended  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world,  was 
born  at  Brecknock,  in  the  year  1747,  the  only  child 
of  respectable  and  wealthy  parents.  The  father 
died  during  his  childhood,  and  the  youth,  in  his  se- 
veateenih  year,  was  entered  as  a  gentleman  com- 
moner at  Jesus'  College,  Oxford.  He  escaped  from 
the  university  with  fewer  vices  than  in  those  days 
were  generally  contracted  there;  but  he  brought 
away  a  taint  of  that  philobOphical  infidelity  which 
was  then  beginning  to  infect  half  learned  men.  The 
works  of  Bistiop  Sherlock  reclaimed  him  :  he  enter- 
ed into  iioly  orders,  and  being  in  expectation  of  some 
considerable  preferment,  took  out  his  degree  of  doc- 
tor of  laws.  The  disappointment  which  he  experi- 
enced from  certain  persons  in  power,  to  ^vhom  he 
had  looked  as  patrons,  was  of  little  consequence  to 
him,  being  possessed  of  a  fair  patrimony.  He  accept- 
ed the  curacy  of  South-Petlierton,  in  Somersetshire, 
and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  with  more 
than  ordinary  zeal.  His  preaching  soon  filled  the 
church  ;  more  room  was  wanting  for  the  congrega- 
tion ;  and,  as  the  vestry  would  not  be  persuaded  to 
erect  a  gallery,  he  built  one  at  his  own  expense.  'I  his, 
and  the  style  of  his  discourses,  raised  a  suspicion 
that  he  was  iiiclined  to  Methodism.  The  growing 
inclination  was  strengthened  by  conversation  with 
Maxfiald,  who  happened  then  to  be  residing  in  (he 
neighbourhood,  and  confirmed  by  the  perusal  of 
*  Alleine's  Alarum  to  the  Unconverted.    He  now 

*  "  A  book,  which  multitudes  will  have  cause  for  ever  to  be  thankful 
for,"  says  Calamy.    "  No  book  in  the  English  tongue  (the  Bible  except- 


292  Wesley's  clerical  coadjutors 


preached  extemporaneously,  established  evening 
lectures,  and  introduced  hymns  into  the  church; 
but,  by  thus  going  on  faster  than  the  parishioners 
were  prepared  to  follow,  he  excited  a  strong  spirit 
of  opposition ;  complaints  against  him  were  prefer- 
red to  the  bishop  and  to  the  rector  :  the  former  mere- 
ly admonished  him;  by  the  latter  he  was  dismissed 
in  a  manner  which  seems  to  have  been  studiously 
disrespectful,  before  the  people  publicly,  on  the 
Sabbath  day  :  and  his  enemies  had  the  indecency  to 
chime  him  out  of  the  church.  These  insults  roused 
his  Welsh  blood,  and  he  determined,  with  more  spi- 
rit than  prudence,  to  take  his  stand  near  the  church 
on  the  two  following  Sundays,  and  preach  to  the  peo- 
ple when  they  came  out,  for  the  purpose  of  vindicat- 
ing himself,  gratifying  his  adherents,  and  exhorting 
his  opponents  to  repentance.  These,  who  were  pro- 
bably the  more  numerous,  were  so  provoked  at  this, 
that  they  collected  stones,  for  the  purpose  of  pelting 
him,  on  his  second  exhibition  ;  and  the  Doctor  would 
hardly  have  escaped,  without  some  serious  injury,  if 
a  young  lady  and  her  brother,  whom  the  people 
knew  and  respected,  had  not  placed  themselves  one 
on  each  side  of  him.  He  now  took  the  earliest  op- 
portunity of  being  introduced  to  Wesley,  The  lat- 
ter soon  came  into  Somersetshire  in  his  rounds,  and 
thus  notices  the  meeting  in  his  Journal :  "  Here  I 
found  a  clergyman.  Dr.  Coke,  late  a  gentleman  com- 
moner of  Jesus'  College,  in  Oxford,  who  came  twenty 
miles  on  purpose  to  meet  me.  I  had  much  conver- 
sation with  him;  and  an  union  then  began,  which,  I 
trust,  shall  never  end." 

This  was  in  the  year  1776.  Dr.  Coke  immediate- 
ly became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  society,  and 
was  soon  regarded  as  the  most  efficient  of  all  Mr. 
Wesley's  fellow-labourers.     Having  wholly  given 


ed)  can  equal  it  for  the  number  that  hath  been  dispersed ;  for  there  have 
been  20,000  of  them  printed  and  sold  under  the  title  of  the  Call,  or 
Alarum  to  the  Unconverted,  in  8vo.  or  12mo. ;  and  50,000  of  the  same 
book  have  been  sold  under  the  title  of  the  Sure  Guide  to  Heaven,  30,000 
of  which  were  at  one  impression." — Account  of  the  Ejected  Ministers, 
vol.  ii.  677. 


TENDENCY  TO  SCHISM. 


293 


himself  up  to  the  Connexion,  the  second  place  in  it 
was  liaturally  assigned  to  him  ;  no  other  of  its  active 
members  was  possessed  of  equal  fortune  and  rank  in 
society;  and  all  that  he  had,  his  fortune,  to  every 
shillii.g,  and  his  life,  to  every  minate  .that  could  be 
employed  in  active  exertions,  were  devoted  to  its 
interests.  He  was  now  considered  as  Mr.  Wesley's 
more  immediate  representative;  and,  instead  of  be- 
ing siationed.  like  the  other  preachers,  in  a  circuit, 
he  travelled,  like  Mr.  Wesley,  as  a  general  inspec- 
tor, wherever  his  presence  was  thought  needful.  In 
Ireland,  more  particularly,  he  visited  the  Societies 
alternately  with  Mr.  Wesley,  so  that  an  annual  visi- 
tation was  always  made.  Before  Mr.  Wesley  be- 
came acquainted  with  Dr.  Coke,  Mr.  Fletcher  had 
been  looked  to  as  the  fittest  person  to  act  as  his  co- 
adjutor, and  succeed  to  as  much  of  his  authority  as 
could  be  deputed  to  any  successor.  But  Mr.  Fletch- 
er shrunk  from  the  invidious  distinction,  and  from 
the  ditiiculties  of  the  task:  he  had  found  his  place, 
and  knew  where  he  could  be  most  usefully  employ- 
ed for  others,  and  most  happily  for  himself 

The  want  of  clerical  assistants  had  been  severely 
felt  by  Wesley.  Notwithstanding  his  attachment  to 
the  Church  of  England,  and  his  desire  not  only  to 
continue  in  uiiion  with  it  himself,  but  to  preserve  his 
people  from  forming  a  schism,  the  tendency  to  sepa- 
ration became  every  year  more  apparent,  from  vari- 
ous causes,  of  which  some  were  incidental,  but  others 
arose  inevitably  from  the  system  which  he  hod  esta- 
blished. A  hostile  feeling  toward  the  Church  was 
retained  by  the  dissenters  who  united  themselves  to 
the  Methodists :  these  proselytes  were  not  numerous, 
but  they  leavened  the  society.  It  is  likely  too,  that, 
as  Methodism  began  to  assume  consistency  and  im- 
portance, just  at  the  time  when  the  Non-jurors  were 
on  the  point  of  dissolution,  a  considerable  proportion 
of  that  party  would  rather  ally  themselves  with  it, 
than  with  the  sectarians  or  the  Establishment;  and 
these  persons  also  would  bring  with  them  an  unfa- 
vourable disposition  toward  the  church.  But  the 
main  cause  is  obviously  to  he  found  in  the  growing 


294 


THE  GREEK  BISHOP. 


influence  of  the  lay-preachers,  their  jealousy  of  the 
few  clergymen  who  acted  with  them,  their  natural 
desire  of  placing  themselves  upon  a  level  with  the 
ministers  of  other  denominations,  and  the  disrespect 
with  which  the  Establishment  began  to  be  regarded 
by  most  of  those  persons  who  preferred  the  preach- 
ing at  the  chapel  to  that  it)  the  church.  And  though 
Wesley  often  and  earnestly  warned  them  against 
this,  neither  his  language  nor  his  conduct  were  at  all 
times  consistent.  In  controversy,  and  in  self-defence, 
he  was  sometimes  led  to  speak  of  the  unworthy  mi- 
nisters of  the  Establishment  in  terms  of  indignation, 
not  considering  that  his  remarks  would  be  generally 
applied  by  many  of  his  followers. 

The  growing  desire  of  the  itinerants  to  raise  them- 
selves in  rank,  and  of  the  societies  to  have  the  sa- 
crament administered  by  their  o-vn  preachers,  indu- 
ced Wesley,  who,  in  the  continual  bustle  of  his  life, 
sometimes  acted  without  due  consideration,  to  take 
the  strange  means  of  obtaining  orders  for  some  of 
his  lay-assistants  from  a  Greek,  vvho  called  himself 
Erasmus,  and  appeared  in  London  with  the  title  of 
Bishop  of  Arcadia.  This  measure  was,  in  every 
point  of  view,  injudicious.  Charles  was  decidedly 
hostile  to  it,  and  would  never  allow  the  preachers 
who  had  been  thus  ordained  to  assist  him  at  the  com- 
munion table.  Staniforth  was  one;  and  he  found  it 
so  invidious  among  his  colleagues,  that  he  never 
thought  proper  to  exercise  the  ministerial  functions. 
On  the  other  hand,  some,  both  of  the  local  and  itine- 
rant preachers,  coveted  the  distinction,  and  prevail- 
ed upon  the  obliging  bishop  to  lay  his  hands  upon 
them,  without  Mr.  VVesley's  consent  Displeased  at 
this  disregard  of  his  authority,  he  acted  with  his 
wonted  decision,  and  at  once  excluded  from  the 
Connexion  those  who  would  not  forego  the  powers 
with  which  they  supposed  themselves  to  be  invested. 
It  was  doubtful  whether  this  Erasmus*  was  what  he 

*  Toplady  saw  a  certificate  Riven  by  this  vagrant,  as  he  calls  him,  to 
the  persons  whom  he  pr>>lended  to  ordain.  It  confirm<;d  him  in  bis  opi- 
nion that  tlie  man  was  an  impostor,  because  it  was  written,  not  in  the  mo- 
dern Greek,  but  in  the  ancient,  and  of  a  very  mean  sort.    This  is  the 


THE  GREEK  BISHOP. 


2% 


pretended  to  be ;  and  the  whole  transaction  gave 
VV  esley's  eueinies  an  opportunity  of  attacking  him, 
which  ll)ey  did  not  fail  to  use.  They  charged  him 
with  Iiaving  viohited  the  oath  of  supremacy,  by  thus 
inducing  a  foreign  prehite  to  exercise  acts  of  eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction  within  this  reahu  ;  and  they 
alleged  that  he  had  even  pressed  the  Greek  to  con- 
secrate him  a  bishop  also,  that  he  niight  then  ordain 
what  Ministers  he  pleased.  Erasmus  was  said  to 
have  refused,  because,  according  to  the  canons  of 
the  Greek  Church,  more  than  one  bishop  must  be 
present  to  assist  at  the  consecration  of  a  new  one. 
Charles  Wesley  was  even  accused,  in  the  Gospel 
Magazine,  of  havit)g  oflfered  the  Greek  torty  gui- 
neas, if  he  would  pertbrm  the  ceremony.  This  is 
palpably  false;  nothing  can  he  so  incredible  as  that 
Charles  Wesley  would  have  made  such  an  offer, 
except  that  a  bishop  of  Arcadia  in  London  should 
have  refused  it.  '1  he  charge  of  simony  is  beyond 
all  doubt,  purely  calumnious,  in  the  spirit  of  that 
slander  which  the  Gospel  Magazine  breathed  in  all 
its  numbers.  EjjI  there  seems  reason  to  believe  that 
Wesley  was  willing  to  have  been  episcopized  upon 
this  occasion. 

Both  brothers  retained  the  fancy  of  baptizing  by 
immersion,  after  they  had  out-grown  many  other  ec- 
centricities;  and  Wesley  followed  this  mode  some- 


translation  :  "  Our  measure  from  the  grace,  gift,  and  power  of  the  all- 
holy  and  life-giving  Spirit,  given  by  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  to  his  di- 
vine and  holy  apostles,  to  ordain  sub-deacons  and  deacons,  and  also  to 
advance  to  tl»e  dignity  of  a  priest !  Of  this  grace,  which  hath  descend- 
,-d  to  our  humility.  I  have  ordained  sub-deacon  and  deacon,  at  Snow- 
lields  Chapel,  on  "the  19lh  day  of  Psov.  1764,  and  at  West-street  Chapel, 
on  the  24th  day  of  the  same  month,  priest,  the  Rev.  Mr-  W.C.,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  the  holy  apostles  and  of  our  faith.  Moreover,  I 
have  given  to  him  power  to  minister  and  teach,  in  all  the  world,  the  gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ,  no  one  forbidding  him  in  the  church  of  God.  Where 
fore,  for  that  very  purpose,  I  have  made  this  present  letter  of  recom- 
mendation from  our  humility,  and  have  given  it  to  the  ordained  Mr.  W. 
C,  for  his  certificate  and  security. 

"  Given  and  written  at  London,  in  Britain,  Nov.  24,  1764. 

"  Erasmus,  Bishop  of  Arcadia." 

Mr.  Nightingale  says,  that  inquiry  concerning  him  was  made  of  the 
patriarch  of  Smyrna,  and  that  it  appeared  he  really  was  Bishop  of  Ar- 
cadia, in  Crete- 


296 


CRAZY  ENTHUSIASTS. 


times  in  condescension  to  the  whims  of  others,  when 
he  had  ceased  to  attach  any  importance  to  it,  and 
must  have  perceived  the  exceeding  inconvenience 
of  the  practice.  One  of  the  charges  which  the  viru- 
lent Toplady  brought  against  him  was,  that  of  having 
immersed  a  certain  Lydia  Sheppard,  in  a  bathing 
tub,  in  a  cheesemonger's  cellar  in  Spitalfields,  and 
holding  her  so  long  under  water,  while  he  deliberate- 
ly pronounced  the  words  of  administration,  that  she 
was  almost  insensible  when  she  was  taken  out.  The 
story  was  related  on  her  own  authority,  which  proba- 
bly was  not  the  best  in  the  world.  But  Wesley's 
course  of  life  brought  him  nxto  contact  with  persons 
under  every  disease  of  mind,  and  in  all  the  interme- 
diate stages  between  madness  and  roguery.  Crazy 
people,  indeed,  found  their  way  to  him  as  com- 
monly as  they  used  to  do  to  court,  though  with  less 
mischievous  intention.  They  generally  went  in  a 
spirit  of  pure  kindness,  to  enlighten  him,  and  correct 
his  errors. 

Two  ignorant  dreamers,  while  the  French  pro- 
phets had  a  party  in  this  country,  called  upon  him  at 
the  Foundry,  saying,  they  were  sent  from  God  to  in- 
form him,  that  very  shortly  he  should  be  6omW again; 
and  they  added,  that  they  would  stay  in  the  house 
till  it  was  done,  unless  he  turned  them  out.  Wesley 
knew  how  to  deal  with  such  prophets  as  these ;  he 
assured  them  that  he  would  not  turn  them  out, 
showed  them  into  the  Society  room,  and  left  them 
to  themselves.  "  It  was  tolerably  cold,"  he  says, 
"  and  they  had  neither  meat  nor  drink."  There, 
however,  they  sate  from  morning  till  evening,  then 
quietly  walked  off,  and  troubled  him  with  their  com- 
pany no  more. 

A  woman  came  to  him  one  day,  with  a  message 
from  the  Lord,  she  said,  to  tell  hitii  he  was  laying  up 
treasures  on  earth,  taking  his  ease,  and  minding  only 
eating  and  drinking.  "I  told  her,"  says  he,  "God 
knew  me  better  ;  and,  if  he  had  sent  her,  it  would 
have  been  with  a  more  proper  message."  The  idle 
notion,  that  he  was  enriching  himself,  prevailed 
among  persons  who  might  easily  have  known  bet- 


INFIDELS  AVESLEy's  STATE  OF  DOUBT.  297 


ler.  He  received  a  letter  from  the  Hoard  of  Ex- 
cise, telling  him  the  commissioners  could  not  doubt 
but  that  he  had  plate,  for  whicli  he  had  neglected 
to  make  an  entry,  and  requiring  him  immediately 
to  make  a  proper  return.  His  answer  was,  "  Sir, 
I  have  two  silver  tea-spoons  at  London,  and  two  at 
Bristol :  this  is  all  the  plate  which  1  have  at  present; 
and  I  shall  not  buy  any  more,  while  so  many  round 
me  want  bread." 

In  the  beginning  of  his  career,  Wesley  perceived 
that  there  was  more  danger  of  the  growth  of  infide- 
lity than  of  superstition  ;  and  this  opinion  w  as  con- 
firmed by  his  after-experience.  He  discovered,  in 
the  beautiful  vale  of  Lorton,  that  Deism  had  found 
its  way  into  the  heart  of  the  Cumbrian  mountains ; 
and  near  Manchester  he  found,  what  he  had  never 
heard  of  in  England,  a  whole  clan  of  infidel  pea- 
sants, who  had  been  scoffed  and  argued  out  of  their 
beliei^  by  the  vulgar  ribaldry  and  impudent  igno- 
rance of  an  ale-house  keeper.  Of  the  persons  whom 
he  met  with  in  this  unhappy  stale  of  mind,  some  were 
contented  to  live  without  God  in  the  world,  and  be 
as  the  beasts  that  perish,  as  if  they  had  succeeded 
in  annihilating  their  diviner  part.  But  others  con- 
fessed the  misery  of  wandering  in  doubt  and  dark- 
ness. One  who,  having  been  a  zealous  Romanist, 
had  cast  off  Popery  and  Christianity  together,  said 
to  him,  "  I  know  there  is  a  God,  and  I  believe  him  to 
be  the  soul  of  all,  the  anima  mundi ;  if  he  be  not  ra- 
ther, as  I  sometimes  think,  the  To  Uxv  the  whole  corn- 
pages  of  body  and  spirit  every  where  diffused.  But 
further  than  this  I  know  not ;  all  is  dark  ;  my  thought 
is  lost.  Whence  I  came,  I  know  not ;  nor  what,  nor 
why,  1  am  ;  nor  whither  I  am  going.  But  this  I  know, 
I  am  unhappy  ;  I  am  w  eary  of  life  ;  I  wish  it  were  at 
an  end." 

For  men  in  this  pitiable  state  Wesley  was  an  ex- 
cellent physician,  and  he  had  not  unfrequently  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing,  that  his  advice  was  not 
given  in  vain.  He  himself  had  gone  through  this 
stage  of  doubt  in  early  life,  and  has  described  the 
perplexity  of  his  mind  with  great  force  and  feeling. 

VOL.  II.  38 


208 


Wesley's  credulity. 


"  After  carefully  heaping  up,"  he  says,  "  the  strong- 
est argnmeufs  which  I  coiiki  find  either  in  ancient  or 
modern  authors,  for  the  very  heing;  of  a  God,  and 
(which  is  nearly  connected  with  it)  the  existence  of 
an  invisil>le  worhl.  I  have  wandered  up  and  down 
mtising  with  myself,  what  if  all  these  tliin2;s  which 
I  see  around  me,  this  earth  and  heaven,  this  uni- 
versal frame,  have  existed  from  eternity  ?  What  if 
that  melancholy  supposition  of  the  old  poet  be  the 
real  case 

What  if  the  s^eneralion  of  men  be  exactly  parallel 
with  the  generation  of  leaves,  if  the  earth  drop  its 
successive  inhabitar.ts,  just  as  the  tree  drops  its 
leaves?  What  if  that  saying  of  a  great  man  be 
reully  true.  Post  'mortem  nihil  esl^  et  ipso  mors  mhil— 
Death  is  nothing,  and  nothing  is  after  death.  How 
am  I  sure  that  this  is  not  the  case  ?  that  I  have  not 
'  Ibllowrd  cunningly-devised  fables  ?'  And  I  have 
pursued  the  thought  till  there  was  no  spirit  in  me, 
and  1  was  ready  to  choose  strangling  rather  than 
life."* 

On  the  other  hand,  there  could  not  be  a  more  dan- 
gerous counsellor  for  persons  with  a  certain  tenden- 
cy to  derangement,  for  he  seems  always  to  have  de- 
lighted to  believe  extraordinary  things  which  he 
ouiiht  to  have  doubted,  and  to  have  encouraged 
sallies  of  enthusiasm  which  he  ought  to  have  re- 
pressed.   Thus,  speaking  of  a  lady  who  exhibited 

*  Wesley  introduced  a  I'emarkable  passage  of  this  kind  in  one  of  his 
sermons.  "The  devil,"  saidiwv**"nce  infused  into  my  mind  a  tempta- 
tion that,  perhaps,  \  did  not  beiipve  what  I  was  pre^iching.  '  Well,  then,' 
said  I.  '  I  will  preaeh'  it  till  I  do.'  But,  the  devil  sugRested,  '  what  if  it 
should  not  he  true?'  '  Still,'  I  replied,  '  I  will  preaeh  it,  because,  whe- 
ther true  or  not,  it  must  be  pleasing  to  God.  by  preparing  men  better 
for  another  world.'  '  But  what  if  there  should  be  no  other  world  ?'  re- 
joinfd  the  Enemy.  '  I  will  go  on  preaciiing  it,'  said  I.  '  because  it  is  the 
way  to  make  them  better  and  happier  in  this.'  "  This  passage  is  not  in 
]Mr.  Wesley  s  works,  but  I  relate  it,  v^i1h  perfect  confidence,  on  the  au- 
thority of  the  late  Dr.  Estlin.  of  Bristol,  who  heard  him  preach  the  ser- 
mon, and  whom  I  iviil  not  thus  cursorily  mention,  without  an  expression 
of  respectful  remembrance. 


Wesley's  credulity. 


299 


before  him  her  gilt  of  extempore  prayer,  he  says, 
*'  such  a  prayer  1  never  heard  before  ;  it  was  per- 
fectly an  original;  oiKI  and  unconnected,  made  up 
of  disjointed  fragjnents,  and  yet  like  a  flame  of  fire  : 
evei-y  sentence  went  through  my  heart,  an<H  beheve 
the  heart  of  every  one  present.  For  many  months 
I  have  Ibund  nothing  like  it.  It  was  good  for  me  to 
be  here."  And  afjain,  after  a  second  performance, 
he  reasoJis  upon  the  Cf\se,  "  Is  not  this  an  instance 
of  ten  thousafid,  of  God's  choosing  the  foohsh  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise  ?  Here  is  one 
that  has  not  only  a  weak  natural  understanding,  but 
an  impetuosity  of  temper,  bordering  upon  midness. 
And  hence  both  h-^r  sentiments  are  confused,  and 
her  expressions  odd  and  indigested  ;  and  yet,  not- 
withstanding this,  more  of  the  real  power  of  God 
attends  these  uncouth  expressions,  than  the  sensible 
discourses  of  even  good  men,  who  have  twenty  times 
her  understanding."  The  wonder  would  have  ceased, 
if  he  had  reflected  upon  the  slate  of  mind  in  the  re- 
cipients. 

Here  he  was  the  dupe  of  his  own  devout  emotions, 
which,  in  a  certain  mood,  might  as  well  have  been 
excited  by  the  music  of  an  organ,  or  the  warbliiig  of 
a  sky-lark.  But  he  was  sometimes  imposed  upon  by 
relations  which  were  worthy  to  have  figured  in  the 
Acta  Sanctorum.  One  of  his  preachers  pretended 
to  go  through  the  whole  service  of  tlie  meeting  in 
his  sleep,  exhorting,  singifig.  and  preaching,  and  even 
discoursing  with  a  clergyman,  who  came  in  and  rea- 
soned with  him  during  iiis  exhibition,  and  affeeting, 
in  the  morning,  to  know  nothing  of  what  he  had  done 
during  the  night.  And  Wesley  could  believe  this, 
and  ask  seriously  by  what  principle  of  philosophy  it 
was  to  be  explained  !  He  believed  also  that  a  young 
woman,  having  received  a  strong  impulse  to  call  sin- 
ners to  repentance,  vvas  inwardly  told,  that  if  she 
would  not  do  it  willingly,  she  should  do  it  whether 
she  would  or  not :  th  it  from  that  time  she  became 
subject  to  fits,  in  which  she  always  imagined  herself 
to  be  preaching;  and  that  having  cried  out  at  last, 
Lord,  I  will  obey  thee,  I  will  call  sinners  to  repea- 


300 


Wesley's  credulity. 


tance,  and  begun  to  preach  in  consequence,  the  fits 
left  her.  In  the  history  of  this  remarkable  man,  no- 
thing is  more  remarkable  than  his  voracious  credu- 
lity, fie  accredited  and  repeated  stories  of  appa- 
ritions, and  witchcraft,  and  possession,  so  silly,  as  well 
as  monstrous,  that  they  might  have  iiauseated  the 
coarsest  appetite  for  wonder  :  this,  too,  when  the 
belief  on  his  part  was  purely  gratuitous,  and  no  mo- 
tive can  be  assigned  for  it,  except  the  pleasure  of 
believing!  The  state  of  mind  is  more  intelligible, 
which  made  iiim  ascribe  a  supernatural  importance 
to  the  incidents  that  befel  him,  whether  merely  acci- 
dental, or  produced  by  any  etTort  of  his  own.  Strong 
fancy,  and  strong  prepossession,  may  explain  this, 
without  ascribing  too  much  to  the  sense  of  his  own 
importance.  If  he  escaped  from  storms  at  sea,  it  ap- 
peared to  him  that  the  tempest  abated,  and  the  waves 
fell,  because  his  prayers  were  heard.  If  he  was  en- 
dangered in  travelling,  he  was  persuaded  that  angels, 
both  evil  and  good,  had  a  large  share  in  the  transac- 
tion. "  The  old  murderer,"  he  says,  "  is  restrained 
from  hurting  me,  but  he  has  power  over  my  horses." 
A  panic  seized  the  people,  in  a  crowded  meeting, 
while  he  was  preaching  upon  the  slave  trade ;  it 
could  not  be  accounted  for,  he  thought,  without  sup- 
posing some  preternatural  influence  :  "  Satan  fought, 
lest  his  kingdom  should  be  delivered  up."  If,  in  rid- 
ing over  the  mountains  in  Westmoreland,  he  sees 
rain  behind  him  and  before,  and  yet  escapes  between 
the  showers,  the  natural  circumstance  appears  to  him 
to  be  an  especial  interference  in  his  fivour.  Preach- 
ing in  the  open  air,  he  is  chilled,  and  the  sun  sud- 
denly comes  forth  to  warm  him  :  the  heat  becomes 
too  powerful,  and  forthwith  a  cloud  is  interposed. — 
So,  too,  at  Durham,  when  the  sun  shone  with  such 
force  upon  his  head,  that  he  was  scarcely  able  to 
speak,  "  I  paused  a  little,"  he  says,  "and  desired 
God  would  provide  me  a  covering,  if  it  was  for  his 
glory.  In  a  moment  it  was  done  ;  a  cloud  covered 
the  sun,  which  troubled  me  no  more.  Ought  volun- 
tarj' humility  to  conceal  this  palpable  proof,  that  God 
still  heareth  the  prayer  .^*"    At  another  time  the  sun, 


Wesley's  credulity. 


301 


while  he  was  officiating,  shone  full  in  his  face,  but  it 
was  no  inconvenience  ;  nor  n  ere  his  eyes  more  daz- 
zled, than  if  it  had  been  under  the  earth.  Labour- 
ing under  indisposition,  when  he  was  about  to  admi- 
nister the  sacrament,  the  thought,  he  says,  came  into 
his  mind,  "  why  should  he  not  apply  to  God  at  the 
beginning,  rather  than  the  end  of  an  illness?"  He 
did  so,  and  found  immediate  relief  By  an  effort  of 
faith  he  could  rid  himself  of  the  tooth-ach  :  and  more 
than  once,  when  his  horse  fell  lame,  and  there  was 
no  other  remedy,  the  same  application  was  found 
effectual.  "  Some,"  he  observes,  "  will  esteem  this 
a  most  notable  instance  of  enthusiasm :  be  it  so  or 
not,  I  aver  the  plain  fact." 

This  Avas  Wesley's  peculiar  weakness,  and  he  re- 
tained it  to  the  last.  Time  and  experience  taught 
him  to  correct  some  of  his  opinions,  and  to  moderate 
others,  but  this  was  rooted  in  his  nature.  In  the  year 
1780,  he  began  to  publish  the  Arminian  Magazine, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  maintaining  and  defending 
those  doctrines  which  were  reviled  with  such  abomi- 
nable scurrility  by  the  Calvinists  in  their  monthly  * 
journal,  and  of  supplying  his  followers,  who  were  not 
in  the  habit  of  reading  much,  with  an  entertaining 

*  In  the  preface  to  the  first  volume  he  says,  "Amidst  the  multitude 
of  magazines  which  now  swarm  in  the  world,  there  was  one,  a  few  years 
ago,  termed  the  Christian  Magazine  which  was  of  great  use  to  mankind, 
and  did  honour  to  the  publishers  ;  but  it  was  soon  discontinued,  to  the 
regret  of  many  serious  and  sensible  persons.  In  the  room  of  it  started 
up  a  miscreated  phantom,  called  The  Spiritual  Magazine  ;  and,  not  long 
after  it,  its  twin  sister,  oddly  called  The  Gospel  Magazine.  Both  t>f  these 
are  intended  to  show,  that  God  is  not  loving  to  every  man  ;  that  his  mer- 
cy is  not  over  all  his  works  ;  and,  consequently,  that  Cl'.rist  did  not  die 
for  us  all,  but  for  one  in  ten,  for  the  elect  only. 

"  This  comfortable  doctrine,  the  sum  of  which,  proposed  in  plain 
English,  is,  God,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  absolutely  and  irre- 
vocably decreed,  that  '  some  men  shall  be  saved,  do  what  they  will,  and 
the  rest  damned,  do  what  they  can,'  has,  by  these  tracts,  been  spread 
throughout  the  land  with  the  utmost  diligence.  And  these  champions 
of  it  have,  from  the  beginning,  proceeded  in  a  manner  worthy  of  their 
cause.  They  have  paid  no  more  regard  to  good  nature,  decency,  or 
good  manners,  than  to  reason  or  truth  :  all  these  they  set  utterly  at  de- 
fiance. Without  any  deviation  from  their  plan,  they  liave  defended  their 
dear  decrees,  with  arguments  worthy  of  Bedlam,  and  with  language 
worthy  of  Billingsgate." 

These  were  the  first  religious  journals  which  were  published  in  Enc- 
land.  Since  that  time  every  denomination  of  dissenters,  down  to  the 
most  insignificant  subdivisions  of  schism,  has  had  its  magazine. 


302 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


and  useful  miscellanj.  Both  purposes  were  well 
answered  ;  but  having  this  means  at  his  command,  he 
indulged  his  indiscriminate  creduhty,  and  inserted, 
without  scruple,  and  without  reflection,  any  marvel- 
lous tale  that  came  to  his  hands. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

METHODISM    IN    AMKRICA.  WESLEy'S  POLITICAL 

CONDUCT. 

A  LITTLE  modification  might  have  rendered  Me- 
thoflism  a  most  useful  auxiliary  to  the  English 
Church.  But  if  some  such  auxiliary  power  was 
needed  in  this  country,  much  more  was  it  necessary 
in  British  America,  where  the  scattered  state  of  the 
population  was  as  little  favourable  to  the  interests  of 
religion  as  of  governmer)t. 

In  the  New-England  states,  the  Puritans  had  esta- 
blished a  dismal  tyranny  of  the  priesthood  ;  time 
and  circumstances  had  mitigated  it;  a;id  ecclesias- 
tical discipline,  in  those  provinces,  seems  nearly  to 
have  reached  its  desirable  mean  about  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  :  the  elders  no  longer  exer- 
cised an  impertinent  and  vexatious  control  over  their 
countrymen  ;  they  retained,  however,  a  wholesome 
infiuence  ;  the  means  of  religious  instruction  were 
carefully  provided,  and  the  people  were  well  trained 
up  in  regular  and  pious  habits.  Too  little  attention 
had  been  pind  to  this  point  in  other  states  ;  indeed 
it  nmy  be  said,  that  the  mother  country,  in  this  re- 
spect, had  grossly  *  neglected  one  of  its  first  and 

*  Franklin  gives  a  curious  anpcdote  upon  this  siihjrct  in  one  of  his 
letters.  "  1  he  reverend  commissary  Blair,  w  ho  projected  the  college 
in  the  province  of  Virginia  and  was  in  Kiigland  to  solicit  henefactions 
and  a  charter,  relates  that  the  queen  (Mary,)  in  the  king's  ahsence  hav- 
ing ordered  the  Attorney  General  (Seymour)  to  draw  up  the  charter 
■which  was  to  be  given,  with  £"2000  in  money,  he  oppo^^ed  the  grant, 
saying,  that  the  nation  was  engaged  in  an  expensive  war,  that  the  money 


niETHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


303 


tnost  important  duties  toward  its  colonies.  There 
Avere  many  parts  in  the  southern  states,  ot  which  the 
frightful  picture  given  of  the.n  by  Seeker,  when 
bishop  of  Oxiord,  was  not  overchar<;ed.  The  tirst 
European  inhabitants,"  said  that  prelate,  "  too  many 
of  them,  carried  but  httle  sense  of  Christianity 
abroad  with  them.  A  great  par.  of  the  rest  sufiTered 
it  to  wear  out  gradually,  and  their  children  grew,  of 
course,  to  have  yet  less  than  they,  till,  in  some  coun- 
tries, there  were  scarce  any  footsteps  of  it  left  be- 
yond the  mere  name.  No  teacher  was  known,  no 
religious  assembly  was  held  ;  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism not  administered  for  near  twenty  years  together, 
nor  that  of  the  Lord's  Supper  for  near  sixty,  amongst 
many  thousands  of  people,  who  did  not  deny  the  ob- 
ligation of  these  duties,  but  lived,  nevertheless,  in  a 
stupid  neglect  of  them."  To  remedy  this,  the  So- 
ciety for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  sent  out  mis- 
sionaries from  time  to  time  :  but  misdirecting  their 
exertions,  for  want  of  proper  inquiiy,  or  proper  in- 
formation, they  employed  most  of  the  few  labourers 
whom  they  C(»uld  tind  in  the  states  where  they  were 
least  wanted,  and  in  places  where  they  did  little 
more  than  interfere  with  what  was  the  established 
system. 

Whitefield  had  contented  himself  with  the  imme- 
diate impression  which  he  produced.  The  person 
who  first  began  to  organize  Methodism  in  America 
was  an  Irishman,  by  name  Philip  Eml)ury,  who  had 
been  a  local  preacher  in  his  own  country.  Having 
removed  to  New- York,  he  collected  a  few  hearers, 
first  in  his  own  house,  and,  when  their  number  in- 
creased, in  a  large  room,  which  they  rented  for  the 
purpose.  Captain  Webb  happened  at  this  time  to 
be  in  America.    This  officer,  who  had  lost  an  eye  in 


was  wanted  for  better  purposes,  and  he  did  not  see  tlie  least  oecasion 
for  a  college  in  Vii-ginia.  Blair  represented  to  him,  that  its  intention 
was  to  educate  and  qualify  young  men  to  be  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
much  wanted  there  ;  and  begged  Mr.  Attorney  would  consider,  that  the 
peo)ile  of  Virginia  had  souls  to  be  savi-d  as  well  as  the  people  of  Eng- 
iand.    Souls .'  said  he,  damn  your  souls  !  make  tobacco  ."' 

Correspondence,  vol.  i.  p.  158. 


304 


METHODIiiJM  IN  AMIiRlCA. 


the  battle  of  Quebec,  had  been  converted,  not  long 
after  that  event,  bj  Mr.  Wesley's  preaching  at  Bris- 
tol, and  had  tried  his  own  talents  as  a  preacher  at 
Bath,  when  some  accident  prevented  the  itinerant 
from  arrivinfi:,  whoo^  the  congregation  had  assembled 
to  hear.  Webb  hearing  of  Embury's  beginning,  paid 
him  a  visit  from  Albany,  where  he  then  held  the  ap- 
pointment of  barrack-master,  preached  in  his  uni- 
form, attracted  auditors  by^the  novelty  of  such  an 
exhibition,  and  made  proselytes  by  his  zeal.  A  re- 
gular society  was  formed  in  the  year  1768,  and  they 
resolved  to  build  a  preaching-house. 

W^esley's  attention  had  already  been  invited  to 
America.  He  met  with  a  Swedish  chaplain,  who 
had  spent  several  years  in  Pennsylvania,  and  who 
entreated  that  he  would  send  out  preachers  to  help 
him,  representing  what  multitudes  in  that  country 
■were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Soon  afterwards 
Captain  Webb  and  his  associates  wrote  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, informing  him  that  a  beginning  had  been  made, 
and  requesting  that  he  would,  at  the  ensuing  Confer- 
ence, appoint  some  persons  to  come  over,  and  pro- 
secute the  work  which  was  so  providentially  begun. 
About  the  same  time  there  came  a  letter  from  a  cer- 
tain Thomas  Bell,  at  Charlestown,  saying,  "  Mr. 
Wesley  says,  the  first  message  of  the  preachers  is  to 
the  lost  sheep  of  England.  And  are  there  none  in 
America  They  have  strayed  from  England  into  the 
wild  -woods  here,  and  they  are  running  wild  after  this 
worhl.  They  are  drinking  their  wine  in  bowls,  and 
are  jumping  and  dancing,  and  serving  the  devil,  in 
the  groves  and  under  the  green  trees.  And  are  not 
these  lost  sheep.''  And  will  none  of  the  preachers 
come  here  .'^  Where  is  Mr.  Brownfield  Where  is 
John  Pawson  ?  Where  is  Nicholas  Manners  are 
they  living,  and  will  they  not  come.^" 

Pawson  would  not  go ;  because,  he  said,  he  did 
not  see  that  it  could  he  his  duty  to  leave  his  parents, 
who  were  th'^n  on  the  brink  of  the  grave.  He  follow- 
ed his  heart  in  this,  and  was  right.  Pawson,  indeed, 
was  in  his  proper  sphere;  the  fire  of  enthusiasm  in 
him  had  settled  into  a  steady  vital  heat,  and  there 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


305 


were  younger  men  for  the  work.  Richard  Boardman 
and  Joseph  Pillmoor,  volunteered  at  the  next  Con- 
ference (or  the  service  ;  and,  as  the  New-York  Me- 
thodists had  contracted  a  debt  by  tli^ir  building,  the 
Connexion  sent  them  fifty  pounds  by  these  preachers, 
as  a  token  of  brotherly  love.  They  landed  at  Phila- 
delphia, where  Captain  Webb  had  already  formed  a 
society  of  about  a  hundred  members.  Pillmoor  pro- 
ceeded to  Maryland  and  Virginia,  Boardman  to 
New- York :  both  setit  home  flattering  accounts  of 
their  success,  and  of  the  prospect  before  them  ;  so 
that  Wesley  himself  began  to  think  of  following 
them:  but,"  said  he,  the  way  is  not  plain;  I  wait 
till  Providence  shall  speak  more  clearly  on  one  side 
or  the  other."  In  1771  he  says,  "  my  call  to  America 
is  not  yet  clear.  1  ha\e  no  business  there,  as  long 
as  they  can  do  without  me  :  at  present  I  am  a  debtor 
to  the  people  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  especially 
to  them  that  believe  That  year,  therefore,  he  sent 
over  Richard  Wright  and  Francis  Asbury,  the  latter 
of  whom  proved  not  inferior  to  himself  in  zeal,  ac- 
tivity, and  perseverance.  Asbury  perceived  that 
his  ministry  was  more  needed  in  the  villages  and 
scattered  plantations  than  in  large  towns,  and  he 
therefore  devoted  himself  to  country  service,  fa 
1773,  Thomas  Rankin  and  George  Shadford  were 
sent  to  assist  their  brethren  :  by  this  time  tliey  had 
raised  a  few  recruits  among  the  Americans,  and, 
holding  a  Conferetice  at  Philadelp!>ia,  it  appeared 
by  their  muster-rols,  tliat  there  were  about  a  thou- 
sand members  in  the  different  societies. 

These  preachers  produced  a  considerable  effpct ; 
and  Methodism  would  have  increased  even  morf  ra- 
pidly than  in  Engl  nid,  if  its  progress  had  not  been 
interrupted  by  the  rebellion.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  disputes,  which  led  to  that  unhappy  and  ill- 
managed  contest,  Mr.  Wesley  was  disposed  to  ('oubt 
whether  the  measures  of  government  were  defensi- 
ble :  but  when  the  conduct  of  the  revolutionists  be- 
came more  violent,  and  their  intentions  were  unmask- 
ed, he  saw  good  cause  for  altering  his  opinion,  and 

VOL.  II.  39 


306 


WI^SLEY  S  POLITICAL  CONDUCT. 


published  'A  Calm  Address  to  the  Americans,'  ex- 
amining the  question,  whether  the  English  parlia- 
ment had  power  to  tax  the  colonies.  In  this  little 
pamphlet  he  pursued  the  same  chain  of  reasoning  as 
Dr.  Johnson  had  done,  and  maintained,  that  the  su- 
preme power  in  England  had  a  legal  right  of  lading 
any  tax  upon  them,  for  any  end  beneficial  to  the 
whole  empire.  The  right  of  taxation,  he  argued, 
rested  upon  the  same  ground  as  the  riglit  of  legisla- 
tion :  and  the  popular  argument,  that  every  freeman 
consented  to  the  laws  by  which  he  was  governed, 
was  a  mere  fallacy.  A  very  small  part  of  the  peo- 
ple were  concerned  in  making  laws;  that  business 
could  only  be  done  by  delegation ;  those  who  were 
not  electors  had  manifestly  no  part;  and  of  those 
who  were,  when  their  votes  were  nearly  equally  di- 
vided, the  minority  were  governed,  not  only  without, 
but  against  their  own  conset)t.  So  much  with  regard 
to  the  laws  which  were  enacted  in  their  own  times; 
and  how  could  it  be  said  that  any  man  had  consent- 
ed to  those  which  were  made  before  he  was  born  ? 
In  fact,  consent  to  the  laws  was  purely  passive,  and 
no  other  kind  of  consent  was  allowed  by  the  condi- 
tion of  civil  life.  The  Americans  had  not  forfeited 
the  rights  of  their  forefathers,  but  they  could  no  lon- 
ger exercise  them.  They  were  the  descendants  of 
men  who  either  had  no  votes,  or  who  had  resigned 
them  by  emigration.  They  had,  therefore,  exactly 
what  their  ancestors  left  them  ;  not  a  vote  in  making 
laws,  nor  in  choosing  legislators,  but  the  happiness 
of  being  protected  by  laws,  and  the  duty  of  obeying 
them.  During  the  last  war,  they  had  been  attacked 
by  enemies  whom  they  were  not  able  to  resist;  they 
had  been  largely  assisted,  and,  by  that  means,  wholly 
delivered  :  the  mother-country,  desiring  to  be  reim- 
bursed for  some  part  of  the  great  expense  she  had 
incurred,  laid  on  a  small  tax,  and  this  reasonable  and 
legal  measure  had  set  all  America  in  a  flame.  How 
was  it  possible  that  such  a  cause  should  have  pro- 
duced such  an  effect  ? 

"  1  will  tell  you,"  said  Wesley.  "  I  speak  the  more 
freely,  because  1  am  unbiassed.    I  have  nothing  to 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


307 


hope  or  fear  on  eitlier  side.  I  gain  nothing,  either 
by  the  government  or  by  the  Americans,  and  proba- 
bly never  shall ;  and  I  have  no  prejudice  to  any  man 
in  America :  I  love  you  as  my  brethren  and  coun- 
trymen. My  opinion  is  this :  we  have  a  few  men  in 
England  who  are  determined  enemies  to  monarchy. 
Whether  they  hate  his  present  Majesty  on  any  other 
ground  than  because  he  is  a  king,  I  know  not;  but 
they  cordially  hate  his  office,  and  have  for  some  years 
been  underaiiiiing  it  with  all  diligence,  in  hopes  of 
ereclittg  their  grand  idol,  their  dear  commonwealth, 
upon  its  ruins.  I  believe  they  have  let  very  few  into 
their  design  (although  many  forward  it,  without  know- 
ing any  thing  of  the  matter)  ;  but  they  are  steadily 
pursuing  it,  as  by  various  other  means,  so,  in  particu- 
lar, by  inflammatory  papers,  which  are  industriously 
and  continually  dispersed  throughout  the  towns  and 
country.  By  this  method  they  have  already  wrought 
thousands  of  the  people  even  to  the  pitch  of  mad- 
ness. By  the  same,  only  varied  according  to  your 
circumstances,  they  have  likewise  inflamed  America. 
I  make  no  doubt  but  these  very  men  are  the  original 
cause  of  the  present  breach  between  England  and 
her  colonies.  And  they  are  still  pouring  oil  into  the 
flame,  studiously  incensing  each  against  the  other, 
and  opposing,  under  a  variety  of  pretences,  all  mea- 
sures of  accommodation.  So  that  although  the  Ameri- 
cans, in  general,  love  the  English,  and  the  English,  in 
general,  love  the  Americans,  (all,  I  mean,  that  are 
not  yet  cheated  and  exasperated  by  these  artful  men,) 
yet  the  rupture  is  growing  wider  every  day,  and  none 
can  tell  where  it  can  end.  These  good  men  hope  it 
will  end  in  the  total  defection  of  North  America  from 
England.  If  this  were  effected,  they  trust  the  English 
in  general  would  be  so  irreconcileably  disgusted,  ■ 
that  they  should  be  able,  with  or  without  foreign  as- 
sistance, entirely  to  overturn  the  government." 

Mr.  Wesley  afterwards  perceived,  that  the  class  of 
persons,  whom  he  had  here  supposed  to  be  the  prime 
movers  ol  this  unhappy  contest,  were  only  aiders  and 
abettors,  and  that  the  crisis  had  come  on  from  natu- 
ral causes.  "  I  allow,"  said  he,  "  that  the  Americans 


308 


WESLEV'S   POLITICAL  CONDUCT. 


were  strong;!)'  exhorted,  by  letters  from  EnglamT, 
'  never  to  yield,  or  hy  down  their  arms,  till  they  had 
their  own  terms,  which  the  government  would  be 
ci  ustraintd  to  give  them  in  a  short  time.'  But  those 
measures  were  concerted  long  before  ti  is. — long  be- 
fore either  the  tea-act,  or  the  stamp-act,  existed, 
only  they  were  not  digested  in  form.  Forty  years 
ago,  when  my  brother  was  in  Boston,  it  was  the  ge- 
neral language  there,  '  we  must  shake  off'  the  yoke; 
we  never  shall  be  a  free  people  till  we  shake  off" the 
English  yoke:'  and  the  late  acts  of  parliament  were 
not  the  anise  of  what  they  have  since  done,  hut  bare- 
ly the  occasion  they  laid  hold  on."  That  the  Ameri- 
can revolution  must,  in  great  part,  be  traced  to  the 
pmitanical  origin  of  the  New-England  states,  is  in- 
deed certain;  but  colonies  are  naturally  republican, 
and  when  they  are  far  <lislant,  and  upon  a  large 
scale,  they  tend  necessarily,  as  well  as  naturally,  to 
soparation.  Colonies  will  he  formed  with  a  view  to 
tliis,  wlicn  colonial  policy  shall  be  better  understood. 
It  will  be  acknowledged,  that,  when  protection  is  no 
longer  needed,  depeisdence  ceases  to  be  desirable; 
and  that,  when  a  people  can  maintain  and  defend 
themselves,  they  are  past  their  pupilage. 

This  address  excited  no  little  indignation  among 
some  of  the  English  partisans  of  the  Americans;  and 
it  produced  a  letter  to  Wesley  from  Mr.  Caleb 
Evans,  a  Baptist  minister  at  Bristol,  of  considerable 
reputation  \\\  his  own  community.  Wesley,  who  had 
neither  leisure  nor  inclination  for  controversy,  left 
the  field  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  who  again,  on  this  occa- 
sion, seconded  his  friend  with  great  ability  as  well  as 
zeal.  "  My  reverence  for  God's  word,"  said  this 
good  man,  ''my  duty  to  the  king,  and  regard  for  my 
friend;  my  love  to  injured  truth,  and  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  sw  eet  liberty  which  I  enjoy  under  the  go- 
vernment, call  for  this  little  tribute  of  my  pen;  and 
T  pay  it  so  much  the  more  cheerfully,  as  few  men  in 
the  kingdom  have  had  a  better  opportunity  of  trying 
which  is  most  eligible,  a  republican  government,  or 
the  mild-tempered  monarchy  of  England.  I  lived 
more  than  twenty  years  the  subject  of  two  of  the 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


309 


tnlMest  republics  of  Europe  :  I  have  been,  for  above 
thU  number  o(" years,  the  subject  of  your  sovereign; 
and.  from  sweet  experience,  1  can  set  my  seal  to  this 
clause  of  tlie  king's  speech,  at  the  opening  of  this 
session  of  parliament,  '  to  be  a  subject  ol"  Great  Bri- 
tain, with  al!  its  consequences,  is  to  be  the  happiest 
subject  of  any  civil  government  in  the  world.'" 

Mr.  Fletcher  was  no  common  controversialist: 
earnest  sincerity,  and  devout  ardour,  were  not  more 
conspicuous  in  his  writings,  than  the  benevolence 
which  appeared  when  he  argued  with  most  force  and 
warmth,  and  the  pure  candour,  and  religious  charity, 
which  even  his  theological  opponents  felt  and  ac- 
knowledged. He,  as  well  as  Mr.  Wesley,  saw  dis- 
tinctly in  what  the  principles  of  the  American  con- 
test began,  and  in  what  they  were  likely  to  end. — 
"  If  once  legislation,"  he  said,  with  Baxter,  "  (the 
chief  act  of  government)  be  denied  to  be  any  part 
of  goveriiment  at  all,  and  affirmed  to  belong  to  the 
people  such,  who  are  no  governors,  all  government 
will  thereby  be  overthrown.  Give  me,"  he  truly  said, 
''Dr.  Price's  political  principles,  and  I  will  move  all 
kings  out  of  their  thrones,  and  all  subjection  out  of 
the  world."  He  rested  the  question  upon  religious 
grounds,  and,  on  those  grounds,  argued  against  civil, 
as  he  had  formerly  done  against  ecclesiastical,  Anti- 
nomianism.  The  transition  from  one  to  the  other,  he 
said,  was  easy  and  obvious  ;  for,  as  he  that  reve- 
rences the  law  of  God,  will  naturally  reverence  the 
just  commands  of  the  king,  so  he  that  thinks  himself 
free  from  the  law  of  the  Lord,  will  hardly  think  him- 
self bound  by  tlie  statutes  of  his  sovereign.  He 
traced  the  pestilent  errors  which  were  now  again  * 

*  "  All  our  danger  at  present,"  said  he,  "  is  from  King  Mob  ;  and 
(pursuing  Mr.  Wesley's  view  of  the  subject)  this  danger  is  so  much  the 
greater,  as  some  dissenters  among  us,  who  were  quiet  in  the  late  reign, 
and  thought  themselves  happy  under  the  protection  of  the  foleration- 
act,  grow  restless,  begin  openly  to  countenance  their  dissatisfied  breth- 
ren in  America,  and  make  it  a  point  of  conscience  to  foment  divisions  in 
the  kingdom.  Whether  they  do  it  merely  from  a  brotherly  regard  to 
the  colonists,  who  chiefly  worship  God  according  to  the  dissenting  plan, 
or  whether  they  hope  that  a  revolution  on  the  continent  would  be  na- 
turally productive  of  a  revolution  in  England  ;  that  a  revolution  in  the 
state  here  would  draw  after  it  a  revolution  in  the  church ;  and  that  if 


310 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


beginning  to  prevail,  after  having,  for  more  than  a 
century,  been  subdued,  to  those  seeds  which  had 
sprung  up  with  the  Lollards,  and  brought  forth  their 
full  harvest  at  Munster.  He  prest  upon  his  oppo- 
nent, as  a  Christian,  those  texts  of  Scripture  which 
enjoin  the  duty  of  submission  to  established  authori- 
ties ;  and,  as  a  Calvinist,  the  articles  of  Calvin's  con- 
fession of  faith,  wherein  that  duty  is  expressly  recog- 
nized. "  We  believe  that  God  will  have  the  world 
to  be  governed  by  laws  and  civil  powers,  that  the 
lawless  inclinations  of  men  may  be  curbed  ;  and 
therefore  he  has  established  kingdoms  and  republics, 
and  other  sorts  of  governments,  (some  hereditary, 
and  some  otherwise,)  together  with  whatsoever  be- 
longs to  judicature;  and  He  will  be  acknowledged 
the  author  of  government.  We  ought,  then,  not  only 
to  bear,  for  his  sake,  that  rulers  should  have  dominion 
over  us,  but  it  is  also  our  bounden  duty  to  honour 
them,  and  to  esteem  them  worthy  of  all  reverence, 
considering  them  as  God's  lieutenants  and  officers, 
which  He  has  commissioned  to  execute  a  lawful  and 
holy  commission.  We  maintain,  therefore,  that  we 
are  bound  to  obey  their  laws  and  statutes,  to  pay  tri- 
bute, taxes,  and  other  duties,  and  to  bear  the  yoke 
of  subjection  freely  and  with  good  will ;  and,  there- 
fore, we  detest  the  men  who  reject  superiorities,  in- 
troduce community  and  confusion  of  property,  and 
overthrow  the  order  of  justice. — Sir,"  he  continued, 
applying  the  argumentum  ad  hominem  to  his  opponent, 
"you  are  a  Calvinist ;  you  follow  the  French  refor- 
mer, when  he  teaches  the  absolute  reprobation,  and 
unavoidable  damnation,  of  myriads  of  poor  creatures 
yet  unborn.  Oh,  forsake  him  not  when  he  follows 
Christ,  and  teaches  that  God  (not  the  people)  is  to  be 


the  Church  of  England  were  once  shaken,  the  dissenting  churches  among 
us  mi(i;ht  raise  themselves  upon  her  ruins ; — whether,  I  say,  there  is 
something  of  this  under  the  cry  of  slavery  and  robbery  which  you  set 
lip,  is  a  question  (addressing  himself  to  Mr-  Caleb  Evans)  which,  I  said, 
in  the  preceding  editions,  you  could  determine  far  better  than  I:  but 
now  I  recall  it,  because,  though  I  may  consider  that  part  of  the  contro- 
versy in  that  unfavourable  light,  as  2l  politician,  yet,  as  a  Chmtian,  I 
ought  to  think  and  hope  the  best." 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


311 


acknowledged  the  author  of  power  and  government, 
and  that  we  are  bound  to  bear  cheerfully,  for  his 
sake,  the  yoke  of  scriptural  subjection  to  our  gover- 
nors !  Be  entreated,  Sir,  to  rectify  your  false  notions 
of  liberty.  The  liberty  of  Christians  and  Britons 
does  not  consist  in  bearing  no  yoke,  but  in  bearing  a 
yoke  made  easy  by  a  gracious  Saviour  and  a  gracious 
sovereign.  A  John  of  Leyden  may  promise  to  make 
us  first  lawless,  then  legislators  and  kings ;  and,  by 
his  delusive  promises,  he  may  raise  us  to — a  fool's 
paradise,  if  not  to — the  gallows.  13ut  a  true  deli- 
verer, and  a  good  governor,  says  to  our  restless  An- 
tinomian  spirits.  Come  unto  me,  and  I  will  give  you  rest! 
For  my  yoke  is  easy^  and  my  burden  is  light.  We  can 
have  no  rest  in  the  church  but  under  Christ's  easy- 
yoke  ;  no  rest  in  the  state,  but  under  the  easy  yoke 
of  our  rightful  sovereign." 

The  political  part  which  Wesley  took  at  this  time 
made  him  as  many  enemies  as  his  decided  opposition 
to  Calvinism  had  done ;  and  even  some  of  his  adhe- 
rents and  admirers,  who,  in  all  other  things,  have 
justified  him  through  thick  and  thin,  have  censured 
him  as  if  he  had  gone  out  of  the  line  of  his  duty, 
acted  unwisely  in  meddling  with  political  disputes, 
and  taken  the  wrong  side.  To  the  question,  why  he 
had  written  upon  such  subjects,  he  made  answer, 
"  Not  to  get  money  :  not  to  get  preferment  for  myself 
or  my  brother's  children  :  not  to  please  any  man 
living,  high  or  low.  I  know  mankind  too  well.  I 
know  they  that  love  you  for  political  service,  love 
you  less  than  their  dinners;  and  they  who  hate  you, 
hate  you  worse  than  the  devil."  It  was  from  the 
clear  and  strong  sense  of  duty  that  he  acted,  and 
it  is  not  the  least  of  his  merits,  that  he  was  one  of 
the  first  persons  to  expose  the  fallacy,  and  foresee 
the  consequences  of  those  j)olitical  principles  which 
were  then  beginning  to  convulse  the  world.  Their 
natural  tendency,  he  said,  was  to  unhinge  all  go- 
vernment, and  to  plunge  every  nation  into  total 
anarchy.  In  his  Observations  on  Liberty,  address- 
ed to  Dr.  Price,  in  answer  to  a  pamphlet  of  the 
Doctor's,  which  did  its  share  of  mischief  in  its 


312 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


day,  he  contradicted,  upon  liis  own  sure  *  obser- 
vation, the  Doctor's  absurd  assertion,  that  the 
population  of  the  cou))try  had  greatly  decreased  ? 
he  commented  upon  the  encouraojement  which  was 
held  out  to  the  Americans  in  that  pamphlet,  and 
upon  the  accusations  which  were  there  advanced, 
that  the  British  government  had  secured  to  the  Ca- 
nadians the  enjoyment  of  their  own  laws  and  their 
own  religion,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  up  from 
thence  an  army  of  French  Papists, — for  Dr.  Price 
had  not  been  ashamed  to  bring  this  charge  against 
his  country  !  In  opposilioti  to  the  Doctor's  position, 
that  liberty  is  more  or  less  complete,  according  as 
the  people  have  more  or  less  share  in  the  govern- 
ment, he  contended,  and  apppaled  to  history  for  the 
fact,  that  the  greater  share  the  people  have  in  the 
government,  tlie  less  liberty,  eilher  civil  or  religious, 
does  the  nation  in  general  enjoy.  "  Accordingly," 
said  he,  "  there  is  most  liberty  of  all,  civil  and  reli- 
gious, under  a  limited  monarchy,  there  is  usually  less 
Uiider  an  aristocracy,  and  least  of  all  under  a  demo- 
cracy. The  plain  melancholy  truth,"  said  he,  "  is 
this;  there  is  a  general  infatuation,  which  spreads, 
like  an  overflowing  stream,  from  one  end  of  the  land 

*  "  I  kneio  the  contrary,"  said  Wesley,  "  having  an  opportunity  of  see- 
ing ten  tirat'S  more  of  Eiislarid  every  year  than  most  men  in  the  nation. 
All  our  manufacturing  towns,  as  Birmingham,  Sheffield,  Manchester,  Li- 
verpool, increase  daily.  o  do  very  many  ^  ilhlg^■s  ail  over  the  kingdom, 
even  in  the  mountains  of  Derbyshire;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  exceeding 
few,  either  towns  or  villages,  decrease." 

"Dr  Price,"  says  Mr.  Coleridge,  in  his  Friend,  "almost  succeeded 
in  persuading  the  English  nation — (for  it  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  fancy 
of  our  calamitous  situation  is  a  sort  of  necessary  sauce,  without  which 
our  real  prosperity  would  become  insipid  to  us) — Dr.  Price,  I  say, 
alarmed  the  country  with  pretended  proofs  that  the  i.sland  was  in  a  rajiid 
state  of  di'population  ;  that  England  at  the  Revolution  had  been.  Hea- 
ven knows  how  much  more  populous ;  and  that,  in  Queen  Elizabeth's 
time,  ortibout  the  Reformation  (!  !  !),  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  Eng- 
land might  have  been  greater  than  even  at  the  Revolution.  IMy  old 
mathematical  master,  a  man  of  an  uncommonly  clear  head,  answered 
this  blundering  book  of  the  worthy  Doctor's,  and  left  not  a  stone  un- 
turned of  the  pompous  cenotaph,  in  which  the  etiigy  of  the  still  living 
and  bustling  English  prosperity  lay  interred  And  yet  so  much  more 
suitable  was  the  Doctor's  book  to  the  purposes  of  faction,  and  to  the 
November  mood  of  (what  is  called)  the  Public,  that  Mr.  W  .les's pam- 
phliit,  though  a  master  piece  of  perspicacity  as  well  as  perspicuity,  was 
scarcely  heard  of."    Vol.  ii.  p.  72. 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


313 


to  the  other.  The  people  of  England  have,  for  some 
years  past,  been  continually  fed  with  poison  :  dose 
after  dose  has  been  administered  to  them,  for  fear 
the  first,  or  second,  or  tenth  should  not  suffice,  of  a 
poison,  whose  natural  effect  is  to  drive  men  out  of 
iheir  senses.  Is  the  Centaur  not  fabulous?  neither 
is  Circe's  cup.  Papers  and  pamphlets,  representing 
one  of  the  best  of  princes  as  if  he  had  been  one  of 
the  worst. — and  all  aiming  at  the  same  point,  to 
make  the  king  appear  odious,  as  well  as  contempti- 
l)le,  in  the  eyes  of  his  subjects,  are  conveyed,  week 
after  week,  through  all  London,  and  all  the  nation. 
Can  any  man  wonder  at  the  ctfect  ?  What  can  be 
expected,  but  that  t!  ey  who  drink  in  these  papers 
and  letters,  with  all  greediness,  will  be  thoroughly 
embittered  and  inflamed  thereby;  will  first  despise, 
and  then  abhor  the  king?  What  can  be  expected 
but  that,  by  the  repeated  doses  of  this  poison,  they 
will  be  perfectly  intoxicated,  and  only  wait  for  a 
convenient  season  to  tear  in  pieces  the  royal  mon- 
ster, as  they  think  him,  and  all  his  adherents  !  Can 
any  thing  be  done  to  open  the  eyes,  to  restore  the 
senses  of  an  infatuated  nation?  Not  unless  (he  still 
renewed,  still  operating  cause  of  that  infatuation  can 
be  removed.  But  how  is  it  possible  to  be  removed, 
unless  by  restraining  the  licentiousness  of  the  press?" 
— "  I  am  in  great  earnest,"  he  says,  in  another  place  : 
so  I  have  need  to  be  ;  for  I  am  pleading  the  cause 
of  my  king  and  country,  yea,  of  every  country  under 
heaven  where  there  is  any  regular  government.  I 
am  pleading  against  those  principles  that  naturally 
tend  to  anarchy  and  confusion,  that  directly  tend  to 
unhinge  all  government,  and  overturn  it  from  the 
foundation." 

Forty  thousand  copies  of  the  Calm  Address  were 
printed  in  three  weeks ;  it  was  written  before  the 
war  had  actually  began,  and  excited  so  much  anger 
among  the  English  friends  of  the  American  cause, 
that,  as  he  said,  they  would  willingly  have  burnt 
him  and  it  together.  But  though  Wesley  maintained 
that,  when  the  principles  of  order  and  lesritimate 
government  were  seditiously  attacked,  it  was  the 

VOL.  II.  40 


314 


Wesley's  political  conduct. 


duty  of  every  Christian  minister  to  exert  himself  in 
opposing  the  evil  spirit  of  the  times,  he  saw  how  im- 
prudent it  would  be  for  his  preacliers  in  America  to 
engage  in  political  matters.  It  is  your  part,"  said 
he,  "  to  be  peace-makers;  to  be  lovitig  and  tender 
to  all.  but  to  addict  yourselves  to  no  party.  In  spite 
of  all  solicitations,  of  rough  or  smooth  words,  say 
not  one  word  against  one  or  the  other  side ;  keep 
yourselves  pure;  do  all  you  can  to  help  and  soften 
all ;  but  '  beware  how  you  adopt  another's  jar.'  " 
In  the  same  spiiit  Charles  Wesley  wrote  to  them, 
.saying,  As  to  the  public  affliirs,  I  wish  you  to  be 
like-minded  with  me.  I  am  of  neither  side,  and  yet 
of  both  :  on  the  side  of  New  England,  and  of  Old. 
Private  Christians  are  excused,  exempted,  privileged 
to  take  no  part  in  civil  troubles.  We  love  all,  and 
pray  for  all,  with  a  sincere  and  impartial  love.  Faults 
there  may  be  on  both  sides,  but  such  as  neither  you 
nor  I  can  remedy  ;  therefoi'e  let  us,  and  all  our  chil- 
dren, give  ourselves  unto  prayer,  and  so  stand  still 
and  see  the  salvation  of  God."  It  was  scarcely 
possible  for  the  preachers  to  follow  this  advice; 
it  was  scarcely  possible  that  they  could  relrain 
from  expressing  their  opinions  upon  the  one  sub- 
ject by  which  all  minds  were  possessed  and  in- 
flamed, excited,  as  they  constantly  were,  by  sym- 
pathy or  provocation.  Such,  indeed,  was  the 
temper  of  the  Americans,  that  a  friend  to  the  Me- 
tho(lists  got  possession  of  all  the  copies  of  the  Calm 
Address  which  were  sent  to  New-York,  and  destroy- 
ed them,  foreseeing  the  imminent  danger  to  which 
the  preachers  would  be  exposed,  if  a  pamphlet  so 
unpopular  in  its  doctrines  should  get  abroad.  But 
the  part  which  VVesley  had  taken  could  not  be  kept 
secret;  the  Metliodists,  in  consequence,  became  ob- 
j'^cts  of  suspicion,  and  the  personal  safety  of  the 
preachers  was  oftentimes  endangered.  Tarring  and 
fe  ithering  was  not  the  only  cruelty  to  which  they 
were  exposed  in  those  days  of  brutal  violence.  The 
English  missionaries  were  at  length  gl  ul  to  escape 
as  they  could  :  Asbury  alone  remaitied  :  he  was  less 
obnoxious  than  his  colleagues,  because,  having  cho- 


METHODISM  IX  AMERICA. 


315 


Ben  the  less  frequented  parts  of  the  country  for  the 
scene  of  his  exertions,  he  had  been  less  conspicuous, 
and  less  exposed  to  provocation  and  to  danger.  Yet 
even  he  found  it  necessary  to  withdraw  from  public 
view,  and  conceal  himself  in  the  house  of  a  friend, 
till,  after  two  years  of  this  confinement,  he  obtained 
credentials  from  the  governor  of  Pennsylvani  a,  which 
enabiod  him  to  appear  abroad  again  with  safety. 

Methodism,  meantime,  had  been  kept  alive  by  a 
few  native  preachers,  of  whom  Freeborn  Garretson, 
and  Benjamin  Abbot,  a  strange  half-madman,  were 
two  of  the  most  remarkable.  It  even  increased,  not- 
withstanding all  dirficulties,  and  something  much 
more  like  persecution  than  it  had  ever  undergone  in 
England,  in  the  year  1777,  there  were  forty  preach- 
ers, and  about  70<)()  members,  exclusive  of  negroes. 
The  Society,  however,  as  the  war  continued,  was  in 
danger  of  being  broken  up,  by  a  curious  species  of 
intolerance,  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen. — 
The  prevailing  religion  in  the  southern  states  had 
been  that  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  but  the  clergy 
were  driven  away  during  the  troubles,  the  whole  of 
the  church  property  was  confiscated  ;  and,  when  af- 
fairs were  settled,  none  of  it  was  restored.  an<l  no  at- 
tempt made,  either  by  tlie  general  or  provincial  go- 
vernments, to  substitute  any  kind  of  religious  instruc- 
tion, in  place  of  the  Establishment  which  had  been 
destroyed!  The  iVIethodists  had  hilherto  been  mem- 
bers of  the  English  Church,  but,  upon  the  compul- 
sory emigration  of  the  clergy,  they  found  themselves 
deprived  of  the  sacraments,  and  couhl  obtain  no 
baptism  for  their  children  ;  for  neither  the  Presbyte- 
rians, the  Independents,  or  Baptists,  would  adminis- 
ter these  ordinances  to  them,  unless  they  would  re- 
nounce their  cotuiexion  with  Mr.  Wesley,  and  join 
with  their  resprctive  sects. 

Before  the  dispute  between  the  mother  country 
and  the  colonies  assumed  a  serious  character,  and 
before  any  apprehension  of  separation  was  entertain- 
ed on  the  one  side,  or  any  intention  to  that  eflR^et  was 
avowed  on  the  otiier,  the  heads  of  the  Church  in 
England  had  represented  to  government,  how  greatly 


316 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


it  would  conduce  to  the  interest  of  reli^jion  in  Ameri- 
ca, if  a  bishop  were  appointed  there.  This  judicious 
representation  was  unsuccessful ;  for  the  ministers^ 
who  were  but  too  bold  in  trying  experiments  of  an- 
other kind  with  the  colonists,  thought  it  better  to  let 
religious  affairs  remain  as  they  were,  than  to  intro- 
duce any  innovation.  If  this  had  been  done  half  a 
century  earlier,  as  soon  as  the  population  of  the 
country  required  it,  it  would  have  been  highly  bene- 
ficial to  America;  part  of  the  hierarchy  would  have 
submitted  to,  or  taken  part  in  the  revolution,  and 
thus  a  religious  establishment  might  have  been  pre- 
served in  those  parts  of  the  United  States,  where  the 
want  of  religious  instruction  is  severely  *  felt.  The 
ill  consequences  of  an  omission,  which,  whether  mo- 
rally or  politically  considered,  is  equally  to  be  con- 
demned, were  now  experienced.  Two  American 
youths,  after  the  peace,  came  to  England,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  episcopal  ordination  :  but  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  of  opinion,  that  no 
English  bishop  could  ordain  them,  urdess  they  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  which  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  do.  They  then  applied  for  aavice  and  as- 
sistance to  Dr.  Franklin,  who  was  at  that  time  in 
France.  Upon  consulting  a  French  clergyman,  he 
found  that  they  could  not  be  ordained  in  France,  un- 
less they  vowed  obedience  to  the  Archbishop  of  Pa- 
ris ;  and  the  nuncio,  whom  he  consulted  also,  inform- 
ed him  that  the  Romish  bishop  in  America  could  not 
lay  hands  on  them  unless  they  turned  Catholics. — 
The  advice,  therefore,  which  they  received  from  a 
man  like  Franklin,  may  easily  be  conjectured  ; — it 
was,  that  the  Episcopalian  clergy  in  America  should 
become  Presbyterians  ;  or,  if  they  would  not  consent 
to  this,  that  they  should  elect  a  bishop  for  them- 
selves. 

*  I  have  somewhere  seen  it  stafod,  that,  in  the  larj^e  town  of  Rich- 
mond, there  was  no  place  of  worship,  till  the  theatre  took  fire,  and  some 
fourscore  persons  perished  in  the  flames.  Then  the  peopU-  took  frig,ht,, 
and  built  a  church  upon  the  ruins.  A  lady,  who  published  an  account, 
in  verse,  of  her  residence  in  the  southern  states,  describes,  with  much 
feeling,  her  emotion  at  hearing  a  church  clock  when  sfie  returned  to  her 
own  country :  "  A  sound,"  siic  says,  "  I  had  not  heard  for  years." 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


317 


This  latter  course  some  of  the  American  Metho- 
dists had  already  adopted.  Finding;  themselves  »lc- 
prived  of  communion,  and  their  cl)ildren  of  baptism, 
they  applied  to  Asbury,  whom  they  regarded  as  their 
bead,  to  adopt  some  means  of  providing  for  these  or- 
dinances. Asbury  knew  not  how  to  act,  and  advised 
them  to  wait  till  circumstances  should  prepare  the 
way  for  what  they  wished.  It  was  not  likely  that 
they  should  follow  this  advice.  l:5rcakiiig  off  their 
connexion  with  him,  and  thereby  wilh  Mr.  Wesley, 
they  elected  three  of  their  elder  brethren  to  ordain 
others  by  imposition  of  hands.  Asbury,  however, 
retained  so  much  influence,  that,  at  a  subsequent 
conference,  this  ordination  was  declared  to  he  un- 
scriptural.  The  schism  was  healed  just  as  the  peace 
was  made;  and,  as  soon  as  a  communication  was 
opened  with  England,  he  sent  a  representation  of  the 
case  to  Wesley.  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  convinced, 
by  the  perusal  ol  Lord  King's  Account  of  the  Primi- 
tive Church,  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  the 
same  order.  Men  are  sometimes  easily  convinced  of 
what  they  find  it  convenient  or  agreeable  to  believe. 
Regarding  the  apostolical  succession  as  a  fable,  he 
tliought,  when  this  application  from  America  arrived, 
that  the  best  thing  which  he  could  do  would  be  to 
secure  the  Wesleyan  succession  for  the  United 
States. 

This  step,  how  ever,  was  not  taken  without  some  de- 
mur, and  a  feeling  that  it  required  some  justification 
to  himself,  as  well  as  to  the  world.  It  appears  that 
some  of  his  friends  advised  an  application  to  the 
bishops,  requesting  them  to  ord.iin  preachers  for 
America.  Wesley  was  not  aware  of  the  legal  im- 
pediment to  this ;  but  he  replied,  that,  on  a  former 
application  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  his  request  had 
been  unsuccessful  :  that,  if  the  bishops  would  con- 
sent, their  proceedings  were  notoriously  slow,  and 
this  matter  admitted  of  no  delay.  "  If  they  would 
ordain  them  now,"  he  continued,  "they  would  ex- 
pect to  govern  them  ;  and  how  grievously  would  this 
entangle  us !  As  our  An^erican  brethren  are  now 
totally  disentangled,  both  from  the  state  and  the  Eng- 


318 


METHODlSai  IN  AMERICA. 


lish  hierarchy,  we  dare  not  entangle  them  again, 
either  with  the  one  or  the  other.  ')  hey  are  now  at 
full  hheriy  simply  to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the 
primitive  church  ;  and  we  judge  it  best  that  they 
should  stand  fist  in  that  liberty  wherewith  God  has 
so  strangely  made  them  free."  Having,  therefore, 
determined  how  to  act,  he  communicated  his  deter- 
mination to  Dr.  Coke,  and  proposed,  in  his  charac- 
ter of  presbyter,  which,  he  said,  was  the  same  as 
bishop,  to  invest  liim  with  the  same  preshytero-ef)is- 
copal  powers,  that,  in  that  character,  he  might  pro- 
ceed to  America,  and  superintend  the  societies  in  the 
United  States.  The  doubts  which  Dr.  Coke  enter- 
tained as  to  the  validity  of  Mr.  Wesley's  authority, 
were  removed  by  the  same  treatise  which  had  con- 
vinced Mr.  Wesley  ;  and  it  seems  not  to  have  oc- 
curred, to  either  the  one  or  the  other,  that,  if  pres- 
byter and  bishop  were  the  same  order,  the  proposed 
consecration  was  useless  ;  for.  Dr.  Coke  having  been 
regularly  ordained,  was  as  good  a  bishop  as  Mr. 
Wesley  himself 

Having,  however,  taken  his  part,  he  stated  the 
reasons  upon  which  he  had  acted  with  his  wonted 
perspicuity.  "  By  a  very  uncommon  train  of  Provi- 
dences," he  said,  "  many  of  the  provinces  of  North 
America  are  totally  disjoined  from  the  mother  coun- 
try, and  erected  into  independent  states.  The  Eng- 
lish government  has  no  authority  over  them,  either 
civi!  or  ecclesiastical,  any  more  than  over  the  States 
of  Holland.  A  civil  authority  is  exercised  over  them, 
partly  by  the  congress,  partly  by  the  provincial  as- 
semblies;  but  no  one  either  exercises  or  claims  any 
ecclesiastical  authority  at  all.  In  this  peculiar  situa- 
tion, some  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of  these 
states  desire  my  advice."  Then  asserting  his  opinion, 
that  bishops  and  presbyters  were  the  same  order, 
and.  consequently,  had  the  same  right  to  ordain,  he 
said  that,  for  many  years,  he  had  been  importuned, 
from  time  to  time,  to  exercise  this  right,  by  ordaining 
part  of  the  travelling  preacliers,  and  that  he  had  still 
refused,  for  peace-sake,  and  because  lie  was  deter- 
mined, as  little  as  possible,  to  violate  the  established 


Methodism  in  America. 


order  of  the  national  church  to  which  he  belonged. 
"  But  the  case,"  he  pursued,  "  is  w  idely  diHerent 
between  England  and  North  America.  Here  there 
are  bishops  who  have  a  legal  jurisdiction.  In  Ame- 
rica there  are  none,  neither  any  parish  ministers;  so 
that,  for  some  hundreds  of"  miles  togetlier,  there  is 
none  either  to  baptize,  or  to  administer  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Here,  theretbre,  my  scruples  are  at  an  end  ; 
and  I  conceive  myseli  at  full  liberty,  as  I  violate  no 
order,  and  invade  no  man's  right,  by  appointing  and 
sending  labourers  into  the  harvest." 

Accordingly,  he  summoned  Dr.  Coke  to  Bristol, 
and  Mr.  Creighlon  with  him,  a  clergyman  who  had 
become  a  regular  member  of  the  Methodist  Con- 
nexion. With  their  assistance  he  ordained  Richard 
Whatcoat  and  Thomas  V  asey,  presbyters  for  Ame- 
rica;  and  afterwards  he  ordained  Dr.  Coke  superin- 
tendent. Some  reason  might  have  been  expected 
why  he  thought  this  second  ordination  necessary, 
superintendent  being  but  another  word  for  bishop; 
and  why  he  thus  practically  contradicted  the  very 
principle  upon  which  he  professed  to  act.  Not  stop- 
ping to  discuss  such  niceties,  he  gave  the  Doctor  let- 
ters of  ordination,  under  his  hand  and  seal,  in  these 
Avords:  "To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come, 
•John  Wesley,  late  Fellow  of  Liiicoln  College,  in 
Oxford,  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  send- 
eth  greeting :  Whereas  many  of  the  people  in  the 
soutliern  provices  of  North  America,  who  desire  to 
continue  under  my  care,  and  still  adhere  to^  the  doc- 
trine and  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England,  are 
greatly  distressed  for  want  of  ministers  to  adminis- 
ter the  Sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, according  to  the  usage  of  the  same  church;  and 
whereas  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  other  way 
of  supplying  them  with  ministers, — Know  all  men, 
that  I,  John  Wesley,  think  myself  to  be  providentially 
called,  at  this  time,  to  set  apart  some  persons  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry  in  America.  And  therefore, 
under  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  and  with  a 
single  eye  to  his  glory,  I  have  this  day  act  apart,  as 
a  Superintendent,  by  the  imposition  of  my  hands  and 


320 


METHODISM   IN  AMEIUCA. 


prayer,  (being  assisted  by  other  ordained  ministers,) 
Thomas  Coke,  Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  a  Presbyter  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  a  man  whom  I  judge  to 
be  well  qualified  for  that  great  work  :  and  1  do  here- 
by recommend  him,  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  as 
a  fit  person  to  presi<le  over  the  fiock  of  Christ. — In 
testimony  whereof,  1  have  hereunto  set  my  band  and 
seal,  this  second  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hurjdred  and  eighty- 
four.    John  Wicsley." 

Wesley  had  long  deceived  himself  respecting  the 
part  which  he  was  acting  toward  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. At  the  outset  of  his  career  he  had  no  inten- 
tion of  setting  himself  up  in  opposition  to  it;  and 
when,  in  his  progress  towards  schism,  he  disregard- 
ed its  forms,  and  set  its  discipline  at  nought,  he  still 
repeatedly  disclaimed  all  views  of  separation.' — 
Nor  did  he  ever  avow  the  wish,  or  refer  to  It  as  a 
likely  event,  with  complacency,  even  when  he  must 
have  perceived  that  the  course  of  his  conduct,  and 
the  temper  of  his  followers,  rendered  it  inevitable. 
On  this  occasion  his  actions  spoke  for  him ;  by  ar- 
rogating the  episcopal  authority,  he  took  the  only 
slep  which  was  wanting  to  form  the  Methodists 
into  a  distinct  body  of  separatists  from  the  Church. 
Nevertheless,  this  was  not  done  without  reluctance, 
arising  from  old  and  rooted  feelings ;  nor  without 
some  degree  of  shame,  perhaps,  for  the  inconsisten- 
cies in  wliich  he  had  involved  himself  From  the  part 
which  he  now  took,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  at- 
tempted to  justify  it,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the 
story  of  his  applying  to  the  Greek  bishop  for  conse- 
cration is  well  founded,  notwithstanding  the  false- 
hoods v\  hich  his  enemies  had  added  to  the  simple 
flict.  Mr.  Wesley's  declared  opinion  respectitig  the 
ideiitity  of  the  episcopal  and  priestly  orders,  was 
contradicted  by  his  own  conduct ;  and  it  may  be  sus- 
pected, that  his  opinion  upon  the  apostolical  succes- 
sion rested  on  no  better  ground  than  its  convenience 
to  his  immediate  purpose.  Undoubtedly,  as  he 
says,  it  is  not  possible  to  prove  the  apostolical  suc- 
cession; but, short  of  that  absolute  proof,  which,in  this 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


321 


case,  cannot  be  obtained,  and  therefore  ought  not  to 
be  demanded,  there  is  every  reason  for  believing  it. 
No  person  who  fairly  considers  the  question  can 
doubt  this,  whatever  value  he  may  attach  to  it. 
But  Wesley  knew  its  value.  He  was  neither  so  de- 
ficient in  feeling,  or  in  sagacity,  as  not  to  know,  that 
the  sentiment  which  connects  us  with  other  ages,  and 
by  which  we  are  carried  back,  is  scarcely  less  useful 
in  its  influeoces  than  the  hopes  by  which  we  are  car- 
ried forward  He  would  rather  have  been  a  link  of 
the  golden  chain,  than  the  ring  from  whence  a  new 
one  of  inferior  metal  was  to  proceed. 

Charle-o  Wesley  disapproved  his  brother's  conduct 
on  this  occasion,  as  an  unwarrantable  assumption  of 
authority,  and  as  inconsistent  with  his  professed  ad- 
herence to  the  Church  of  England.  His  approba- 
tion could  never  be  indifferent  to  John,  whose  for- 
tunes he  had,  during  so  many  years,  faithfully  shar- 
ed, for  honour  and  for  dishonour,  for  better,  for 
worse.  But  Dr.  Coke  had  now  succeeded  to  the 
place  in  Methodism  from  which  Charles  had  retired, 
and  in  him  Mr.  Wesley  fouiid  that  willing  and  impli- 
cit obedience,  which  is  the  first  qualification  th  it  the 
founders  of  a  sect,  an  ordf  r,  or  a  religion,  require 
from  their  immediate  disciples.  The  new  superin- 
tendent, with  his  companions,  sailed  from  Bristol  for 
New- York.  Among  the  books  which  he  read  on  the 
voyage,  was  the  Life  of  St.  F rancis  Xavier.  Through 
all  the  exaggerations  and  fibles  with  which  that  life 
is  larded.  Coke  perceived  the  spirit  of  the  man.  and 
exclaimed  with  kindred  feeling,  ''Oh  for  a  soul  like 
his!  But,  glory  be  to  God,  there  is  nothing  impossi- 
ble with  Him.  1  seem  to  want  the  wings  of  an  ea- 
gle, and  the  voice  of  a  trumpet,  that  I  may  proclaim 
the  Gospel  through  the  east  and  tlie  west,  and  the 
north  and  the  south." 

Asbury  was  not  at  New- York  when  they  arrived. 
Dr.  Coke  explained  the  plan  which  had  been  arrang- 
ed in  England,  fo  the  travelling  preachers  who  were 
stationed  in  that  city,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
hearifig,  not  only  that  such  a  plan  would  be  highly 
approved  by  all  the  preachers,  but  of  being  desired 

VOL.  II.  11 


322 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


to  make  it  public  at  once,  "  because  Mr.  Wesley 
had  determined  the  point,  and  therefore  it  was  not 
to  be  investigated,  but  complied  with."  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  done,  because  it  would  have  been  dis- 
respectful to  Mr.  Asbury,  with  whom  he  was  instruct- 
ed to  consult,  and  act  in  concert.  On  his  way  south- 
ward to  meet  him,  Dr.  Coke  found  that  Methodism 
was  in  good  odour  in  America.  He  was  introduced 
to  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania;  and,  at  an  inn  in 
the  state  of  Delaware,  the  landlady,  though  not  a 
Methodist  herself,  entertained  him  and  his  compan- 
ion sumptuously,  and  would  not  receive  their  money ; 
esteeming  it  an  honour  to  have  harl»oured  such 
guests.  When  he  had  finished  preaching  one  day, 
at  a  chapel  in  this  state;  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  to 
a  large  congregation,  a  plain  robust  man  came  up  to 
him  in  the  pulpit,  and  kissed  him,  pronouncing,  at 
the  same  time,  a  primitive  salutation.  This  person, 
as  he  readily  supposed,  proved  to  Tie  his  colleague. 
Dr.  Coke  was  prepared  to  esteem  him,  and  a  per- 
sonal acquaintance  confirmed  this  opinion.  "I  ex- 
ceedingly reverence  Mr.  Asbury,"  he  says,  "he  has 
so  much  wisdom  and  consideration,  so  much  meek- 
ness and  love,  and,  under  all  this,  though  hardly  to 
be  perceived,  so  much  command  and  authority." 

Asbury,  expecting  to  meet  Dr.  Coke  in  this  part  of 
the  country,  had  collected  as  many  preachers  as  he 
could  to  hold  a  council.  They  agreed  to  convoke  a 
Conference  of  all  the  preachers  at  Baltimore,  on 
Christmas  eve,  and  Freeborn  Garretson  was  sent  off 
on  this  errand,  "  like  an  arrow,  from  north  to  south," 
with  directions  to  send  messengers  to  the  right  and 
left.  This  was  in  the  middle  of  November  ;  and, 
that  Coke  might  not  be  idle  in  the  meantime,  Asbu- 
ry drew  up  for  him  a  route  of  about  a  thousand 
miles,  borrowed  a  good  horse,  and  gave  him,  for  a 
guide  and  assistant,  his  black,  Harry,  of  whom  the 
Doctor  says,  "  I  really  believe  he  is  one  of  the 
best  preachers  in  the  world,  there  is  such  an  amaz- 
ing power  attends  his  preaching,  though  he  cannot 
read  ;  and  he  is  one  of  tlie  humblest  creatures  I  ever 
saw."    Of  eighty-one  American  preachers,  sixty  as- 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


323 


sembled  at  the  Conference;  and,  at  their  meeting, 
the  form  of  church  government,  and  tiie  manner  of 
worship  for  the  Methodists  in  America,  wliich  Mr. 
Wesley  had  arranged,  was  accepted  and  establish- 
ed. The  name  of  Superintendent,  and  the  notion 
that  bishops  and  presbyters  were  the  same  order, 
•were  now  laid  aside  ;  they  were  mere  pretexts,  and 
had  served  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intend- 
ed. Methodism  was  constituted  in  America  as  an 
Episcopal  Cliurch.  The  clergy  were  to  consist  of 
three  orders,  bishops,  ehiers,  and  deacons.  The 
deacons  were  to  be  ordained  by  a  bishop,  after  a 
probation  similar  to  that  of  the  travelling  preachers 
in  England.  The  elders  were  of  two  orders  :  the 
presiding  elders  were  to  be  unanimously  elected  by 
•the  General  Conference  ;  they  were  to  be  assistants 
to  the  bishops,  to  represent  them  in  their  absence, 
and  to  act  under  their  direction.  The  travelling  el- 
ders were  to  administer  the  ordinances,  and  to  per- 
form the  office  of  marrying  ;  they  were  to  be  elected 
by  a  majority  of  the  annual  Conference,  and  ordain- 
ed by  a  bishop  and  the  elders  present,  by  imposition 
of  hands.  A  deacon  might  not  be  chosen  elder,  till 
he  had  officiated  two  years  in  his  inferior  degree. 
A  bishop  was  to  be  elected  by  the  General  Confe- 
rence, and  consecrated  by  two  or  three  bishops  : 
but  in  case  the  whole  order  should  be  extinct,  the 
ceremony  might  then  be  performed  hy  three  elders. 
The  business  of  the  bishop  was  to  preside  in  the 
Conferences,  station  the  preachers,  admit  or  suspend 
them  during  the  interval  of  the  Conferences,  travel 
through  the  Connexion  at  large,  and  inspect  the  con- 
cerns, temporal  and  spiritual,  of  the  societies.  Be- 
sides the  General  Conference,  in  which  the  supreme 
authority  was  lodged,  and  which  had  power  of  sus- 
pending, judging,  and  expelling  the  bishop'*,  as  well 
as  electing  them,  there  were  to  be  six  yearly  Confe- 
rences : — the  extent  of  the  country  rendered  this  ne- 
cessary. The  circuits,  during  the  time  of  the  Con- 
ference, were  to  be  supplied  by  local  preachers,  en- 
gaged for  the  purpose,  and  paid  in  the  same  propor- 
tion and  manner  as  the  travelling  preachers  for 


324 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


whom  thej  acted.  A  local  preacher  was  not  eligi- 
ble to  the  office  of  deacon,  till  after  four  years'  pro- 
bation :  nor  might  he  preach,  till  he  had  obtained  a 
certificate  of  approbatioi)  from  his  quarterl)'  meeting. 
The  discipline  differed  little  from  that  of  the  English 
Methodists;  the  ritual  more.  In  condescension  to 
the  puritanic  notions  vvhich  might  be  expected 
among  the  old  Americans,  the  sacrament  might  be 
administered  to  communicants  sitting  or  standing,  if 
they  objected  to  kneel ;  and  baptism  might  be  per- 
formed either  by  sprinkling,  aflTusion,  or  immersion, 
at  the  option  of  the  parents;  or,  in  adult  cases,  of 
the  person. 

At  this  Conference,  in  pursuance  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
instructions,  and  by  virtue  of  the  authority  derived 
from  him,  Dr  Coke  consecrated  Mr.  Ashury  bi»hop 
of  t!ie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America.  In 
the  name  of  that  church,  an  address  to  General 
Washington  was  drawn  up.  congratulating  him  on 
his  appoiiitment  to  the  office  of  president,  and  pro- 
fessing the  loyalty  of  the  members,  and  their  readi- 
ness, on  all  lawful  occasions,  to  support  the  govern- 
ment t  en  established.  This  was  signed  by  Coke 
and  Asbury,  as  heads  of  the  Connexion  :  the  former, 
upon  this  occasion,  in  his  capacity  of  American  bi- 
shop, performing  an  act  inconsistent  with  his  alle- 
giance as  a  British  sulij<^ct.  He,  who  was  always 
more  ready  to  act  than  to  think,  did  not.  perhaps,  at 
the  time,  perceive  the  dilemma  in  which  he  was 
placed  ;  nor,  if  he  had.  w  ould  he  liave  acted  other- 
wise; for  whenever  a  national  and  a  sectarian  duty 
cotne  in  competition  with  each  other,  tlie  national 
one  is  that  which  goes  to  the  wail.  It  exposed  him 
to  som(^  severe  animadversion  in  England,  and  to  a 
sembliiice  of  displeasure  from  Mr.  Wesley,  which 
Avas  merely  intended  to  save  appearances.  General 
Wasliington  returned  a  written  reply,  addressed  to 
the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Kpisropal  (  hurch  in 
the  United  States. — It  should  be  his  endeavour," 
he  said,  to  matiifest  the  purity  of  his  inclinations 
for  promoting  the  happiness  of  mankind,  as  well  as 
the  sincerity  of  his  desires  to  contribute  whatever 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


325 


might  be  in  his  power  towards  the  civil  and  reli- 
gious hberties  of  the  American  people.  It  always 
atFordt'd  him  satisfaction,  when  he  iound  a  concur- 
rence and  practice  between  all  conscientious  men, 
in  acknowledgments  of  homage  to  the  Great  Gover- 
nor of  the  Universe,  and  in  professions  of  support  to 
a  just  civil  government.  He  woidd  always  strive  to 
prove  a  foithful  and  impartial  patron  of  genuine  vital 
religion;  and  he  assured  them  in  particular,  that  he 
took  in  the  kindest  part  their  promise  of  presenting 
their  prayers  for  him  at  the  throne  of  heaven;  and 
that  he  likewise  implored  the  divine  benediction  on 
them,  and  their  religious  community." 

At  their  first  interview,  the  two  bishops  agreed  to 
use  their  joint  endeavours  for  establishing  a  school, 
or  college,  on  the  plan  of  Kingswood,  and,  before 
they  met  at  the  Conference,  they  had  got  above  a 
thousand  pounds  subscribed  for  it.  Relying,  there- 
fore, upon  that  bank  of  faith,  which,  when  religious 
interests,  real  or  imaginary,  are  concerned,  may 
safely  be  drawn  upon  to  a  surprising  amount,  Dr. 
Coke  gave  orders  to  begin  the  work.  Four  acres  of 
ground  were  purchased,  at  the  price  of  sixty  pounds 
sterling,  eight-and-twenty  miles  from  Baltimore :  the 
spot  commanded  a  view  of  the  Chesapeake  and  of  the 
Susquehanna  flowing  towards  it,  through  a  great  ex- 
tent of  country,  the  sight  extending  from  twenty  to 
fifty  miles  in  diflTerent  parts  of  the  splendid  pano- 
rama. 1  he  students  were  to  rise  at  five,  summer 
and  winter;  upon  this  rule  the  masters  were  to  in- 
sist inflexibly,  the  founders  being  convinced,  they 
said,  by  constant  observation  and  experience,  that 
it  was  of  vast  importance,  both  to  body  and  mind ; 
for  it  was  of  admirahle  use  in  preserving  a  good,  or 
improving  a  bad  constitution  ;  and  by  thus  strength- 
ening the  various  organs  of  the  body,  it  enabled  the 
mind  to  put  forth  its  utmost  energies.  At  six  they 
were  to  assemble  to  prayer,  and  the  interval,  till 
seven,  was  allowed  for  recreation  :  the  recreations 
being  gardening,  walking,  riding,  and  bathing;  and, 
within  doors,  the  carpenters',  joiners',  cabinef- 
makers',  and  turners'  business.    Nothing  which  the 


326 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


world  calls  play  was  to  be  permitted.  Dr.  Coke  had 
brought  with  iiim  Wesley's  sour  precept,  that  those 
who  play  when  they  are  young,  will  play  when  they 
are  old  ;  and  he  supported  it  by  the  authority  of 
Locke  and  Rousseau,  saying,  "  that  though  the  lat- 
ter was  essentially  mistaken  in  his  religiou-  system, 
yet  his  wisdom,  in  other  respects,  was  indisputably 
acknowledged!"  He  judged  well,  however,  in  re- 
commending agriculture  and  architecture  as  studies 
especially  useful  in  a  new  country,  and  therefore  to 
be  preferred  for  the  recreation  of  the  students.  The 
permission  of  bathing  was  restricted  to  a  plunge  into 
a  cold  bath  :  bathing  in  the  river  was  forbidden;  a 
prohibition  apparently  so  absurd,  that  some  valid 
local  reason  for  it  must  be  presumed.  The  hours  of 
study  were  from  eight  till  twelve,  and  from  three  till 
six  ;  breakfast  at  eight,  dinner  at  one,  supper  at  six, 
prayers  at  seven,  and  bed  at  nine.  The  punishments 
were,  private  reproof  for  a  first  offence,  public  re- 
proof for  a  second,  and,  for  the  third,  confinement 
in  a  room  set  apart  for  the  purpose. 

The  establishment  was  named  Cokesbury*  Col- 
lege, after  its  two  founders.  An  able  president  was 
found,  a  good  master,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few 

*  In  the  year  1792  tlie  college  was  set  on  fire,  and  burnt  to  the  ground, 
the  whole  of  its  apparatus  and  library  being  destroyed.  The  state  offer- 
ed a  reward  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  discovery  of  the  incendiary, 
but  without  effect.  Dr.  Coke  was  not  deterred  from  a  second  attempt, 
and  seventeen  of  his  friends,  in  the  Baltimore  Society,  inmiediately  sub- 
scribed among  themselves  more  than  one  thousand  pounds  toward  the 
establishment  of  another  college.  A  large  building  in  the  city  of  Balti- 
more, which  had  been  intended  for  balls  and  assemblies,  w  as  purchased, 
with  all  the  premises  belonging  to  it,  for  five  thousand  three  hundred 
pounds.  The  Society  subscrihed  seven  hundred  of  this,  and  collected 
six  hundred  more  from  liouse  to  house ;  the  seventeen  original  subscri- 
bers made  themselves  responsible  for  the  rest.  There  Avas  room  for  a 
church  upon  the  ground,  and  a  church  accordingly  was  built.  This  col- 
lege was  even  more  successful  than  Cokcsbury  while  it  lasted ;  but  it 
came  to  the  same  fate  in  1797.  Some  boys  made  a  bonfire  in  an  ad- 
joining house,  and  college,  church,  and  several  dwellings  and  warehouses 
were  consumed.  By  the  two  fires  the  Methodists  sustained  a  loss  of 
ten  thousand  pounds.  Dr.  Coke  then  agreed  with  Asbury,  who,  after 
the  first  catastrophe,  was  convinced  "  (hat  it  was  not  the  w  ill  of  God  for 
them  to  undertake  such  expensive  buildings,  nor  to  attempt  such  popu- 
lar establishments."  As  these  events  did  not  occur  till  after  the  death  of 
Mr.  Wesle}',  they  are  noticed  here,  rather  than  in  the  text. 


AIETHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


327 


years,  the  institution  acquired  so  much  repute,  that 
young  men,  from  the  Southern  States,  came  there  to 
finish  their  education ;  and  the  founders  were  ap- 
prized, that  the  legislature  was  wilHng  to  grant  them 
an  act  of  incorporation,  and  enable  them  to  confer 
degrees.  The  reputation  of  this  college  gratified 
the  American  Methodists,  and  disposed  them  to 
found  others.  The  people  in  Kentucky  requested 
to  have  one  in  their  country,  and  ofTered  to  give 
three  or  four  thousand  acres  of  good  land  for  its  sup- 
port. The  reply  to  tliis  application  was,  that  Con- 
ference would  undertake  to  complete  one  within  ten 
years,  if  the  people  would  provide  five  thousand 
acres  of  fertile  ground,  and  settle  it  on  trustees  un- 
der its  direction.  In  Georgia,  a  few  leading  persons 
engaged  to  give  two  thousand  acres ;  and  one  con- 
gregation subscribed  twelve  thousand  five  hundred 
pounds  weight  of  tobacco  towards  the  building.  In- 
stitutions of  this  kitid  are  endowed  at  so  small  a  cost 
in  new  countries,  that,  with  a  little  foresight  on  the 
part  of  government,  provision  might  easily  be  made 
for  the  wants,  and  palliatives  prepared  for  the  evils, 
of  advanced  society. 

Had  the  institution  in  Georgia  been  efTected,  it 
was  to  have  been  called  Wesley  College,  in  refer- 
ence to  Mr.  Wesley's  early  labours  in  that  country. 
At  this  time  he  was  so  popular  in  America,  that  some 
hundreds  of  children  were  baptized  by  his  name. 
This  was  in  great  measure  owing  to  the  choice  which 
he  had  made  of  Dr.  Coke,  whose  liberal  manners, 
and  rank  of  life,  obtained  him  access  among  the 
higher  classes  upon  equal  terms,  and  flattered  those 
in  a  lower  station  with  whom  he  made  himself  fami- 
liar. The  good  opinion,  however,  w  hich  his  repre- 
sentative had  obtained  among  all  ranks,  was  lessened, 
and,  for  a  time,  well  nigh  destroyed,  by  the  indiscre- 
tion with  w  hich  he  exerted  himself  in  behalf  of  a 
good  cause. 

Wesley  had  borne  an  early  testimony  against  the 
system  of  negro  slavery  :  on  this  point  his  conduct  is 
curiously  contrasted  w  ith  Whitefield's,  who  exerted 


328 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


himself  in  *  obtaining  a  repeal  of  that  part  of  the 
charter  granted  to  the  colony  in  Georgia,  whereby 
slavery  was  prohibited.  Dr.  Coke,  feeling  like  Mr. 
Wesley,  took  up  the  subject  with  his  usual  ardour, 
preached  upon  it  with  great  vehemence,  and  pre- 
pared a  petition  to  Congress  for  the  emancipation  of 
the  negroes.  With  this  petition  he  and  Asbury  went 
to  General  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  soli- 
cited him  to  sign  it.  Washington  received  them  cour- 
teously and  hospitably:  he  declined  signing  the  pe- 
tition, that  being  inconsistent  with  the  rank  which  he 
held :  but  he  assured  them  that  he  agreed  with  them, 
and  that,  if  the  Assembly  should  take  their  petition 
into  consideration,  he  would  signify  his  sentiments 
by  a  letter.  Th'^'y  proceeded  so  far  themselves,  that 
thf^y  required  the  members  of  the  society  to  set  theii' 
slaves  free  ;  and  several  persons  were  found  who 
made  this  sacrifice  from  a  sense  of  duty.  One  plan- 
ter in  Virginia  emancipated  twenty-two,  vvho  were, 
at  that  time,  worth  from  thirty  to  forty  pounds  each. 
His  name  was  Kennon,  and  it  deserves  to  be  honour- 
ably recorded.  But  such  instances  were  rare  ;  and 
Dr.  Coke,  who  had  much  of  the  national  ardour  in 
his  character,  proceeded  in  such  an  intolerant  t  spi- 

*  "  for  the  lawfulness  of  keeping  slaves,"  he  says,  "  Ihave  no  doubt, 
since  I  hear  of  some  that  were  bought  v.ith  Abraham's  money,  and 
some  that  were  born  in  his  house.  \':d  I  cannot  help  thinking  that 
some  of  those  servants  mentioned  by  the  Aposth-s  in  their  epistles,  were, 
or  had  been  slaves.  It  is  plain  that  the  Gibeonites  were  doomed  to  per- 
petual slavery ;  and,  though  liberty  is  a  sweet  thing  to  such  as  are  born 
free,  yet,  to  those  who  never  knew  the  sweets  of  it,  slavery  perhaps  may 
not  he  so  irksome.  However  this  be,  it  is  plain  to  a  demonstration,  tliat 
hot  eoiintiies  cannot  be  cultivated  without  negroes."  So  miserably 
could  Wliitefield  reason  !  I  le  flattered  however,  his  better  feelings,  by 
supposing  that  the  slaves  who  should  be  brought  into  Georgia  would  be 
placed  in  the  way  of  conversion 

t  These  extracts  from  his  journal  will  exemplify  that  spirit:  "At 
night  I  lodged  at  the  house  of  >  'aptaiii  Dillard  a  most  hospitable  man, 
and  as  kind  to  his  negroes  as  if  they  were  white  servants.  It  was  quite 
pl'-asing  to  see  them  so  decently  and  comfortably  clothed.  And  yet  I 
could  not  beat  into  the  head  of  that  poor  man  the  evil  of  keeping  them 
in  slavery,  although  he  had  read  Mr.  VVesh  y's  Thoughts  on  Slavci-y 
(I  think  he  snid)  three  times  over  B'lt  his  good  wife  is  strongly  on  our 
side." — "[  preached  the  late  Colonel  B'  dford's  funeral  sermon.  Cut  I 
said  nothing  good  of  him  r)r  he  was  a  \  iol^iit  fcieiid  of  slavery  ;  and  bis 
interest  being  great  among  the  Methodists  in  these  parts,  he  would  have 
been  a  dreadful  thorn  in  our  sides,  i/"</ie  Lord  had  not  in  mercy  taken  him 
away."  ! ! 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


329 


rit  of  philanthropy,  that  he  soon  provoked  a  violent 
opposition,  and  incurred  no  small  degree  of  personal 
danger.  One  of  his  sermons  upon  this  topic  in- 
censed some  of  his  hearers  so  much,  that  they  with- 
drew, for  the  purpose  of  way-laying  him  ;  and  a  lady 
negro-owner  promised  them  fifty  pounds,  if  they 
would  give  "that  little  Doctor"  an  hundred  lashes. 
But  the  better  part  of  his  congregation  protected 
him,  and  that  same  sermon  produced  the  emancipa- 
tion of  twenty  four  slaves.  In  one  county  the  slave 
owtiers  presented  a  bill  against  him,  which  was  found 
by  the  grand  jury,  and  no  Ics?  than  ninety  persons 
set  out  in  pursuit  of  him ;  but  he  was  got  beyond 
their  reach.  A  more  ferocious  enemy  followed  him, 
with  an  intention  of  shooting  him  :  this  the  man  him- 
self confessed,  when,  some  time  afterwards,  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Methodist  Society.  On  his 
second  visit  to  America,  Coke  was  convinced  that  he 
had  acted  indiscreetly,  and  he  consented  to  let  the 
question  of  emancipation  rest,  rather  than  stir  up  an 
opposition  which  so  greatly  impeded  the  progress  of 
Methodism. 

If  a  course  of  itinerancy  in  England  led  the  errant 
preacher  into  picturesque  scenes  and  wild  situations, 
much  more  might  this  be  expected  in  America. — 
Coke  was  delighted  with  the  romantic  way  of  life  in 
which  he  found  himself  engaged  ;  preaching  in  the 
midst  of  ancient  forests,  "  with  scores,  and  sometimes 
hundreds  of  horses  tied  to  the  trees.  "Sometimes," 
he  says,  "  a  most  noble  vista,  of  half  a  mile  or  a  mile 
in  length,  would  open  between  the  lofty  pines;  some- 
times the  tender  fawns  and  hinds  would  suddenly 
appear,  and,  on  seeing  or  hearing  us,  would  glance 
through  the  woods,  or  vanish  away."  The  spring 
scenery  of  these  woods  filled  him  with  delight. — 
"  The  oaks,"  says  he,  "  have  spread  out  their  leaves, 
and  the  dogwood,  whose  bark  is  medicinal,  and 
whose  innumerable  white  flowers  form  one  of  the  finest 
ornaments  of  the  forests,  is  in  full  blossom.  The 
deep  green  of  the  pines,  the  bright  transparent  green  of 
the  oaks,  and  the  fine  white  of  the  dogwood  flov\ers, 
with  other  trees  and  shrubs,  form  such  a  complica- 

TOL.  II.  42 


330 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


tion  of  beauties  as  is  indescribable  to  those  who  have 
only  Hved  in  countries  that  are  ahnost  entirely  culti- 
vated."— "  It  is  one  of  my  most  delicate  entertain- 
ments, to  embrace  every  opportunity  of  ingulpliing 
myself,  (if  I  may  so  express  it,)  in  the  woods  :  I  seem 
then  to  be  detached  fiom  every  thing  but  the  quiet 
vegetable  creation  and  my  God."  A  person  always 
went  before  hinj  to  make  his  publicalions  ;  by  v\  hich 
strange  phrase  is  implied  a  notice  to  all  the  country 
round,  in  what  place,  and  at  what  times,  the  itine- 
rant was  to  be  expected.  Their  mark  for  finding  the 
way  in  these  wide  wildernesses  was  the  split  bush. — 
When  a  new  circuit  in  the  woods  was  formed,  at 
every  turning  of  the  road  or  path,  the  preacher  split 
two  or  three  bushes  beside  the  right  way,  as  adirec-. 
tion  *  for  those  who  cnme  after  him.  They  had  no 
cause  to  repent  of  t!)eir  labour  in  travelling  ;  for 
numerous  hearers  were  collected,  insomuch  that  Dr. 
Coke  was  astonished  at  the  pains  which  the  people 
took  to  hear  the  Gospel.  Idleness  and  curiosity 
brought  many,  and  many  came  for  the  pleasure  of 
being  in  a  crowd  ;  but  numbers  were  undoubtedly 
drawn  together  by  that  desire  of  religious  instruc- 
tion which  is  the  noblest  characteristic  of  man,  and 
for  which,  by  the  greatest  of  all  political  errors,  the 
American  government  has  neglected  to  provide. — 
"lamdaiy  filled  with  surprise,"  he  says,  "in  meet- 
ing with  such  large  congregations  as  I  am  fiivoured 
with  in  the  midst  of  vast  wildernesses,  and  wonder 
from  whence  they  come  !"  It  appears  that  the  spirit 
of  riotous  devotion,  which  afterwards  produced  the 
fanatical  extravagancies  of  tlie  camp-meetings,  be- 
gon  to  manifest  itself  in  the  early  days  of  Ameri- 
can Methodism,  and  that  it  was  encouraged  by  the 
superiors  when  it  might  have  been  repressed.  "  At 
Annapolis,"  says  Dr.  Coke,  after  my  last  prayer, 
the  congregation  began  to  pray  and  praise  aloud  in 
a  most  astonishing  manner.  At  first  I  found  some 
reluctance  to  enter  into  the  business;  but  soon  the 
tears  began  to  flow,  and  I  think  I  have  seldom  found 

*  "  In  one  of  tho  circuits  the  wicked  discovered  the  secret,  and  split 
bushes  in  wrong  places,  on  purpose  to  deceive  the  preachers." 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


331 


a  more  comforting  or  strengthening  time.  This  pray- 
ing and  praising  aloud  is  a  common  thing  throughout 
Virginia  and  Maryland.  What  shall  we  say  .-^  Souls 
are  awakened  and  converted  hy  multitudes  ;  and  the 
work  is  surely  a  genuine  work,  if  there  be  a  genuine 
work  of  God  upon  earth.  Whether  there  be  wild- 
fire in  it  or  not,  I  do  most  ardently  wish  that  there  was 
such  a  work  at  this  present  time  in  England."  At 
Baltimore,  after  the  evening  service  was  concluded, 
"  the  congregation  began  to  pray  and  praise  aloud, 
and  continued  so  to  do  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. Out  of  a  congregation  of  two  thousand  people, 
two  or  three  hundred  were  engaged  at  the  same  time 
in  praising  (xod,  praying  for  the  conviction  and  con- 
version of  sinners,  or  exhorting  those  around  them 
with  the  utmost  vehemence;  and  hundreds  more  were 
engaged  in  wrestling  prayer,  either  for  their  own  coti- 
version,  or  sarictification.  The  first  noise  of  the 
people  soon  brought  a  multitude  to  see  what  was  go- 
ing on.  One  of  our  elders  was  the  means  that  night 
of  the  conversion  of  seven  poor  penitents  within  his 
little  circle  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes.  Such  was 
the  zeal  of  many,  that  a  tolerable  company  attended 
the  preaching  at  five  the  next  morning,  notwithstand- 
ing the  late  hour  at  which  they  parted."  The  next 
evening  the  same  uproar  was  renewed,  and  the  mad- 
dened congregation  continued  in  their  excesses  as 
long  and  as  loud  as  before.  The  practice  became 
common  in  Baltimore,  though  that  city  had  been  one 
of  the  '  calmest  and  most  critical'  upon  the  conti- 
nent.— "  Many  of  our  elders,"  says  Coke,  "  who  were 
the  softest,  most  connected,  and  most  sedate  of  our 
preachers,  have  entered  with  all  their  hearts  into 
this  work.  And  gracious  and  wonderful  has  been  the 
change,  our  greatest  enemies  themselves  being  the 
judges,  that  has  been  wrought  on  multitudes,  oa 
whom  the  work  began  at  those  wonderful  seasons." 

Plaiidy  as  it  had  been  shown  among  the  Metho- 
dists themselves,  that  emotions  of  this  kind  were  like 
a  fire  of  straw,  soon  kindled  and  soon  spent,  the  dis- 
position, whenever  it  manifested  itself,  was  encou- 
raged rather  than  checked  ;  so  strong  is  the  tenden- 


332 


METHODISM  IX  AMERICA. 


cy  toward  enthusiasm.  But  if  Dr.  Coke,  with  the 
advantages  of  education,  rank  in  life,  and  of  the  les- 
sons which  he  derived  from  Mr.  Wesley,  when  age 
and  long  experience  had  cooled  him,  could  be  so  led 
away  by  sympathy  as  to  give  his  sanction  to  these 
proceedings,  it  might  be  expected  that  preachers, 
■who  had  grown  up  in  a  state  of  semi-civilization,  and 
were  in  the  first  effervescence  of  thrir  devotional 
feelings,  would  go  beyond  all  bounds  in  their  zeal. — 
They  used  their  utmost  endeavours  (as  had  been  ad- 
vised in  the  third  Conference)  "  to  throw  men  into 
convictions,  into  strong  sorrow,  and  lear, — to  make 
them  inconsolable,  refusing  to  be  comforted  ;"  be- 
lieving that  the  stronger  was  the  conviction,  the 
speedier  was  the  deliverance.  "  The  darkest  time 
in  the  night,"  said  one,  "is just  before  the  dawning 
of  the  day ;  so  it  is  with  a  soul  groaning  for  redemp- 
tion "  They  used,  therefore,  to  address  the  unawa- 
kened  in  the  most  alarming  strain,  teaching  them 
that  "  God  out  of  Christ  is  a  consuming  fire  !"  and  to 
address  the  most  enthusiastic  language  to  those  who 
were  in  what  they  called  a  seeking  state,  in  order  to 
keep  them  "  on  the  full  stretch  for  sanctification  " — 
Benjamin  Abbott  not  only  threw  his  hearers  into  fits, 
but  often  fainted  himself  through  the  vehemence  of 
his  own  prayers  and  preachments.  He  relates  such 
exploits  with  great  satisfaction, — how  one  person 
could  neither  eat  nor  drink  for  three  days  after  one 
of  his  drastic  sermons  ;  and  how  another  was,  for  the 
same  length  of  time,  totally  deprived  of  the  use  of 
her  limbs.  A  youth  who  was  standing  on  the  hearth 
l)eside  a  blazing  fire,  in  the  room  where  Abbott  was 
holding  forth,  overcome  by  the  contagious  emotion 
which  was  excited,  tottered  and  fell  into  the  flames. 
He  was  instantly  rescued,  "  providentially,''  says  the 
preacher,  "  or  he  would  have  been  beyond  the  reach 
of  mercy :  his  body  would  have  been  burned  to 
death,  and  what  would  have  become  of  his  soul !" — 
When  they  preached  within  the  house,  and  with 
closed  doors,  the  contaminated  air  may  have  contri- 
buted to  these  deleterious  effects;  for  he  himself  no- 
tices one  instance,  where,  from  the  exceeding  close- 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


333 


ness  of  the  room,  and  the  number  of  persons  crowd- 
ed together  there,  the  candles  gradually  went  out. — 
But  the  maddening  spirit  of  the  man  excited  his 
hearers  almost  to  frenzy. 

One  day  this  itinerant  went  to  a  funeral,  where 
many  hundreds  were  collected.  "  The  minister," 
he  says,  "  being  of  the  Church  form,  went  through 
the  ceremonies,  and  then  preached  a  short,  easy, 
smooth,  soft  sermon,  which  amounted  to  almost 
nothing.  By  this  time  a  gust  was  rising,  and  the  fir- 
mament was  covered  with  blackness.  Two  clouds 
appeared  to  come  from  different  quarters,  and  to 
meet  over  the  house,  which  caused  the  people  to 
crowd  into  the  house,  up  stairs  and  down,  to  screen 
themselves  from  the  storm.  When  the  minister  had 
done,  he  asked  me  if  I  would  say  something  to  the 
people.  I  arose,  and  with  some  difficulty  got  on  one 
of  the  benches,  the  hoMse  was  so  greatly  crowded  ; 
and  almost  as  soon  as  I  began,  the  Lord  out  of  hea- 
ven began  also.  The  tremendous  claps  of  thunder 
exceeded  any  thing  I  ever  had  heard,  and  the  streams 
of  lightning  flashed  through  the  house  in  a  most  aw- 
ful manner.  It  shook  the  very  foundation  of  the 
house  :  the  windows  shook  with  the  violence  thereof. 
I  lost  no  time,  but  set  before  them  the  awful  coming 
of  Christ  in  all  his  splendour,  with  all  the  armies  of 
heaven,  to  judge  the  world  and  to  take  vengeance  on 
the  ungodly.  It  may  be,  cried  1,  that  he  will  descend 
in  the  next  cjap  of  thunder!  The  people  screamed, 
screeched,  and  fell,  all  through  the  house.  The  light- 
ning, thunder,  and  rain,  continued  for  about  the 
space  of  one  hour  in  the  most  awful  marmer  ever 
known  in  that  country  ;  during  which  time  I  continu- 
ed to  set  before  them  the  coming  of  Christ  to  judge 
the  world,  warning  and  inviting  sinners  to  flee  to 
Christ."  He  declares  that,  fourteen  years  afterwards, 
when  he  rode  that  circuit,  he  conversed  with  twelve 
living  witnesses,  who  told  him  they  were  all  convert- 
ed at  that  sermon. 

One  day,  when  Abbott  was  exhorting  a  class  to 
sanctification,  and  a  young  Quakeress  was  "  scream- 
ing and  screeching  and  crying  for  purity  of  heart," 


334 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


her  father,  hearing  her  outcries,  came  into  the  room, 
and  with  a  mild  reproof  to  this  director  of  conscien-  i 
ces,  reminded  him  that  the  Lord  is  not  in  the  earth-  ' 
quake,  nor  in  the  whirlwind,  but  in  the  still  small 
voice.  The  passionate  enthusiast  readily  replied, 
"  Do  you  know  what  the  earthquake  means  ?  It  is 
the  mighty  thunder  of  God's  voice  from  Mount  Sinai ; 
it  is  the  divine  law  to  drive  us  to  Christ.  And  the 
whirlwind  is  the  power  of  conviction,  like  the  rushing 
of  a  mighty  wind,  tearing  away  every  false  hope,  and 
stripping  us  of  every  plea,  but — Give  me  Christ,  or 
else  1  die !"  On  another  occasion,  \\  hen  a  young 
Quakeress  was  present  at  a  meeting,  and  retained  a 
proper  command  of  herself  while  others  were  faint- 
ing and  falling  round  about  her,  Abbott  regarding 
this  as  a  proof  ol"  insensibility  to  the  state  of  her  own 
soul,  looked  her  full  in  the  face,  and  began  to  pray 
for  her  as  an  infidel,  and  called  upon  all  his  hearers 
to  do  the  same.  The  young  woman  was  abashed, 
and  retired  ;  but  as  she  made  her  way  slowly  through 
the  croM'ded  room,  I  cried  to  God,"  says  the  fiery 
fanatic,  "  to  pursue  her  by  the  energy  of  his  Spirit 
through  the  streets ;  to  pursue  her  in  the  parlour,  in 
the  kitc'ien,  and  in  the  garden  ;  to  pursue  her  in  the 
silent  watches  of  the  night,  and  to  show  her  the  state 
of  the  damned  in  hell;  to  give  her  no  rest  day  nor 
night,  until  she  found  rest  in  the  wounds  of  a  blessed 
Redeemer."  He  relates  this  himself,  and  adds,  that 
in  consequence  of  this  appeal  she  soon  afterwards 
joined  the  Methodists,  in  opposition  to  the  will  of 
her  parents. 

"  Oh,"  said  Wesley,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "  the 
depth  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  ! 
causiiig  a  total  disregard  of  all  religion  to  pave  the 
way  for  the  revival  of  the  only  religion  which  was 
worthy  of  God !  The  total  indifference  of  the 
government  in  North  America  whether  there  be 
any  religion  or  none,  leaves  room  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  (rue  scriptural  religion,  without  the  least 
let  or  hindrance."  He  overlooked  another  con- 
sequence, which  the  extravagance  of  his  own 
preachers   might   have   taught    him.  Wherever 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


335 


the  prime  duty  of  providing  religious  instruc- 
tion lor  the  people  is  neglected,  the  greater  part 
become  altogether  careless  of  their  eternal  in- 
terests, and  the  rest  are  ready  to  iml>ibe  the  rank- 
est fanaticism,  or  embrace  any  superstition  that  may 
be  promulgated  among  them.  A  field  is  open  for 
impostors  as  well  as  fanatics;  some  are  duped  and 
plundered,  and  others  are  driven  mad.  Benjamin 
Abbott  seems  to  have  been  a  sincere  and  well-mean- 
ing entliusiast,  upon  the  very  verge  of  madness  him- 
self From  the  preaching  of  such  men  an  iiicrease 
of  insanity  might  well  be  expected  :  and  accordingly 
it  is  asserted,  that  a  fourth  part  of  the  cases  of  this 
malady  in  Philadelphia  arise  from  enthusiastic  devo- 
tion, and  that  this  and  the  abuse  of  ardent  spirits 
are  principal  causes  of  the  same  disease  in  Virginia. 
But  the  fermentation  of  Methodism  will  cease  in 
America,  as  it  has  ceased  in  England  ;  and  even  du- 
ring its  effervescence,  the  good  which  it  produces  is 
greater  than  the  evil.  For  though  there  must  be 
many  such  fierce  fanatics  as  Abbott,  there  will  be 
others  of  a  gentler  nature  :  as  the  general  state  of 
the  country  may  improve,  the  preacher  will  partake 
of  the  improvement;  and.  meantime,  they  contribute 
to  that  improvement  in  no  slight  degree,  by  correct- 
ing the  brutal  vices,  and  keeping  up  a  sense  of  reli- 
gion in  regions  where  it  might  otherwise  be  extinct. 
At  their  first  general  conference,  the  American 
preachers  made  a  rule  respecting  spiritous  liquors, 
the  common  use  of  which  has  greatly  tended  to  bru- 
talize the  people  in  that  country.  They  decreed, 
that  if  any  thing  disorderly  happened  under  the  roof 
of  a  member,  who  either  sold  ardent  spirits,  or  gave 
them  to  his  guests,  "  the  preacher  who  had  the  over- 
sight of  the  circuit  should  proceed  against  him,  as  in 
the  case  of  other  immoralities,"  and  he  should  be 
censured,  suspended,  or  excluded,  according  to  the 
circumstances.  The  zeal  with  which  they  made 
war  against  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  society  was 
less  usefully  directed.  Such  days  and  nights  as 
those  were !"  says  one  of  tlie  early  preachers. 
The  fine,  the  gay,  threw  olT  their  ruffles,  their 


336 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


rings,  their  ear-rings,  their  powder,  their  feathers. 
Opposition,  indeed,  there  vvas ;  for  the  Devil  would 
not  be  still.  My  life  was  threatened  ;  but  my  friends 
were  abundantly  more  in  number  than  my  enemies." 
In  attacking  these  things,  the  preacher  acted  in  en- 
tire conformity  with  the  spirit  of  Wesley's  institu- 
tions :  but  in  America,  Wesley  would  perhaps  have 
modified  the  rigour  of  his  own  rules  ;  lor  even  Frank- 
lin, who  long  maintained  opinions  as  rigorous  upon 
this  point  as  Wesley  himself,  at  length  discovered 
that  vanities  like  these  have  their  use,  in  giving  a 
spur  to  industry,  and  accelerating  the  progress  of 
civilization. 

There  were  parts  of  the  country  where  the  people 
must  have  remained  altogether  without  the  ordi- 
nances of  religion,  had  it  not  been  for  the  Metho- 
dists. Dr  Coke  observes,  that  m  his  first  tour  in 
America,  he  baptized  more  children  and  adults  than 
he  should  have  done  in  his  whole  life  if  stationed  in 
an  English  parish.  The  people  of  Delaware  had 
scarcely  ever  heard  preaching  of  any  kind,  when 
Freeborn  Garretson  entered  that  country  in  one  of 
his  circuits.  Meeting  a  man  there  one  day,  he  ask- 
ed him,  in  a  methodistical  manner,  if  he  knew  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  the  man  answered,  lhat  he  did  not  know 
where  he  lived.  Garretson  repeated  the  question, 
supposing  that  it  had  not  been  distinctly  heard  ;  and 
the  reply  then  was,  that  he  knew  no  such  person. 
Before  the  Methodists  had  built  chapels  for  them- 
selves, they  officiated  sometimes  in  curious  situations, 
either  because  there  was  no  place  of  worship,  or 
none  to  which  they  had  access.  The  church-doors 
at  Cambridge,  in  Maryland,  were  locked  upon  Dr. 
Coke,  though  there  had  been  no  service  there  for 
some  years,  and  though  it  had  often  been  left  open 
for  dogs,  and  pigs,  and  cattle.  At  another  place,  the 
church  was  in  so  filthy  a  condition,  that,  at  the 
people's  desire,  he  held  forth  in  the  court-house  in- 
stead. At  Raleigh,  the  seat  of  government  for  North 
Carolina,  he  obtained  the  use  of  the  house  of  com- 
mons :  the  members  of  both  houses  attended,  and 
the  speaker's  seat  served  for  a  pulpit.    At  AnnapolijS, 


METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


337 


they  lent  him  the  theatre.  Pit,  boxes,  and  gallery," 
says  he,  were  (illed  with  people  according  to  their 
ranks  in  life;  and  I  stood  upon  the  stage,  and  preach- 
ed to  them,  though  at  first,  I  confess,  1  felt  it  a  little 
awkward." 

Itinerants  in  America  were  liable  to  discomforts 
and  dangers  which  are  unknown  in  England.  There 
were  perilous  swamps  to  cross ;  rivers  to  ford  ;  the 
risk  of  going  astray*  in  the  wilderness  ;  and  the 
plague  of  ticks  in  the  forests,  which  are  so  great  a 
torment,  that  Dr.  Coke  was  almost  laid  up  by  their 
bites.  To  these  difficulties,  and  to  the  inconven- 
iences of  sometimes  sleeping  on  the  tloor,  sometimes 
three  in  a  bed,  and  sometimes  bivouacking  in  the 
woods,  the  native  preachers  were  less  sensible  than 
those  who  came  from  Europe  :  but  a  great  proportion 
of  the  itinerants  settled  when  they  became  fathers  of 
families.  "  It  is  most  lamentable,"  says  Coke,*  "  to 
see  so  many  of  our  able  married  preachers  (or  ra- 
ther, I  might  say,  almost  all  of  them)  become  located 
merely  for  want  of  support  for  their  families.  I  am 
conscious  it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  people :  it  is  the 
fault  of  the  preachers,  who,  through  a  false  and  most 
unfortunate  delicacy,  have  not  pressed  the  important 
subject  as  they  ought,  upon  the  consciences  of  the 
people.  I  am  truly  astonished  that  the  work  has 
risen  to  its  present  height  on  this  continent,  when  so 
much  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  of  the  gifts  of  preach- 
ing, yea,  of  the  most  precious  gifts  which  God  be- 
stows on  mortals,  should  thus  miserably  be  thrown 
away.  I  could,  methinks,  enter  into  my  closet,  and 
weep  tears  of  blood  upon  the  occasion."  At  ano- 
ther time  he  says,  "  The  location  of  so  many  scores 

*  Brother  T{;natius  Pigman  was  lost  for  sixteen  days  in  the  woods  on 
the  way  to  Kentucky.  Tliis  inhuman  name  reminds  me  of  a  contro- 
versialist, who  advanced  the  notion  of  the  pre-existence  of  the  human 
soul  of  Christ,  and  fiercely  supported  his  notion,  which  he  called  Pre- 
existarianism,  in  the  last  series  of  the  Gospel  Magazine.  His  n  ime 
being  Newcomb,  he  signed  himself  Peierneneuve,  to  show  his  knowledge 
of  the  French  tongue;  and  one  of  his  adversaries,  who,  if  peradventure 
less  accomplished  in  languages,  was  not  less  witty  than  himself,  "  wick- 
edly detorted"  this  word,  and  called  him  Mr.  Pig-enough. 

VOL.  II.  43 


338 


METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


of  our  most  able  and  experienced  preachers  tears 
my  very  heart  in  pieces.  Methinks,  almost  the  whole 
continent  would  have  fallen  before  the  power  of 
God,  had  It  not  been  for  this  enormous  evil."  Dr. 
Coke  himself  had  the  true  spirit  of  an  errant 
preacher,  and  therefore  did  not  consider  how  natu- 
ral it  is,  that  men  should  desire  to  settle  quietly  in 
domestic  life,  and  how  just  and  reasonable  it  is  that 
they  should  be  enabled  and  encoura2:ed  to  do  so 
after  a  certain  length  of  service.  Mr.  Wesley's 
original  intention  was,  that  the  Methodist  preachers 
should  be  auxiliaries  to  the  Church  of  England, 
as  the  friars  and  the  Jesuits  are  to  the  Church  of 
Rome.  In  America,  where  there  is  no  Church,  it 
would  be  consistent  with  this  intention,  that  the  Me- 
thodists should  have  an  order  of  settled  pastors  in 
place  of  the  clergy. 

But  though  the  American  itinerants  w  ithdrew  from 
their  labours  earlier  than  their  brethren  in  the  mo- 
ther country,  new  adventurers  were  continually  offer- 
ing thetnselves  to  supply  their  place,  and  the  increase 
of  Methodism  was  far  more  rapid  than  in  England. 
In  the  year  1786,  two-and-tvventy  chapels  were  built 
in  a  single  circuit  within  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 
and  the  society  in  that  same  year  had  added  lo  its 
numbers  in  the  United  States,  more  than  6G00  mem- 
bers. In  1789  when  the  census  of  the  Methodists  in 
Great  Britain  amounted  to  70,305,  that  in  America 
was  4.j,'-6,'>.  In  less  than  twenty  years  afterwards, 
they  doubled  their  numbers  at  home,  but  the  Ameri- 
cans had  then  become  the  more  numerous  body,  and 
their  comparative  increase  was  much  greater  than 
this  statement  would  imply,  because  it  was  made 
upon  a  much  smaller  population. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


METHODISM  IN   THE  WEST-lNDlES. 

In  the  year  1758,  Wesley  baptized  some  negroes 
at  Wandsworth,  who  were  in  the  service  of  Nathaniel 
Gilbert,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly  in  Anti- 
gua. Mr.  Gilbert  was  a  man  of  ardent  piety,  and 
being  desirous  of  promoting  religion  in  apart  of  the 
world  where  slavery  had  produced  the  greatest  pos- 
sible degradation  of  the  moral  feeling,  he  invited 
Mr.  Fletcher  to  return  with  him.  Mr.  Fletcher  hesi- 
tated, and  consulted  Charles  Wesley;  '*  I  have  weigh- 
ed the  matter,"  said  he ;  "  but,  on  one  hand,  I  feel 
(hat  I  have  neither  sufficient  zeal,  nor  grace,  nor 
talents,  to  expose  myself  to  the  temptations  and  la- 
bours of  a  mission  to  the  West-Indies;  and,  on  the 
other,  I  believe  that  if  God  call  me  thither  the  time 
is  not  yet  come.  I  wish  to  be  certain  that  I  am  con- 
verted myself,  before  I  leave  my  converged  brethren 
to  convert  heathens.  Pray  let  me  know  what  you 
think  of  this  business.  If  you  condemn  me  to  put 
the  sea  between  us,  the  command  would  be  a  hard 
one;  but  I  might  possibly  prevail  on  myself  to  give 
you  that  proof  of  the  deference  I  pay  to  your  judi- 
cious advice.''  That  proof  was  not  exacted.  Fletcher 
remained  in  England,  where  he  rendered  more  es- 
sential service  to  Methodism  by  his  writings,  than 
he  could  have  done  as  a  missionary,  and  Mr.  Gilbert 
returned  to  Antigua  w  ithout  an}  minister,  or  preacher 
in  his  company.  Being,  however,  enthusiastic  by 
constltutio'.i.  as  well  as  devout  by  principle,  he  pray- 
ed atid  preached  in  his  own  house  (o  such  persons 
as  would  assemble  to  hear  him  on  Sundays;  and,  en- 
courag(>d  by  the  facility  of  which  he  lound  himself 
possessed,  and  the  success  with  which  these  begin- 
nings were  attended,  he  went  forth  and  preached  to 
the  negroes.  This  conduct  drew  upon  him  contempt. 


340  METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


or  compassion,  according  as  it  was  imputed  to  follj, 
Or  to  insanity.*  But  he  had  his  reward ;  the  poor 
negroes  listened  willingly  to  the  consolations  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  he  lived  to  form  some  two  hundred  per- 
sons into  a  Methodist  society,  according  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's rules. 

After  Mr.  Gilbert's  death,  the  black  people  were 
kept  together  by  two  negresses,  who  prayed  to  them 
when  they  assembled,  and  preserved  amorig  them 
the  forms  of  the  society  as  far  as  they  could,  and  the 
spirit  of  devotion  In  the  year  1778,  a  shipwright, 
by  name  John  Baxter,  who  was  in  the  king's  service, 
removed  from  the  royal  docks  at  Chatham,  to  Eng- 
lish Harbour  in  Antigua,  and.  happily  for  himself  and 
the  poor  negroes,  he  survived  his  removal  to  one  of 
the  most  fatal  places  in  all  those  islands.  He  had 
been  for  some  years  a  leader  among  the  Methodists, 
and  upon  his  arrival,  he  took  upon  himself  immedi- 
ately, as  far  as  his  occupation  would  allow,  the  ma- 
nagement of  the  society.  His  Sundays  he  de\oted 
entirely  to  them  ;  and  on  the  other  days  of  ihe  week, 
after  his  day's  vvork  was  done,  he  rode  about  to  the 
different  plantations,  to  instruct  and  exhort  the  slaves, 
when  they  also  were  at  rest  from  their  labour.  Some 
of  them  would  come  three  or  four  miles  to  hear  him. 
He  found  it  hard  to  flesh  and  blood,  he  said,  to  work 
all  day,  and  then  ride  ten  miles  at  night  to  preach; 
but  the  motive  supported  him,  and  he  was  probably 
the  happiest  man  upon  the  island.  He  married,  and 
thereby  established  himself  there.  The  contribu- 
tions of  his  hearers,  though  he  was  the  only  white 
man  in  the  society,  enabled  him  to  build  a  chapel. 

*  A  son  of  Mr.  Gilbert  published,  in  the  year  1796,  "The  Hurricane, 
a  Theosophical  and  Western  Eclogue  "  and  shortly  afterwards  placard- 
ed the  walls  in  London  with  the  largest  bills  that  had  at  that  time  been 
seen,  announcing  "The  Law  of  Fire."  I  knew  him  well,  and  look 
back  with  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  the  hour-  which  I  have  past  in  his 
society,  when  his  mind  was  in  ruins.  His  madness  was  of  the  most  incom- 
presensible  kind,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  notes  to  the  Hurricane  but 
the  poem  contains  passages  of  exquisite  beauty.  I  have  among  my  pa- 
pers some  curious  memorials  of  this  interesting  man.  They  who  re- 
member him  (as  some  of  my  readers  will)  will  not  be  displeased  at  seeing 
him  thus  mentioned  with  the  respect  and  regret  which  are  due  to  the 
wreck  of  a  noble  mind. 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES.  341 


He  wrote  to  Mr.  W  esley  from  time  to  time,  re- 
quested his  directions,  and  expressed  a  hope  that 
some  one  would  come  to  his  assistance,  The  old 
standers,"  said  he,  *'  desire  me  to  inform  you  that 
you  have  many  children  in  Antigua,  whom  you  never 
saw  " 

Baxter  was,  after  a  while,  assisted  by  an  English 
woman,  who  having  an  annuity  charged  upon  an 
estate  in  the  island,  had  found  it  necessary  to  reside 
there.  She  opened  her  house  for  prayers  every  day, 
and  set  apart  one  evening  every  week  for  reading 
the  Scripiures,  to  all  who  would  hear.  These  meet- 
ings were  much  frequented  ;  for  the  English,"  says 
this  lady,  can  scarcely  conceive  the  hunger  and 
thirst  expressed  by  a  poor  negro,  w  hen  he  has  learn- 
ed that  the  soul  \s  immortal,  and  is  under  the  opera- 
tion of  awakening  influences."  Further  assistance 
arrived  in  a  manner  remarkable  enough  to  deserve 
relation.  An  old  man  and  his  wife  at  Waterford,  be- 
ing past  their  labour,  were  supported  by  tvyo  of  their 
sons.  They  were  Methodists  ;  the  children  had  been 
religiously  brought  up.  and  in  their  old  age  the  pa- 
rents found  the  benefit  of  having  trained  them  in  the 
way  they  should  go.  At  the  close  of  the  American 
war,  America  was  represented  to  the  two  sons  as  a 
land  flowitig  with  milk  and  honey,  and  they  were  ad- 
vised to  emigrate.  Go  they  would  not,  without  the 
consent  of  their  parents ;  and  the  old  people  en- 
treated them  to  wait  a  little,  till  they  should  be  in 
the  grave  :  the  youths,  however,  unwilling  to  wait, 
and  incapable  of  forsaking  their  parents,  proposed 
that  they  should  go  together,  and  succeeded  in  per- 
suading them.  Having  no  means  of  paying  for  their 
passage,  the  poor  lads  indented  themselves  to  the 
captain  of  a  ship,  who  was  collecting  white  slaves 
for  the  V  irginia  market;  and  as  the  old  people  could 
be  of  no  use  as  bond-servants,  the  boys  were  bound 
for  a  double  term  on  their  account.  How  the  parents, 
incapable  as  they  were  of  supporting  themselves, 
wero  to  be  supported  in  a  strange  land,  when  their 
children  were  in  bondage,  was  a  question  which  ne- 
ver occurred  to  any  one  of  the  family.    A  married 


342  METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


son  and  his  wife  came  on  board  to  take  leave,  and 
they  were  persuaded  by  their  relations  and  by  the 
crimping  skipper  to  join  the  party  upon  the  same 
terms.  No  sooner  had  they  sailed  than  they  were 
m  de  to  feel  the  bitterness  of  their  condition  :  slaves 
they  had  made  themselves,  and  like  slaves  they  were 
treated  by  the  white  slavemonger  who  had  entrap- 
ped them.  Happily  for  them,  after  a  miserable  voy- 
age, the  ship  was  driven  to  the  West-Indies,  and  put 
into  Antigua  like  a  floating  wreck,  almost  by  miracle. 
The  old  Irishman,  hearing  that  there  were  Metho- 
dists on  the  island,  inquired  for  the  preaching-house, 
and  Methodism  proved  more  advantageous  to  him 
than  free-masonry  Mould  have  done.  It  procured 
him  real  and  active  friends,  who  ransomed  the  whole 
family.  Good  situations  were  procured  for  the  three 
sons :  the  old  man  acted  under  Baxter  ;  being  well 
acquainted  with  the  routine  of  the  society,  he  was 
of  great  use;  and  by  the  year  1786  the  persons  un- 
der their  spiritual  care  amounted  to  nearly  two  thou- 
sand, chiefly  negroes. 

In  that  year  Dr.  Coke  embarked  upon  his  second 
voyage  to  America.  The  season  was  stormy,  and 
the  captain  being  one  of  those  persons  who  have  a 
great  deal  of  superstition,  without  the  slightest  piety, 
conceived  that  the  continuance  of  bad  weather  was 
brought  on  by  the  praying  and  preaching  of  the  Doc- 
tor and  his  companions.  One  day,  therefore,  in  the 
force  of  the  tempest,  while  these  passengers  were 
fervently  prajing  for  the  preservation  of  the  ship 
and  of  the  lives  of  all  on  board,  the  skipper  paraded 
the  deck  in  great  agitation,  muttering  to  himself,  but 
so  as  to  be  distinctly  heard,  "  We  have  a  Jonah  on 
board  !  We  have  a  Jonah  on  board  !"  till,  having 
worked  himself  almost  into  a  state  of  madness,  he 
burst  into  Coke's  cabin,  seized  his  books  and  writ- 
ings, and  tossed  them  into  the  sea ;  and,  griping  the 
Doctor  himself,  who  was  a  mail  of  diminutive  stature, 
swore  that  if  ever  he  made  another  prayer  on  board 
that  ship  he  would  throw  him  overboard,  after  his 
papers.  At  lojigth  the  vessel,  after  imminent  dan- 
ger, succeeded  in  reaching  Antigua.     It  was  on 


METHODISM  IV  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


343 


Christmas  day.  Dr.  Coke  went  in  search  of  Mr.  Bax- 
ter, and  met  him  oh  the  way  to  officiate  at  the  chapel. 
To  the  latter  this  event  was  as  joyful  as  it  was  un- 
expected :  the  former  performed  the  service  for  him, 
and  administered  the  sacrament.  He  was  delio!)ted 
with  the  appearance  of  the  congregation,  one  of  the 
cleanest,  he  said,  that  he  had  ever  seen.  The  ne- 
gresses  were  dressed  in  white  linen  gowns,  petticoats, 
handkerchiefs,  and  caps;  and  their  whole  dress, 
which  was  beautifully  clean,  appeared  the  whiter 
from  the  contrast  of  their  skins. 

Dr.  Coke's  arrival  occasioned  a  considerable  stir 
in  the  capital  of  this  little  island.  He  preached 
twice  a  day,  and  curiosity  brought  such  numbers  to 
hear  him,  that  in  the  evenings  the  poor  neoroes,  who 
by  their  savings  had  built  the  chapel,  could  firsd  i.o 
room  in  it.  The  good  effect  of  Methodism  upon  tlie 
slaves  had  been  so  apparent,  that  it  was  no  longer 
necessary,  as  it  formerly  had  been,  to  enforce  mili- 
tary law  during  the  holydays  which  were  allowed 
them  at  Christmas.  'I'hey  were  made  better  ser- 
vants, as  they  were  instructed  in  their  moral  and  re- 
ligious duties.  Methodism,  therefore,  was  in  high 
favour  there,  and  Dr  Coke  was  informed,  that  if  five 
hundred  a  year  would  detain  him  in  Antigua,  it 
should  be  forthcoming.  "God  be  praised,"  he  says, 
*'  five  hundred  thousand  a  year  would  be  to  me  a 
feather,  when  opposed  to  my  usefulness  in  the  church 
of  Christ."  He  and  his  companions  were  hospita- 
bly entertained  and  treated,  he  says,  rather  like 
princes  tlian  subjects;  and  the  company  of  merchants 
invited  them  to  a  dinner  wljich  was  given  to  Prince 
William  Henry. 

Here  Dr.  Coke  held  what  he  calls  an  Infant  Con- 
ference. Iiivitations  for  the  preachers  came  from  St. 
Vincents  ;  and  recommendatory  letters  were  given 
them  to  the  islands  of  St.  Eustatius  and  St.  Kitts. — 

All  is  of  God,"  said  Coke  ;  I  have  no  doubt,  but 
it  would  be  an  open  resistance  to  the  clear  provi- 
dences of  the  Almighty,  to  remove  any  one  of  the 
missionaries  at  present  from  this  country."  Of  the 
three  who  had  embarked  with  him  from  England  for 


344 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDlES. 


America,  it  was  determined  that  one  should  remain 
in  Antigua ;  and  Baxter  gave  up  the  place  which  he 
held  under  government,  and  which  was  worth  400/. 
a  year  currency,  that  he  might  devote  his  whole 
strength  and  time  to  the  spiritual  service  of  his  fel- 
low creatures.  His  wife,  though  a  Creole,  well  born, 
and  deHcately  brought  up,  readily  consented  to  this 
sacrifice,  and  cheerfully  submitted  to  her  part  of  the 
discomforts  and  privations  inseparable  from  an  itine- 
rant life ;  for  even  among  the  islands  itinerancy  was 
considered  as  an  essential  part  of  the  Methodist 
economy.  Leaving,  therefore,  Mr.  Warrenner  in 
Antigua,  Coke  departed,  with  Baxter  and  the  other 
two  brothers,  to  reconnoitre  the  neighbouring  islands. 
They  were  hospitably  entertained  at  Dominica,  at 
St.  Vincents,  Nevis,  and  St.  Kitts  ;  and  though  the 
commanding  officer  would  not  give  permission  for 
preaching  in  the  barracks  at  St.  Vincents,  where 
some  religious  soldiers  would  soon  have  formed  a 
society.  Dr.  Coke  thought  the  general  prospect  so 
encouraging  that  he  said  the  will  of  God,  in  respect 
to  the  appointment  of  a  Missionary  there,  was  as 
clear  as  if  it  had  been  written  with  a  sunbeam.  Mr. 
Clarke  accordingly  was  stationed  there,  and  Mr. 
Hammet  at  St.  Kitts. 

When  they  arrived  at  St.  Eustatius,  they  found 
that  a  slave,  by  name  Harry,  who  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Society  in  America,  had  taken 
to  exhorting  in  that  island,  and  had  been  silenced  by 
the  governor,  because  the  slaves  were  so  affected 
at  hearing  him,  that  "  many  fell  down  as  if  they  were 
dead,  and  some  remained  in  a  state  of  stupor  du- 
ring several  hours."  Sixteen  persons  had  been 
thrown  into  these  fits  in  one  night.  This  was  a 
Case  in  which  the  governor's  interference  was  per- 
fectly justifiable  and  right.  The  day  after  this 
event.  Coke  and  his  companions  landed,  and  waited 
upon  the  persons  in  authority.  They  soon  found 
that  the  degree  of  freedom  which  is  every  where 
enjoyed  under  the  British  government,  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  dominions  of  any  other  European  power. 
They  were  ordered  to  prepare  their  confession  of 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


345 


faith  and  credentials,  and  to  present  them  to  the 
court,  and  to  be  private  in  their  devotions,  till  the 
court  had  coi»sidered  vvhether  their  religion  should 
be  tolerated  or  not.  The  council  were  satisfied  with 
tlie  conl'ession,  aud  Dr.  (^oke  was  desired  to  preach 
before  them.  But  it  was  evident  that  the  govern- 
ment would  not  permit  the  establisliment  of  an  Eng- 
lish mission  upon  that  island,  though  the  itjhabitanls 
were  exceedingly  desirous  of  it.  Dr.  Coke,  during  a 
fortnight's  stay,  did  what  he  could  towards  lorming 
6uch  as  were  willing  into  classes,  and  instructing 
them  in  tlie  lorms  of  Methodism,  and  was  laden  with 
presents  of  sea-stores  and  other  refreshments,  w  hen 
he  embarked  from  thence  to  pursue  his  voyage  to 
America. 

So  fair  a  beginning  was  thus  made,  that  from  that 
time  it  became  as  regular  a  part  of  business  for  the 
Conference  to  provide  for  the  West  Indies,  as  for 
any  part  of  (Breat  Britain  in  wbich  societies  had, 
been  raised.  In  the  autumn  of  1788,  the  indefati- 
gable Coke  (who  may  properly  be  called  the  Xavier 
of  Methodism)  sailcfl  a  third  time  for  the  western 
world,  taking  with  him  three  missionaries  intended 
for  the  (  ohunbian  Islands.  They  were  embarked 
in  that  unfortunate  ship,  the  Hankey,  which  has 
been  accused  of  im[)orling,  in  a  subsequent  voyage, 
the  yellow  fever  from  Bulama  to  the  West  Indies, 
as  if  that  pestilence  were  not  the  growth  of  those 
countries.  Every  thing  was  favourable  now,  and 
the  missionaries  succeeded  so  well  in  conciliating 
the  good  will  of  the  crew,  that  w  hen  they  took  leave 
of  them  at  Barbadoes,  many  of  the  men  were  in 
tears,  and  the  sailors  bade  them  farewell  with  three 
hearty  cheers  as  the  boat  dropped  astern.  Coke 
with  his  companions  landed  at  Bridgetown,  as  ad- 
venturously as  ever  knight-errant  set  foot  upon  an 
island  with  his  squire  and  his  dwarf  INone  of  the 
party  supposed  that  they  had  a  single  acquaintance 
in  Barbadoes.  There  were,  however,  some  soldiers 
there,  who  had  been  qiiartered  at  Kinsale  in  Ire- 
land, where  Mr.  Fearce,  one  of  the  missionaries, 
had  preached  ;  he  was  presently  recognized  by  a 
VOL.  n.  44 


346 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


Serjeant,  who  embraced  him  without  ceremony  ;  and 
it  appeared  that  this  serjeant  and  some  of  his  com- 
rades had  kept  up  the  forms  of  Methodism,  and 
Were  in  the  habit  of  exhorting  the  people,  in  aware- 
house  which  a  friendly  merchant  had  lent  them  for 
that  purpose.  Before  Dr.  Coke  could  wait  upon 
this  merchant,  he  received  an  invitation  to  break- 
fast with  him  :  he  proved  to  have  been  one  of  his 
hearers  in  America,  where  four  of  his  negroes  had 
been  baptized  by  the  Doctor.  The  missionaries 
were  immediately  received  irito  his  house  ;  they 
were  encouraged  by  the  governor,  and  by  the  mer- 
chants and  planters  to  whom  they  were  introduced. 
Pearce  was  left  upon  the  island  ;  and  Coke,  having 
placed  every  thing  in  as  favourable  a  train  as  could 
he  wished,  proceeded  to  St.  Vincent's,  whither  the 
other  two  missionaries  had  preceded  him,  and  where 
he  was  joined  by  Baxter.  One  of  the  party  was 
stationed  there  to  assist  the  former  preacher;  and 
Baxter  and  his  wife  willingly  consented  to  take  up 
their  abode  among  the  Caribs,  and  endeavour  at 
the  same  time  to  civilize  and  to  convert  them. 

Continuing  his  circuit,  Dr.  Coke  formed  a  so- 
ciety at  Dominica,  and  finding  all  prosperous  at 
Antigua  and  St.  Kitt'-s,  visited  St.  Eustatius.  Here 
he  found  that  the  aspects  were  different.  The 
black  Harry,  after  the  Doctor's  departure  from 
his  former  visit,  interpreting  the  governor's  prohi- 
bition according  to  the  letter  rather  than  the  spirit, 
abstained  indeed  from  preaching  to  his  fellow-slaves, 
but  ventured  to  pray  with  them.  For  this  offence 
he  was  publicly  whipped  and  imprisoned,  and 
then  banished  from  the  island.  And  an  edict  was 
issued,  declaring,  that  if  any  white  person  should 
be  found  praying  with  others  who  were  not  of  his 
family,  he  should  be  fined  fifty  pieces  of  eight  for 
the  first  otrence,  a  hundred  for  the  second,  and 
for  the  third  offence  he  should  be  whipped,  his 
goods  confiscated,  and  himself  banished  the  island. 
A  free  man  of  colour  was  to  receive  thirty-nine 
stripes  for  the  first  off'^nce,  and  for  the  second 
to  be  flogged  and  banished  ;  and  a  slave  was  to 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


317 


be  flogged  every  time  he  was  found  offending." 
"This,  i  think,"  says  Dr.  Coke,  "is  tlie  first  in- 
stance, known  among  mankind,  of  a  persecution 
openly  avowed  against  religion  itself  The  perse- 
cutions among  the  heathens  were  supported  under 
the  pretence  that  the  Christians  brought  in  strange 
gods ;  those  among  the  Roman  Catholics  were  under 
the  pretext  of  the  Protestants  introducing  heresies 
into  the  church  ;  but  this  is  openly  and  avowedly 
against  prayer^  the  great  key  to  every  blessing." 
Notwithstanding  this  edict,  and  the  rigour  with 
wliich  it  was  enforced,  so  strong  was  the  desire  of 
the  poor  people  on  this  island  tor  religious  instruc- 
tion and  religious  sympathy,  that  Dr.  Coke  found 
above  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons  there  classed  as 
Methodists,  and  baptized  a  hundred  and  forty  of 
them.  He  remained  there  oidy  one  night;  but  the 
sloop  which  he  had  hired  to  carry  him  and  his  com- 
panions to  St.  Kilt's,  having  received  much  damage 
by  striking  against  a  ship,  they  were  obliged  to  re- 
turn; and  Coke,  w  ho  interpreted  this  accident  as  a 
plain  declaration  of  Providence,  wliereby  he  was 
called  on  to  bear  a  public  testimony  for  Christ,  im- 
mediately hired  a  large  room  for  a  month.  What- 
ever danger  might  be  incurred  would  fall  upon  him- 
self, he  thought,  by  this  proceeding;  whereas  his 
friends  would  have  been  amenable  to  the  laws  if  he 
had  preached  in  their  houses.  The  next  day,  there- 
fore, he  boldly  performed  service,  and  gave  notice 
that  he  intended  to  oificiate  again  on  the  morrow. 
But  Dutch  governors  are  not  persons  who  will  suffer 
their  authority  to  be  set  at  nought  with  impunity; 
and  on  the  ensuing  morning  the  Doctor  received  a 
message  from  the  governor,  requiring  him,  and  two  of 
his  companions,  who  were  specified  by  name,  to  en- 
gage that  they  would  not,  publicly  or  privately,  by 
day  or  by  night,  preach  either  to  whites  or  blacks, 
during  their  stay  in  that  island,  on  pain  of  prosecu- 
tion, arbitrary  punishment,  and  banishment.  "  We 
withdrew  to  consult,"  says  he ;  "  and  after  consider- 
ing that  we  were  favoured  by  Providence  with  an 
open  door  in  other  islands,  lor  as  many  missionaries 


348  METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


as  we  could  spare,  and  that  God  was  carrying  on  liis 
blessed  work  even  in  this  island  by  means  of  secret 
class-meetings;  and  that  Divine  Providence  may  ii; 
future  redress  these  grievances  by  a  change  of  the 
governor,  or  by  the  iiiterference  of  the  superior 
powers  in  Holland  in  some  other  way,  we  gave  for 
answer,  that  we  would  obey  the  government;  and, 
having  nothing  more  at  present  to  do  in  that  place 
of  tyranny,  oppression,  and  wrong,  we  returned  to 
St.  Kitt's,  blessing  God  for  a  British  constitution 
and  a  Britisii  government  " 

There  was  in  Dr.  Coke's  company  a  third  mis- 
sionary, by  name  Brazier,  whom  the  governor  had 
not  heard  of,  and  who  therefore  was  not  included  in 
the  mandate.  He  thought  himself  perfectly  justi- 
fied in  leaving  this  missionary  upon  the  island. 
There  were  times  in  whieli  such  an  experiment  might 
fiave  cost  the  contrnband  preacher  his  life ;  and  if 
the  governor  had  been  as  eager  to  persecute  as 
Coke  supposed  him  to  !>e.  Brazier  would  certaiidy 
not  have  got  off  with  a  whole  skin.  The  truth  seems 
to  be,  that  the  governor's  interference  hnd  in  the 
first  instance  been  necessary.  Harry's  preaching 
was  of  that  kind  which  ought  not  to  be  tolerated, 
because  it  threw  his  hearers  into  fits.  If  Dr  Coke, 
on  his  first  landing,  had  distinctly  expressed  his  dis- 
approbation of  such  excesses,  things  might  possibly 
have  taken  a  different  turn.  But  lue  had  learned  to 
regard  them  as  the  outward  signs  and  manifestations 
of  inward  grace;  and  the  governor,  seeing  that  the 
black  preacher  was  acknowledged  by  him  as  a  fel- 
low-labourer, regnrded  him  and  his  companions  as 
troublesome  fanatics,  and  treated  them  accordingly. 
And  when  he  discovered  that  Brazier  l)ad  been 
clandestinely  left  behind,  he  behaved  with  more 
temper  than  might  have  been  expected,  in  merely. 
ord(>ringhim  to  leave  the  island.  A  man  in  power, 
who  retairsed  something  of  the  religious  part  of  the 
old  Dutch  character,  removed  the  banished  mission- 
ary to  the  little  island  of  Saba,  a  dependency  upon 
St.  Eustatius,  containing  about  three  thousand  inha* 
bitants,  of  whom  one-third  were  whites.    There  was 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


349 


a  respectable  church  there ;  but  the  people  had 
been  seventeen  years  without  a  tninister.  They  re- 
ceived Brazier  with  the  greatest  joy,  and  governor, 
council,  and  people  entreated  him  to  take  up  his 
abode  among  them,  offering  him  the  church,  the  par- 
sonage, and  a  sullicient  maintenance.  Coke  went 
there,  and  was  delighted  with  the  kindness  and  sim- 
plicity of  the  people.  He  informed  them  what  tlie 
economy  of  the  Methodists  was,  and  p;irticular'y  ex- 
plaitjed  to  them  what  he  called  the  "  grand  and  in- 
dispensable custom  of  changing  their  ministers." 
They  were  willing  to  comply  with  every  thing;  and 
though  Brazier  hud  been  ordered  by  the  Conference 
to  Jamaica,  Dr.  Coke  consented  to  leave  him  at  Sa- 
ba. But  when  the  governor  of  St.  Kust.ttius  knew 
where  he  was,  he  compelled  the  governmeiit  to  dis- 
miss him,  though  with  sorrow  and  reluctance  on  their 
part. 

Two  missionaries  had  been  appointed  to  Jamaica  ; 
but  Coke  having  thus  disposed  of  the  one,  left  the 
other  to  divide  his  labours  between  Tortola  ai.d 
Santa  Cruz,  (on  which  little  island  the  Danish  go- 
vernor promised  him  all  the  encouragement  in  his 
power,)  and  proceeded  to  Jamaica  alone,  merely  to 
prepare  the  way.  Some  of  the  higher  orders,  b(>iiig 
drunk  atthe  tiuie,insulted  him  while  he  was  preachi  g 
at  Kingston,  and  would  have  offered  some  person  1 
indignities  to  him,  if  they  had  not  been  controlled  by 
the  great  majority  of  the  congregation  ;  but  oti  the 
whole  he  w  as  so  well  received  and  liospitnbly  e;  - 
tertained,  that  he  says,  in  honour  of  the  island,  be 
never  visited  any  place,  either  in  Europe  or  Ameri- 
ca, where  Methodism  had  not  taken  root,  in  which 
he  received  so  many  civilities  as  in  Jamaica.  He 
went  thcrefiom  to  America,  and  from  thence  return- 
ed to  England,  in  fidl  persuasion  that  the  prospects 
of  the  society,  both  in  Jamaica  and  the  Leeward 
Islands,  were  as  favourable  asoon.'d  be  desired. 

The  cost  of  his  spiritual  colonization  now  became 
serious;  for  the  resources  of  the  Connexion  did 
not  keep  pace  with  its  progress,  and  it  necessarily 
increased  expenditure.     Tiie  missions  could  not 


350 


METHODISM  IN  THE  AVEST-INDIES. 


be  supported  unless  separate  tunds  were  raised  tor 
the  purpose  ;  and  tliose  funds  could  only  be  drawn 
from  voluntary  contributions.  By  the  request  of  the 
Conference,  Dr.  Coke  (never  so  happy  as  when  he 
was  most  actively  employed  in  such  service)  made  a 
tour  of  sixteen  months  in  the  United  Kingdoms, 
preaching  in  behalf  of  the  negroes,  for  whom  these 
missions  were  especially  designed;  and  collecting 
money  by  these  means,  and  by  personal  application 
to  such  as  were  likely  to  contribute;  going  himself 
from  door  to. door.*  The  rebuflfs  which  he  frequently 
met  with,  did  not  deter  him  from  the  work  wiiich  he 
had  undertaken ;  and  he  obtained  enough  to  dis- 
charge the  whole  debt  which  had  been  contracted 
on  this  account,  and  to  proceed  with  the  missions 
upon  an  extended  scale.  In  the  autumn  of  1790,  he 
made  a  third  voyage  to  the  Columbian  Islands.  A 
chapel  had  been  built  at  Barbadoes,  during  his  ab- 
sence, capable  of  holding  some  seven  hundred  per- 
sons ;  but  the  hopes  of  those,  by  whom  this  building 
had  been  directed,  had  been  greater  than  their  fore- 
sight. Though  the  curate  at  Bridgetown,  Mr.  Dent, 
was  the  only  clergyman  in  all  the  islands  who  coun- 
tenanced the  Methodists,  and  was  heartily  glad  at  re- 
ceiving from  them  the  assistance  which  he  wanted ; 
though  the  governor  was  not  unfavourable  to  them, 
and  they  had  begun  under  such  favourable  appear- 
ances, the  preacher  had  become  obnoxious :  the  nick- 
name of  Hallelujahs  had  been  fixed  upon  his  follow- 
ers, and  they  had  undergone  that  sort  of  opposition, 
which  they  dignify  by  the  name  of  persecution.  Per- 
secution, in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  they  have 
since  that  time  suffered  in  some  of  the  islands ;  but 
in  these  instances  the  missionary  seems  to  have  been 
protected  by  the  magistrates  when  he  appealed  for 
redress.    At  St.  Vincent's,  the  attempt  to  civilize  the 

*  A  captain  in  the  navy,  from  whom  he  obtained  a  subscription,  call- 
ing upon  an  acquaintance  of  Coke's  the  same  morning,  said:  "Do  you 
know  any  thing  of  a  little  fellow  who  calls  himself  Dr.  Coke,  and  who 
is  going  about  begging  money  for  missionaries  to  be  sent  among  the 
slaves?  " — "I  know  him  well,"  was  the  reply.  "He  seems,"  rejoined 
the  captain,  "  to  be  a  heavenly-minded  little  devil.  -  He  coaxed  me  out 
of  two  guineas  this  morning."— Drew's  Life  of  Dr.  Coke,  p.  388.  vol.  2. 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


351 


Caribs  had  altogether  failed.  This  was  owing  to  the 
French  priests  at  Martinico.  The  French  mission- 
aries have  rendered  themselves  liable  to  the  heavy 
accusation  of  sacrificing  the  interests  of  Christianity 
to  the  political  views  of  their  country.  Of  this  their 
conduct  in  Canada  affords  scandalous  proofs;  and  on 
the  present  occasion  they  acted  in  the  same  manner. 
They  persuaded  the  Caribs,  who  went  to  Martinico 
on  one  of  their  tnu'i'ig  visits,  that  the  Methodists 
were  spies,  whom  the  king  of  England  had  sent  to 
explore  their  land;  and  as  soon  as  they  had  finished 
their  errand,  they  would  retire,  and  an  army  would 
be  sent  to  conquer  the  country.  The  Caribs  had 
regarded  Baxter  as  their  father,  till  they  were  de- 
ceived by  this  villainous  artifice.  1  hey  then  behav- 
ed so  sullenly  towards  him.  that  he  thought  it  ad  vise- 
able  to  hasten  with  his  wife  out  of  their  power. — 
When  Mrs.  Baxter  took  leave  of  these  poor  savages, 
to  whose  instruction  she  had  vainly  devoted  herself, 
she  wept  bitterly,  and  prayed  that  they  might  have 
another  call,  and  might  not  reject  it  as  they  had  done 
this.  But  among  the  other  casts  upon  the  island  the 
preachers  were  well  received.  The  negroes,  who, 
in  Barbadoes,  were  remarkably  indifferent  to  reli- 
gious instruction,  here  were  exceedingly  desirous  of 
it;  and  even  the  Catholic  families  showed  favour  to 
the  missionaries,  and  sent  for  Baxter  to  baptize  their 
children.  The  prospect  was  still  more  favourable  at 
Grenada.  Mr.  Dent  had  recently  been  presented  to 
the  living  of  St.  George's  in  that  island  ;  and  the  go- 
vernor, General  Matthews,  requested  Dr.  Coke  to 
send  missionaries  there,  saying  it  was  his  wish  that 
the  negroes  should  be  fully  instructed,  and  there 
would  be  work  enough  for  their  preachers  and  for 
the  clergy  of  the  island  too. 

The  Methodists  were  increasing  in  Antigua;  but 
here  a  symptom  appeared  of  that  enthusiasm  of  which 
it  is  so  difficult  for  Methodism  to  clear  itself,  sanc- 
tioned as  it  has  been  by  Wesley.  At  the  baptism  of 
some  adults,  one  of  them  was  so  overcome  by  her 
feelings  that  she  fell  into  a  swoon  ;  and  Dr.  Coke,  in- 
stead of  regarding  this  as  a  disorder,  and  impressinir 


352  METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


upon  his  disciples  the  duty  of  controlHiig  their  emo- 
tions, Sj  oke  ofit  as  a  memorable  thing,  and  with  evi- 
dent satistaction  related  that,  as  she  lay  entranced 
with  an  enraptured  countenance,  all  she  said  for 
some  time  was.  Heaven !  Heaven  !  Come  !  Come  ! 
It  requires  more  charity  and  more  discrimination 
than  the  majority  of  men  possess,  not  to  suspect  ei- 
ther the  sincerity  or  the  sanity  of  persons  who  aim 
at  producing  effects  like  this  by  their  ministry,  or  ex- 
ult in  them  when  they  are  produced.  Not  deterred 
by  liis  former  ill  success  at  8t.  Eustatius,  Coke,  with 
the  perseverance  tliat  characterized  him  in  all  his 
undertakings,  made  a  third  visit  there,  and  waited 
upon  the  new  governor,  who  had  recently  arrived 
from  Holland.  The  Dutchman,  he  says,  received 
him  with  very  great  rudeness  indeed ;  but  he  ought 
to  have  considered  it  as  an  act  of  courtesy  that  he 
was  not  immediately  sent  off  the  island.  The  Metho- 
dists there  were  in  the  habit  of  regularly  holding 
their  class-meetings;  and  notwithstanding  the  edict, 
there  were  no  fewer  than  eight  exhorters  among  them. 
One  of  these  persons  called  upon  the  Doctor,  request- 
ed him  to  correspond  with  them,  and  promised,  in 
the  name  of  his  fellows,  punctually  to  obey  all  the  di- 
rections which  should  be  given  them  concerning  the 
management  of  the  society.  He  told  him  also  that 
many  of  the  free  blacks,  of  both  sexes,  intended  go- 
ing to  St.  Kitt's  to  receive  the  sacrament,  at  Christ- 
mas, from  one  of  the  missionaries.  Here  Dr.  Coke 
met  with  another  instance,  which,  if  he  had  been  ca- 
pable of  learning  that  lesson,  might  have  taught  him 
how  dangerous  it  is  to  excite  an  enthusiastic  spirit  of 
religion.  1  he  person,  who,  on  his  former  visits,  had 
entertained  him  with  true  hospitality,  was  in  the  very 
depth  of  despair.  "  The  only  reason  he  gave  for  his 
deplorable  situation  was,  that  the  Lord  had  very 
powerfully  called  him,  time  after  time,  to  preach, 
and  he  had  as  often  resisted  the  call,  till  at  last  he 
entirely  lost  a  sense  of  the  favour  of  God.  He  seem- 
ed to  have  no  hope  left.  We  endeavoured,"  the  Doc- 
tor adds,  "to  raise  his  drooping  head,  but  all  in 
vain."    If  this  case  were  known  to  the  persons  in 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


353 


office,  as  in  all  likelihood  it  must  have  been,  it  would 
satisfy  them  that  thcj  had  done  wisely  in  proscribing 
a  system  which  produceil  effecls  like  this.  The  per- 
son in  question  conceived  himself  to  be  in  a  state  of 
reprobation,  because  he  had  not  broken  the  laws  of 
the  place  wherein  he  lived. 

By  this  time  the  alloy  of  Methodism  had  shown 
itself  in  the  islands.  Dr.  Coke  commanded  respect 
there  by  his  manners,  his  education,  and  his  station 
in  life.  The  missionaries  who  followed  him  had 
none  of  these  advantages;  their  poverty  and  their 
peculiarities  provoked  contempt  in  those  who  had 
no  respect  for  ihvW  zeal,  and  who  perceived  all  that 
was  offensive  in  their  conduct,  and  all  that  was  in- 
discreet, but  were  insensible  of  the  good  which  these 
instruments  were  producing.  Indispensable  as  reli- 
gion is  to  the  well  being  of  every  society,  its  salutary 
influences  are  more  especially  required  in  countries 
where  the  system  of  slavery  is  established.  If  the 
planters  understood  their  own  interest,  they  would 
see  that  the  missionaries  might  be  made  their  best 
friends  ;  that  by  their  means  tlie  evils  of  slavery  might 
be  mitigated  ;  and  that,  in  proportion  as  the  slave 
was  made  a  religious  being,  he  became  resigned  to 
his  lot  and  contented.  But  one  sure  effect  of  that 
abominable  system  is,  that  it  demoralizes  the  mas- 
ters as  much  as  it  brutalizes  the  slaves.  Men  w  hose 
lives  are  evil,  w  illingly  disbelieve  the  Gospel  if  they 
can  ;  and.  with  tlie  greater  part  of  mankind,  belief 
and  disbelief  depend  upon  volition  far  more  than  is 
generally  understood.  But  if  they  cannot  succeed  in 
this,  they  naturally  hate  those  who  preach  zealously 
against  their  habitual  vices.  Among  the  causes, 
therefore,  which  soon  made  the  Methodists  unpopu- 
lar in  all  or  most  of  the  Columbian  islands,  the  first 
place  must  be  assigned  to  that  hateful  licentiousness, 
which  prevails  w  herever  slavery  exists :  something 
is  to  be  allow  ed  to  a  contempt  for  the  preachers ; 
something  to  the  objectionable  practices  of  Metho- 
dism, and  to  a  just  dislike  of  what  was  offensive  in 
its  language;  and  perhaps  not  a  little  to  the  merito- 
rious zeal  which  the  society  had  shown  in  England 

VOL.  II.  45 


METHODISM  IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


in  favour  of  the  abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade,  when 
tJiat  great  question  was  first  agitated  with  such  ar- 
dent benevolence  on  one  side,  and  such  fierce  re- 
pugnance on  the  other. 

While  Dr.  Coke  was  in  Antigua,  Baxter  was 
assaulted  at  the  door  of  his  cliapel  b^'  some 
drunken  persons  of  the  higher  order,  ^ho  threat- 
ened to  murder  him.  His  wife  and  the  negroes 
believed  them  to  be  in  earnest;  the  cry  which  they 
raised  was  mistaken  for  a  cry  of  fire,  and  the  whole 
town  was  presently  in  an  uproar.  Baxter  was  in- 
formed by  the  magistrates  that  the  oflfenders  should 
be  punisiied  as  they  deserved,  if  he  would  lodge 
an  information  agoinst  them.  But  it  was  thought 
best  to  acknowledge  a  grateful  sense  of  their  pro- 
tection, and  to  decline  the  prosecution.  Shortly 
afterwards,  the  chapel  at  St.  Vincent's  was  broken 
open  by  night,  not  by  robbers,  but  by  mischievous 
and  probably  drunken  persons,  who  did  what  mis- 
chief tiiey  could,  and,  carrying  away  the  Bible,  sus- 
pended il  from  the  gallows;  a  tlagilious  act,  which 
ciHi'^ed  the  miigistrates  to  ofler  a  large  reward  for 
disco\  erii!g  the  perpetrators.  This  growing  ill-will 
was  more  openly  disf)layed  at  Jamaica,  where  a  mis- 
sionary had  been  appointed,  and  a  chapel  erected  in 
Kingston.  The  preachers  life  had  been  frequently 
endangered  here  by  an  outrageous  rabble;  and  a 
person  who  was  considered  to  be  the  cl)ief  of  the 
Methodists  narrowly  escaped  being  stoned  to  death, 
and  was  once  obliged  to  disguise  himself  in  regi- 
mentals. Attempts  were  made  to  pull  down  the 
chapel;  and  when  some  of  the  rioters  were  prose- 
cuted, they  were  acquitted.  Coke  says,  against  the 
clearest  evidence.  The  most  abominable  reports 
were  raised  against  Hammet.  the  preacher ;  and  as 
for  Dr.  Coko,  he,  they  said,  had  been  tried  in  Eng- 
land for  horse-stealing,  and  had  fied  the  country  in 
order  to  escape  from  justice. 

Such  was  the  temper  of  the  Jamaica  people,  when 
the  Doctor,  with  another  missionary  in  his  company, 
landed  at  Montego  Bay,  in  the  beginning  of  J 791. 
A  recommendatory  letter  to  a  gentleman  in  the 


METHODISM   IN  THE  WEST-INDIES. 


355 


neighbourhood  procured  them  an  excellent  dinner, 
but  no  help  in  tlieir  main  design;  and  they  walked 
the  streets,  peeping  and  inquiring  for  a  place 
wherein  to  preach,  in  vain ;"  to  preach  out  of  doors 
in  that  climate  while  the  sun  is  up,  is  almost  imprac- 
ticable ;  and  at  evening,  the  only  time  when  the 
slaves  can  attend,  the  heavy  dews  render  it  impru- 
dent and  dangerous.  Dining,  however,  at  an  ordi- 
nary the  next  day,  and  stating  his  sorrow  that  he 
was  prevented  from  preaching  for  want  of  a  place, 
one  of  the  compaiiy  advised  him  to  apply  for  a  large 
room,  which  had  originally  been  the  church,  served 
now  for  assemblies,  and  was  frequently  used  as  a 
theatre.  Here  he  preached  every  evening  during  a 
short  stay,  and  though  a  few  bucks  clapped  and 
encored  him,  he  was  on  the  whole  well  satisfied 
with  the  attention  of  the  congregation,*  and  the  re- 
spect with  which  he  was  treated.  But  at  Spanish 
Town  and  at  Kingston  he  was  grossly  insulted  by  a 
set  of  profligate  young  men :  their  conduct  roused  in 
him  an  emotion  which  he  had  never  felt  in  the  same 
degree  before,  and  which,  he  says,  he  believed  was 
a  spark  of  the  proper  spirit  of  martyrdom  ;  and,  ad- 
dressing himsi^h"  to  these  rioters  in  terms  of  just  re- 
proof, he  told  thetn  that  he  was  willing — yea.  desi- 
rous to  suffer  martyrdom,  if  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
might  be  promoted  thereby.  The  effect  which  he 
says  this  produced,  was  undoubtedly  assisted  by 
his  station  in  life,  which  enabled  him  to  appear 
upon  equal  terms  with  the  proudest  of  his  assailants. 
On  another  occasion,  when  he  had  ended  his  ser- 
mon, he  told  these  persons  that  he  and  his  brethren 
were  determined  to  proceed,  and  to  apply  to  the 
legal  authorities  for  justice,  if  such  insults  and  out- 

*  "  On  the  Sunday  morning."  says  Dr.  Coke,  (Journal,  page  130), 
«  we  went  to  cliurch  ;  but  a  little  rain  falling,  the  congregation  consisted 
only  of  half  a  dozen  or  thereabouts  at  the  exact  time  of  beginning  ;  on 
which  the  minister  walked  out:  if  he  had  condescended  to  have  waited 
ten  minutes  longer,  we  should  have  been,  I  believe,  about  twenty.  The 
Sunday  before,  also,  there  had  been  no  service.  In  some  of  the  pa- 
rishes of  this  island  there  is  no  church,  nor  any  divine  service  performed, 
except  the  burial  of  the  dead  and  christenings  and  weddings  in  private 
houses,  though  the  livings  are  very  lucrative.  But  I  will  write  no  more 
on  this  subject,  lest  I  should  grov.-  indignant." 


356 


SETTLEMENT  OP  THE  CONFERENCE. 


rages  were  continued;  and  if  justice  were  not  to  be 
found  in  Jamaica,  they  were  sure,  he  said,  of  obtain- 
ing it  at  home. 

The  affairs  of  Methodism  it)  the  West  Indies  were 
in  this  state  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death. 
Fourteen  preachers  were  stationed  there,  of  whom 
two  came  from  the  American  branch  The  number 
of  persons  enrolled  in  the  connexion  then  amounted 
to  about  six  thousand,  of  whom  two-thirds  were  ne- 
groes, and  the  number  of  white  persons  did  not 
exceed  two  hundred  A  more  determined  spirit  of 
opposition  was  arising  than  they  had  ever  experienc- 
ed in  Europe,  but  they  were  sure  of  protection  from 
the  home-government,  and  knew  that  by  perseve- 
rance they  should  make  their  cause  good. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  CONFERENCE. — MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 
OF  METHODISM. 

The  year  1781  has  been  called  the  grand  climac- 
terical  year  of  Methodism,  because  Wesley  then  first 
arrogated  to  himself  an  episcopal  power :  and  be- 
cauye  in  that  year  the  legal  settlement  of  the  Confer- 
ence was  effected,  whereby  provision  was  made  for 
the  government  of  the  society  after  his  death,  as  lotig 
as  it  should  continue. 

The  Methodist  chapels,  with  the  preachers"  houses 
annexed  to  them,  had  all  been  conveyed  to  trustees 
for  the  use  of  such  persons  as  should  be  appointed 
from  time  to  time  by  John  or  Charles  Wesley,  during 
their  lives;  by  the  survivor,  and  after  the  death  of 
both,  by  the  yearly  Conferei'ce  of  the  people  called 
Methodists,  in  London,  Bristol,  or  Leeds.  A  legal 
opinion  was  taken,  whether  the  law  wou'd  recognise 
the  Conference,  unless  llie  precise  meaning  of  the 
word  were  defined  ;  the  lawyers  were  of  opinion  that 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  CONFERENCE. 


357 


it  would  not,  and  therefore  at  the  next  meeting  of 
that  body,  Mr.  Wesley  was  unanimously  desired  to 
draw  up  a  deed  which  should  give  a  legal  specifica- 
tion of  the  terra;  the  mode  of  doing  it  being  left  en- 
tirely to  his  discretion.  The  necessity  for  diis  was 
obvious.  "  Without  some  authentic  deed  fixing  the 
meaning  of  the  term,  the  moment  I  died,"  says  he, 
"  the  Conference  liad  been  nothing  :  therefore  any  of 
the  proprietors  of  land  on  which  our  preaching  houses 
had  been  built  might  have  seized  them  for  their  own 
use,  and  there  would  have  been  none  to  hinder  them ; 
for  the  Conference  would  have  been  nobody — a  mere 
empty  name."' 

His  first  thought  was  to  name  some  ten  or  twelve 
persons.  On  further  consideration  he  appointed  one 
hundred,  believing,  he  says,  "  there  would  be  more 
safety  in  a  greater  number  of  counsellors,  and  judg- 
ing these  were  as  mtiny  as  could  meet  without  too 
great  an  expense,  and  without  leaving  any  circuit  de- 
prived of  preachers  while  the  Conference  was  as- 
sembled. The  hundred  persons  thus  nominated 
"  being  preachers  and  expounders  of  God's  holy 
Word,  under  the  care  of,  and  in  connexion  with,  the 
said  John  Wesley,"  were  declared  to  constitute  the 
Conference,  according  to  the  true  intent  and  mean- 
ing of  the  various  deeds  in  which  that  term  was  used  ; 
and  provision  was  now  made  for  continuing  the  suc- 
cession and  identity  of  this  body,  wherein  the  admi- 
nistration of  the  Methodist  Connexion  was  to  be 
vested  after  the  founder's  death.  They  were  to  as- 
semble yearly  at  London,  Bristol,  or  Leeds,  or  any 
otlier  place  which  they  might  ihink  proper  to  appoint; 
and  their  first  act  was  to  be  to  fill  up  all  vacancies 
occasioned  by  death  or  other  circumstances.  No 
act  was  to  be  valid  unless  forty  members  were  pre- 
sent, provided  the  whole  body  had  not  been  reduced 
below  that  number  by  death,  or  other  causes.  The 
duration  of  the  assembly  should  not  be  less  than  five 
days,  nor  more  than  three  weeks,  but  any  time  be- 
tween those  limits  at  their  discretion.  They  were 
to  elect  a  president  and  secretary  from  their  own 
number,  and  the  president  should  have  a  double 


358 


SETTLEMENT  OP  THE  CONFERENCE. 


vote.  Any  member  absenting  himself  without  leave 
from  two  successive  conferences,  and  not  appearing 
on  the  first  day  of  the  third,  forfeited  his  seat  by  that 
absence.  They  had  power  to  admit  preachers  and 
expounders  upon  trial,  to  receive  them  into  full  con- 
nexion, and  to  expel  any  person  for  sufficient  cause  ; 
but  no  person  might  be  elected  a  member  of  their 
body,  till  he  had  been  twelve  months  in  full  connexion 
as  a  preacher.  They  mi^ht  not  appoint  any  one  to 
preach  in  any  of  their  chapels  who  was  not  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Connexion,  nor  might  they  appoint  any 
preacher  for  more  than  three  years  to  one  place, 
except  ordained  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England. 
They  might  delegate  any  member  or  members  of 
their  own  body  to  act  with  full  power  in  Ireland,  or 
any  other  parts  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain. 
Whenever  the  Conference  should  be  reduced  below 
the  number  of  forty  members,  and  continue  so  re- 
duced for  three  years,  or  whenever  it  should  neglect 
to  meet  for  three  successive  years,  in  either  of  such 
cases  the  Conference  should  be  extinguished  ;  and 
the  chapels  and  other  premises  should  vest  in  the 
trustees  for  the  time  being,  in  trust  that  they  should 
appoitit  persons  to  preach  therein.  "^I'he  deed  con- 
cluded with  a  provision  that  nothing  which  it  con- 
tained should  be  construed  so  as  to  extinguish,  lessen, 
or  abridge  the  life  estate  of  John  and  Charles  Wes- 
ley m  any  of  the  chapels  and  premises. 

At  the  time  when  this  settlement  was  made,  there 
were  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  preachers  in  full 
connexion  ;  they  who  were  omitted  in  the  list  of  the 
Hundred  were  offended  as  well  as  disappointed  ;  and 
they  imputed  their  exclusion  to  Dr.  Coke,  whom 
many  of  them  regarded  with  jealousy  because  of  the 
place  which  he  deservedly  held  in  Mr.  We-ley's  opi- 
nion, and  the  conspicuous  rank  which  he  filled  in  the 
society.  He  was  grievously  wronged  by  this  suspi- 
cion ;  for  he  has  dechired,  and  there  can  be  no  pos- 
sible grounds  for  doubting  his  veracity,  that  liis  opi- 
niorj  at  the  time  was,  that  every  preacher  in  full  con- 
nexion should  be  a  member  of  the  Conference. — 
Wesley  acted  upon  his  own  judgment;  and  the  rea- 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  CONFERENCE. 


359 


sons  which  he  assigned  for  determining  the  nnmber 
were  salisthctory.  Five  of  the  excluded  preachers, 
who  thought  themselves  most  aggrieved,  sent  circu- 
lar letters  to  those  who  were  in  the  same  case  with 
themselves,  inviting  them  to  canvass  the  business  in 
the  ensuing  Conference,  and,  in  fact,  to  form  a  regu- 
lar opposition  to  Mr.  Wesley.  They  liad  reason  to 
expect  that  they  should  be  powerfully  supported  ; 
but  when  the  assemhly  met,  Wesley  explained  his 
motives  in  a  manner  that  carried  conviction  with  it, 
reproved  the  persons  who  had  issued  the  circular 
letters  with  great  severity,  and  called  upon  all  those 
who  agreed  with  him  in  opinion  to  stand  up;  upon 
which  the  whole  Conference  rose,  with  the  exception 
of  the  five  malcontents.  Mr.  Fletcher  interfered  in 
their  behalf,  and  hy  his  means  they  were  induced  to 
acknowledge  tfiat  they  had  siinied ;  and  a  verbal 
promise,  according  to  their  own  account,  was  given 
them,  that  Mr.  Wesley  would  take  measures  for  put- 
ting them  on  a  fooling  with  the  rest  He  could  ordy 
mean  that  they  would  be  appointed  members  of  the 
Conference  as  vacancies  occurred  ;  and  it  appears 
by  their  own  statement  also,  tliat  they  had  not  pa- 
tience to  wait  for  this,  but.  in  the  course  of  the  year, 
withdrew  from  the  Connexion,  complaining  of  their 
wrongs,  talking  of  their  indisputable  rights,  and 
appealing  to  an  original  compact  which  had  no 
existence.  On  the  contrary,  Wesley  had  always 
taken  especial  care  to  assert,  as  well  as  to  exercise, 
his  authority  over  the  society  which  he  had  raised, 
and  the  preachers,  whom  he  received  as  his  assistants, 
not  his  equals;  still  less  as  persons  who  might  op- 
pose and  control  him. 

Wesley  prided  himself  upon  the  economy  of  his 
society,  and  upon  his  management  of  it.  It  was  the 
peculiar  talent,  he  said,  which  God  had  given  him. 
lie  possessed  that  talent  beyond  all  doubt,  in  a  re- 
markable degree.  The  constitution  of  Methodism, 
like  most  forms  of  government,  hnd  arisen  out  of 
accidents  and  circumslnnces :  but  Wesley  had  avail- 
ed himself  of  these  with  great  skill,  and  made  them 
subservient  to  his  views  and  purposes  as  they  arose: 


360 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


whatever  power  of  mind  was  displayed  in  the  for- 
mation of  Methodism  was  his  own.  In  this  respect 
he  ditfers  from  those  monastic  patriarchs,  with  whom 
he  may  most  obviously  be  compared.  St.  Benedict 
compiled  his  rule  from  elder  statutes,  modifying  them, 
and  adapting  them  to  his  own  time  and  country.  St. 
Francis  seems  to  have  become  the  tool  of  his  artful 
and  ambitious  disciples;  and  Loyola  was  not  the 
architect  of  the  admirable  structure  which  he  found- 
ed. But  the  system  of  Methodism  was  Wesley's  own 
work.  The  task  of  directing  it  was  not  so  difficult 
as  might  at  first  appear.  His  rank,  his  attainments, 
his  abilities,  and  his  reputation,  secured  for  him  so 
decided  a  superiority,  that  no  person  in  his  own  com- 
munity could,  with  the  slightest  prospect  of  success, 
dispute  it ;  and  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  that 
sup<^riority  was  still  further  increased  by  his  venera- 
ble age,  and  the  respect  which  he  had  then  obtained 
even  among  strangers.  Those  who  were  weary  of 
acting  under  his  direction  as  preachers,  or  of  ob- 
serving his  rules  as  members,  either  withdrew,  or  were 
easily  dismissed.  This  is  the  great  advantage  which 
all  sects  enjoy.  They  get  rid  of  troublesome  spirits 
and  bad  subjects  ;  and  general  society  is  ready  to  re- 
ceive the  outcasts. 

The  quarterly  renewal  of  the  band  and  class 
tickets  afforded  a  ready  means  of  ejecting  unworthy 
and  disobedient  tnembers.  The  terms  of  admission, 
therefore,  might  well  be  made  comprehensive  ;  while 
these  means  of  cutting  shoi  t  all  discordance  were  in 
the  preacher's  hands  Upon  this  facility  of  admis- 
sion Wesley  prided  himself  One  circumstance,'* 
says  he,  is  quite  peculiar  to  the  Methodists  :  the 
terms  upon  which  any  person  may  be  admitted  into 
their  society.  They  do  not  impose,  in  order  to  their 
admission,  any  opinions  whatever.  Let  them  hold 
particular  or  general  redemption,  absolute  or  condi- 
tional decrees  ;  let  them  be  Churchmen  or  Dissen- 
ters, Presbyterians  or  Independents,  it  is  no  obstacle. 
Let  them  choose  one  mode  of  worship  or  another,  it 
is  no  bar  to  their  admission.  The  Presbyterian  may 
be  a  Presbyterian  still ;  the  Independent  or  Anabap- 


OP  METHODISM. 


tisfuse  his  own  mode  of  worsliip  :  so  may  the  Qua- 
ker, and  uoiie  will  contend  with  hita  about  it.  I'hey 
think,  and  let  think.  One  condition,  and  one  otdy, 
is  required, — a  real  desire  to  save  their  souls.  Where 
this  is,  it  i^  enough  ;  they  desire  no  more.  They  lay 
stress  upon  nothing  else.  They  ask  only.  Is  thy  heart 
hereiii  as  my  heart?  If  it  be.  give  me  thy  hand.  Is 
there  any  other  soci  ity  inGreatBritain  or  Ireland  that 
is  so  remote  from  bigotry  ?  that  is  so  truly  of  a  Catho- 
lic spirit  ?  so  rcdily  to  admit  all  serious  persons  wilh- 
out  distinction  ?  Where,  then,  is  there  such  another 
society?  tn  £(n"ope?  in  the  habitable  w^orld?  I  knovr 
none.  Let  any  man  show  it  me  that  can.  Till  then,  let 
no  one  talk  of  the  bigotry  of  the  Methodists."  The 
propriety  of  thus  admitting  persons  of  opposite  per- 
suasions, and  of  bearing  with  the  opposition  which 
they  might  raise  was  once  debated  in  Conference. 
Mr  \V  esley  listened  patiently  to  the  discussion,  and 
concluded  it  by  saying,  I  havt^  no  more  right  to  ob- 
ject to  a  man  lor  holding  a  diflferent  opinion  from 
me,  than  I  have  to  differ  with  a  man  because  he 
wears  a  wig  and  1  wear  my  own  hair  ;  but  if  he  takes 
his  wig  o(f,  and  b<^gins  to  shake  tlie  powiler  about  my 
eyes,  I  shall  consider  it  my  duty  to  get  quit  of  him  as 
sooti  as  possible." 

Wesley,  indeed,  well  understood  the  importance 
of  unanimity  in  his  connexion;  and  even  before  he 
had  taken  those  decided  steps  which  prepared  the 
way  for  a  separation  from  the  Church,  aimed,  in  many 
of  his  regulations,  at  making  the  Methodists  a  pecu- 
liar people.  For  this  reason,  he  required  them,  like 
the  Quakers,  to  intermarry  among  themselves.  This 
point  was  determined  in  the  first  Conference,  the 
want  of  such  a  regulation  having  been  experienced. 
"  iMany  of  our  members,"  it  was  said,  have  lately 
married  with  unbelievers,  even  with  such  as  were 
wholly  unwakened  ;  and  this  has  been  attended  with 
fatal  consequences.  Few  of  these  have  gained  the 
unbelieving  wife  or  husband.  Generally,  they  have 
themselves  either  had  a  heavy  cross  for  life,  or  en- 
tirely fallen  back  into  the  world."  In  order  to  pre- 
vent such  marriages,  it   was  decreed  that  every 

YOL.  II.  4t) 


362 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


preacher  should  enforce  the  apostolic  caution,  "Be 
ye  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers  ;''  that  who- 
ever acted  contrary  to  it  should  be  expelled  the  so- 
ciety ;  and  that  all  persons  should  be  exhorted  "  to 
take  no  step  in  so  weighty  a  matter  without  consult- 
ing the  most  serious  of  their  brethren."  The  rule 
was  well  designed  for  the  preservation  and  increase 
of  Methodism;  but  the  language  savours  strongly  of 
that  spiritual  pride  which  sectarism  of  every  kind 
ten<ls  to  excite  and  foster. 

This  was  not  the  only  point  in  which  Wesley  imi- 
tated the  Quakers.  He  has  himself  said,  that,  hav- 
ing remarked  among  them  several  parts  of  Christian 
practice,  he  had  willingly  adopted,  with  some  re- 
strictions, plainness  of  speech  and  plainness  of  dress. 
In  their  barbarisms  of  language,  and  their  supersti- 
tious rejection  of  common  forms  of  speech,  he  was 
too  well  educated  and  too  sensible  to  follow  them; 
neither  did  he  recommend  his  followers  to  imitate 
them  in  those  little  particularities  of  dress  which 
could  answer  no  end  but  that  of  distinguishing  them 
from  other  people.  "  To  be  singular,"  he  said, 
"  merely  for  singularity's  sake,  is  not  the  part  of  a 
Christian.  I  do  not,  therefore,  advise  you  to  wear  a 
hat  of  such  dimensions,  or  a  coat  of  a  particular 
form.  Rather,  in  things  that  are  absolutely  indifferent, 
humility  and  courtesy  require  you  to  conform  to  the 
customs  of  your  country;  butl  advise  you  to  imitate 
them  in  the  neatness  and  in  the  plainness  of  their 
apparel.  In  this  are  implied  two  things :  that  your 
apparel  be  cheap,  far  cheaper  than  others  in  your 
circumstances  wear,  or  than  you  would  wear  if  you 
knew  not  God  ;  that  it  be  grave,  not  gay,  airy,  or 
showy — not  in  the  point  of  the  fashion." — "  Shall  I 
be  more  particular .''"  he  pursues.  "Then  I  exhort 
all  those  who  desire  me  tn  watch  over  their  souls,  wear  no 
gold,  no  pearls  or  precious  stones  ;  use  no  curling  of 
hair  or  costly  apparel,  how  grave  soever.  I  culvise 
those  who  are  able  to  receive  this  saying,  buy  no  velvet, 
no  silks,  no  fine  litien,  no  superfluities,  no  mere  orna- 
ments, though  ever  so  much  in  fashion.  Wear  no- 
thing, though  you  have  it  already,  which  is  of  aglar- 


OP  METHODISM. 


363 


ing  colour,  or  which  is  in  any  kind  gay,  glistering,  or 
showy ;  nothing  made  in  the  very  height  of  the 
fashion ;  nothing  apt  to  attract  the  eyes  of  the  by- 
standers. 1  do  not  advise  women  to  wear  rings,  ear- 
rings, necklaces,  laces  (of  whatever  kind  or  colour), 
or  ruffles,  vvliich,  by  little  and  little,  may  shoot  easily 
from  one  to  twelve  inches  deep.  Neither  do  I  ad- 
vise men  to  wear  coloured  waistcoats,  shining  stock- 
ings, glittering  or  costly  buckles  or  buttons,  either  on 
their  coats  or  in  their  sleeves,  any  more  than  gay, 
fashionable,  or  expensive  perukes.  It  is  true,  these 
are  little,  very  littie  things,  which  are  not  worth  de- 
fending ;  therefore  give  them  up,  let  them  drop : 
throw  them  away,  without  another  word." 

It  was  one  of  the  band-rules  that  rings,  ear-rings, 
necklaces,  lace,  and  ruffles,  were  not  to  be  worn; 
and  this  rule  was  ordered  by  the  first  Conference  to 
be  enforced,  particularly  with  regard  to  ruffles :  band- 
tickets  were  not  to  be  given  to  any  persons  Avho  had 
not  left  them  off;  and  no  exempt  case  was  to  be  al 
lowed,  not  even  of  a  married  woman :  "  Better  one 
suffer  than  many,"  was  Mr.  Wesley's  language  at  that 
time.  This  injunction  was  afterwards  withdrawn ; 
because  it  was  found  impracticable,  as  interfering  in 
a  manner  not  to  be  borne  with  domestic  affairs.  He 
admitted,  therefore,  that  "  women  under  the  yoke  of 
unbelieving  parents  or  husbands  (as  well  as  men  in 
office)  might  be  constrained  to  put  on  gold  or  costly 
apparel ;  and  in  cases  of  this  kind,"  says  he,  "  plain 
experience  shows,  that  the  baneful  influence  is  sus- 
pended ;  so  that,  wherever  it  is  not  our  choice,  but 
our  cross,  it  may  consist  with  godliness,  with  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit,  with  lowliness  of  heart,  with  Chris- 
tian seriousness."  Women,  therefore,  who  were  con- 
strained by  "  self-w  illed,  unreasonable  husbands  or 
parents,"  to  do  in  this  respect  what  otherwise  they 
would  not,  were  held  blameless,  provided  they  used 
"  all  possible  means,  arguments,  and  entreaties  to  be 
excused,"  and  complied  just  "so  far  as  they  were 
constrained,  and  no  further."  Even  in  this  conces- 
sion, the  intolerant  spirit  of  a  reformer  is  betrayed; 
and  no  scruple  was  made  at  introducing  discord  into 


364 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


private  families,  for  the  sake  of  an  idle  fancy  wliich 
W  slej  had  taken  up  in  the  days  of  his  entliusinsm. 
He  maintained,  that  curling  the  hair,  and  wearing 
gold,  precious  stones,  and  costly  apparel,  were  ex- 
pressly forbidden  in  Scripture ;  and  that  whoever 
said  there  is  no  harm  in  these  thinjjs.  might  as  well 
say  there  is  no  h-irin  in  stealing  or  adultery;  a  mode 
ot  reasoning,  which  would  produce  no  etVrct  so  sure- 
ly as  that  of  confounding  all  notions  of  right  and 
wrong. 

In  spite,  however,  of  his  exhortations,  those  of  his 
own  people,  who  could  aflTord  it,  "  the  very  people 
that  sate  under  the  pulpit,  or  hy  the  side  of  it,"  were 
as  fishionably  adorned  as  others  of  their  own  rank. 
"  This,"  said  Wesley,  "  is  a  melancholy  truth :  1  am 
ashamed  of  it,  but  1  know  not  how  to  help  it.  I  call 
heaven  and  earth  to  witness  this  day,  that  it  is  not 
my  fault.  The  trumpet  has  not  given  an  uncertain 
sound,  for  near  tifly  years  last  past.  O  God,  thou 
knowest  I  have  borne  a  clear  and  a  faithful  testimo- 
ny. In  print,  in  preaching,  in  meeting  the  society,  I 
have  not  shumied  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of 
God  ;  1  am  thereibre  clear  of  the  blood  of  those  that 
will  not  hear:  it  lies  upon  their  own  heads.  I  con- 
jure you  all  who  have  any  regard  for  me,  show  me, 
before  I  go  hence,  that  1  have  not  laboured,  even  in 
this  respect,  in  vain,  for  near  half  a  century.  Let  me 
see,  before  I  die,  a  iMethodist  congregation,  full  as 
plain  dressed  as  a  Quaker  congregation.  Only  be 
more  consistent  with  yourselves:  let  your  dress  be 
chrap  as  well  as  plain,  otherwise  you  do  but  trifle  w  ith 
God,  and  me,  and  your  own  souls,  i  pray,  let  there 
be  no  costly  silks  among  you.  how  grave  soever  they 
may  be  :  let  there  be  no  Quaker  linen,  provei  bially 
so  called  for  its  exquisite  fineness  ;  no  Brussels  lace; 
no  elephantine  hats  or  bonnets, — those  scandals  of 
female  modesty.  Be  all  of  a  piece,  dressed  from 
head  to  foot  as  persons  professing  godliness;  pro- 
fessing to  do  every  thing,  small  and  great,  with  the 
single  view  of  pleasing  God." 

Whitpfield,  in  the  early  part  of  his  course,  had 
fallen  into  an  error  of  this  kind  ;  and,  for  about  a 


OF  METHODISM. 


365 


year,  he  says,  thought  that  "  Christianity  required 
hiiii  to  go  iia.Tity  "    But  W  esley  was  always  scrupu- 
lously neat  iu  his  person,  and  enlorced  upon  his  tol- 
lowers  the  necessity  of  personal  neatness.     I  oward 
the  end  of  his  lile,  he  publicly  decl  ued  his  regret 
that  he  had  not  made  the  Methodists  distinguish 
themselves  by  a  peculiar  costume.      I  niight  have 
been  as  tirm,"  he  says,     (and  1  now  see  it  would 
have  been  far  better)  as  either  the  people  called 
Quakers,  or  the  Moravian  brethren :  1  might  have 
said,  '  this  is  our  manner  of  dress,  which  we  know  is 
both  scriptural  and  rational.    If  you  join  with  us, 
you  are  to  dress  as  we  do;  but  you  need  not  join  us 
unless  you  please.'  Hut,  alas!  the  time  is  now  p-ist." 
Perhaps,  if  iie  had  attempted  this  early  in  his  career, 
he  migtit  have  succeeded,  as  well  as  George  Fox  ; 
but  it,  like  George  Fox.  he  had  taken  for  his  stand- 
ard the  common  dress  of  grave  persons,  in  the  mid- 
die  rank  of  lile,  he  would  have  perpetuated  a  fashion 
more  graceless  than  that  ol  Quakerism  iii  its  rigour. 
The  Quakers  are  not  desirous  of  iticreasisig  their 
numbers  by  proselytes;  if  they  were,  they  would  fiud 
an  inconvenience  in  their  costume:  instead  of  m;!k- 
ing  the  entrance  easy  and  imperceptible,  so  that  he 
who  enters  scarcely  knows  when  he  has  passed  the 
line,  it  places  a,  Rubicon  in  the  way.  It  has  the  further 
inconvenience,  and  this  tliey  feel  and  lamerst,  that  ihe 
desire  of  getting  rid  of  so  peculiar  a  garb,  is  one  in- 
ducement lor  young  members  to  withdraw  from  the 
sect.   The  latter  objection  We^ley  might  liave  avoid- 
ed, by  choosing  a  habit  at  once  graceful  and  conve- 
nient: but  the  former  would  have  greatly  iuipeded  his 
success  ;  and  he  himself,  who  compassed  s<^a  and  land 
to  gain  proselytes,  would  soon  have  been  impatient 
of  such  an  impediment.    Upon  his  wealthier  follow- 
ers, his  exhortations  upon  this  subject  produced 
little  or  no  effect;  but,  in  the  middle  and  lower 
classes,  of  which  the  great  majority  consisted,  the 
women  took  to  a  mode  of  dress  less  formal  than  that 
of  the  Quakers,  but  almost  as  plain,  and  by  vvhii'h 
they  were  easily  distinguished.*    With  the  men  he 

*  In  one  of  his  Magazines,  Wrsley  puMi-^hcd  an  extinct  from  a  tract 
called  the  Refiued  Coui  tier  ;  and  the  following  passage  was  loudly  com- 


366 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


was  less  successful:  it  was  asked,  in  the  Conference 
of  1782,  if  it  were  well  for  the  preachers  to  powder 
their  hair,  and  to  wear  artificial  curls  ?  and  the  an- 
swer merely  said,  that  "  to  abstain  from  both  is  the 
more  excellent  way."  A  direct  prohibition  was  not 
thought  advisable,  because  it  would  not  have  been 
willingly  obeyed. 

Cards,  dancing,  and  the  theatres  were,  of  course, 
forbidden  to  his  disciples.  Not  contented  with  such 
reasons  as  are  valid  or  plausible  for  the  prohibition, 
they  have  collected  superstitious  anecdotes  upon 
these  subjects;  and,  in  a  spirit  as  presumptuous  as 
it  is  uncharitable,  have  recorded  tales  of  sudden 
death,  as  instances  of  God's  judgment  upon  card- 
players  and  dancing-masters!  Innocent  was  a  word 
which  Wesley  would  never  suffer  to  be  app'ied  to 
any  kitid  of  pastime;  for  he  had  set  his  face  against 
all  diversions  of  any  kind,  and  would  not  even  allow 
the  children  at  school  to  play.  "Those  things  we 
have  falsely  called  innocent,^''  says  one  of  his  corres- 
pondents, "  are  the  right  eye  to  be  plucked  out.  If 
you  were  besieging  strong  enemies,  and  had  no  hope 
of  conquering  but  by  starving  them,  would  it  be  inno- 
cent now  and  then  to  throw  them  a  little  bread  Wes- 
ley was  in  nothing  more  erroneous  than  in  judging  of 
others  by  himself,  and  requiring  from  them  a  con- 
stant attention  to  spiritual  ttjings,  and  that  unremit- 
ting stretch  of  the  faculties,  which,  to  him,  was  be- 
come habitual.  If  he  never  flagged,  it  was  because 
he  was  blessed,  above  all  men,  with  a  continual 
elasticity  of  spirits ;  because  the  strong  motive  of 


lained  of,  as  inconsistent  with  the  opinions  upon  this  subject  which  be 
ad  repeatedly  professed:  "Let  every  one,  when  he  appears  in  public, 
be  decently  clothed,  according  to  his  age,  and  the  custom  of  the  place 
where  he  lives :  he  that  does  otherwise,  seems  to  affect  singularity.  Nor 
is  it  sufficient  that  our  garment  be  made  of  good  cloth ;  but  we  should 
constrain  ourselves  to  follow  the  garb  where  we  reside,  seeing  custom  is 
the  law  and  standard  of  decency  in  all  things  of  this  nature."  He  pa- 
raphrases this  in  a  subsequent  number,  in  order  to  vindicate  it :  says  that 
the  author  is  speaking  of  people  of  rank  ;  and,  that  he  may  get  rid  of 
the  accusation  with  a  jest,  e.xhorts  all  lords  of  the  bed-chamber,  and 
maids  of  honour,  to  follow  the  advice.  "  The  whole,"  says  he,  "  naay 
bear  a  sound  construction,  nor  does  it  contradict  any  thing  which  I  have 
said  or  wiitten." 


OP  METHODISM. 


367 


ambition  was  always  actiiig  upon  him;  because  per- 
petual change  of  place  kept  his  mind  and  body  for 
ever  on  the  alert :  and  because,  wherever  he  went, 
his  presence  excited  a  stir  among  strangers,  and 
made  a  festival  among  his  friends  Daily  change  of 
scene  and  of  society,  with  a  life  of  activity  and  exer- 
tion, kept  him  in  liilarity  as  well  as  health.  But  it 
was  unreasonable  to  expect  that  his  followers  should 
have  the  same  happy  temperament. 

Bishop  Hacket's  happy  motto  was,  "  Serve  God, 
and  be  cheerful." — "Be  serious."  was  one  of  Wesley's 
favourite  i.ijunctions.  "Be  serious;"  it  was  said  in 
the  first  Conference.  "  Let  your  motto  be, '  Holiness 
to  the  Lord.'  Avoid  all  lightness,  as  you  would 
avoid  hell  fire;  and  trifling,  as  you  would  cursing 
and  swearing.  Touch  no  woman:  be  as  loving  as 
you  will,  but  the  custom  of  the  country  is  nothing  to 
us*."  When  the  two  brothers.  John  and  Charles, 
were  in  the  first  stage  of  their  enthusiasm,  they  used 
to  spend  part  of  the  Sabbath  in  walking  in  the  fields, 
and  singing  psalms.  One  Sunday,  when  they  were 
beginning  to  set  the  stave,  a  setise  of  the  ridiculous 
situation  came  upon  Charles,  and  he  burst  into  a 
loud  laughter.  "I  asked  him,"  says  John,  "  if  he 
was  distracted,  and  began  to  be  very  angry,  and  pre- 
sently after  to  laugh  as  loud  as  he.  Nor  could  we 
possibly  refrain,  though  we  were  ready  to  tear  our- 
selves in  pieces,  but  were  forced  to  go  home,  without 
singing  anotiier  line,"  Hysterical  laughter,  and  that 
laughter  which  is  as  contagious  as  the  act  of  yawn- 
ing, when  the  company  are  in  tune  for  it,  Wesley 
believed  to  be  the  work  of  the  devil, — one  of  the 
matiy  points  in  which  the  parallel  holds  good  be- 
tween the  enthusiasm  of  the  Methodists  and  of  the 
Papistsf. 

*  This  passage  will  not  he  found  in  the  minutes  of  the  Conference. 
It  is  given  by  Mr.  Myles,  in  his  Clironological  History  of  the  Methodists, 
(p.  31.  3d  edition,)  as  a  minute  relative  to  practice.  This  authority  will 
not  lie  qui  stioned,  Mr.  Myles  bein^  a  travelling  preacher  himself,  and  a 
dis(ins;nished  member  of  the  Conference. 

t  There  is  a  grand  diatribe  of  St.  Pachomius  against  laughing.  The 
beatified  Jordan,  second  general  of  the  Dominicans,  treated  an  hysteri- 
cal affection  of  this  kind  with  a  deji  ee  of  prudence  and  practical  wis- 
d  im,  not  often  to  be  found  in  the  life  of  a  Romish  saint.    "Ckw  iilevi 


368 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS, 


He  acl vised  his  preachers  not  to  converse  with 
any  person  more  than  at)  hour  at  a  time;  in  general 
to  fix  the  end  of  everj  conversation  before  they 
began ;  to  plan  it  before  hand  ;  to  pray  before  and 
after  it,  and  to  watch  and  pray  during  the  time. 
In  the  same  spirit  of  a  monastic  legislator  also,  but 
to  a  more  practicable  and  useful  end,  he  exhorted 
them  to  watch  against  what  he  called  the  hist  of 
jiuishing ;  to  mortify  whi('h,  he  and  his  companions 
at  Oxford,  he  said,  frequently  broke  oflT*  writing 
in  the  midille  of  a  sentence,  if  not  in  the  middle 
of  a  word,  especially  the  moment  they  heard  the 
chapel  bell  ring.  "  If  nature,"  said  he,  "  re- 
claimed, we  remembered  the  word  of  the  heathen — 
ejicicwln  est  here  mo'/ities  ammi.'^  Could  his  rules 
have  been  enforced  like  those  of  his  kindred  spirits 
in  the  days  of  papal  dominion,  he  also  would  have 
had  his  followers  regular  as  clock-work,  and  as 
obedient,  as  (ntiform,  and  as  artificial  as  they  could 
have  been  made  by  the  institutions  of  the  Chinese 


magister  duceret  secum  multos  novitios,  quos  receperat  in  quodam  loco,  ubi 
nan  erat  convenlus ;  accidit  quod  in  quodam  hospitio  cum  Completorium 
cum  eis  &f  aliis  suis  diceret,  unus  cwpit  ridtre  ;  et  alii  hoc  viderttes  similiter 
fortiier  inceperunt  rideie.  Qtiidem  autem  de  sociis  magislri  inccpit  eos 
per  signa  compesctn  ;  at  illi  magis  ac  magis  ridebant.  Tunc  dimisso 
Completorio,  et  dido  benedicite,  inccpit  magister  dicere  illi  socio  stio.  Pra- 
ter, quis  fecit  vos  magistrum  7iovitiorum  nostrorum  ?  Qi/jrf  pertinet  ad 
vos  eos  conigere  ?  Et  con  versus  ad  novitios  dixit,  carissimi  ridete  for  titer, 
et  non  dimittatis  propter fralrem  istum  :  ego  do  vobis  Hcentiam.  Et  vere 
debetis  gaudere  et  ridere,  quia  erivistis  de  carcere  dinholi  et  fracta  sunt 
dura  vincxdi  illius,  quibus  multis  annis  tenuit  vos  ligatos.  Ridete  ergo, 
carissimi,  ridete.  At  ilia  in  his  verbis  consolaii  sunt  in  animo ;  etpost  ri- 
dere dissolute  non  potuerunt."    Acta  Sanctorum,  13  Fob.  p.  731. 

*  St.  David  accustomed  his  monks  to  the  same  kind  of  alert  disci- 
pline: if  any  one  heard  the  hell  ring  while  he  was  engaged  in  writing, 
be  instantly  left  off,  though  it  might  be  in  the  middle  of  a  letter. 
Vtnienle  autem  vesper  '  nolcs  sonilus  audiebntur,  et  quisque  studium  suum 
des-  rebat,  et  ad  communitntem  veniebat  Si  vera  in  auribus  alicnjus  re- 
sonabnt  scripta  tunc  literm  apve  vtl  etiam  dimidi':  liter  ':  eamincompletam 
dimiltebat,  et  ad  communem  locum  conveniebat  cu?n  silentio. — Acta  Sanc- 
torum.   March  1st  Vol.  i  p  46. 

Stanihurst,  in  his  description  of  Ireland,  relates  an  instance  of  this  in 
"an  holie  and  learned  abbot  called  Kanicus.  '  who  "  was  wholly  wedded 
to  hi  book  and  to  devotion  ;  wlierein  he  continued  so  painful  aiid  dili- 
gent, as  being  on  a  certain  time  penning  a  serious  matter,  and  having  not 
fully  drawn  the  fourth  vocal,  tiie  abbey-bell  ting  d  to  assonble  the.  con- 
vent to  some  spiritual  exercise;  to  which  he  so  hasti'in-cl,  as  he  left  the 
letter  in  semi-circlc-wise  unlinished,  until  he  returned  back  to  his  book." 


OF  METHODISM. 


369 


empire,  or  the  monastery  of  La  Trappe.  This  was 
not  possible,  because  obedience  was  a  matter  of 
choice:  his  disciples  conformed  no  further  than  they 
thought  good  ;  dismissal  was  the  only  punishment 
which  he  could  inflict,  and  it  was  always  in  their 
power  to  withdraw  from  the  Connexion.  Even  his 
establisliment  at  Kingswood  failed  of  the  effect  which 
he  had  expected  from  it,  though  authority  was  not 
wanting  there ;  because  tho^system  was  too  rigorous 
and  too  monastic  for  the  age  and  country.  The  plan 
of  making  it  a  general  school  for  the  society  was  re- 
linquished; but  it  was  continued  for  the  sons  of  the 
preachers,  and  became  one  of  those  objects  for 
which  the  Conference  regularly  provided  at  their 
antiual  meeting.  In  the  year  17(36  he  delivered  over 
the  management  of  it  to  stewards  on  whom  he  could 
depend  :  "  So  I  have  cast,"  said  he,  "  a  heavy  load 
off* my  shoulders  ;  blessed  be  God  for  able  and  faith- 
ful men  who  will  do  his  work  without  any  temporal 
reward."  The  superintendence  he  still  retained; 
and  it  was  a  frequent  cause  of  vexation  to  him. 
Maids,  masters,  and  boys,  were  refractory,  some- 
times the  one,  sometimes  the  other,  sometimes  all 
together,  so  that  he  talked  of  letting  the  burthen 
drop-  On  one  occasion,  he  says,  "  Having  told  my 
whole  mind  to  the  masters  and  servants,  I  spoke  to 
the  children  in  a  far  stronger  manner  than  ever  I  did 
before.  I  will  kill  or  cure.  I  will  have  one  or  the 
other, — a  Christian  school,  or  none  at  all."  But  the 
necessity  of  such  an  asylum  induced  him  to  perse- 
vere in  it ;  and  it  was  evidently,  with  all  the  gross 
errors  of  its  plan,  and  all  the  trouble  and  chagrin 
•which  it  occasioned,  a  favourite  institution  with  the 
founder.  "  Trevecca,"  said  he,  "  is  much  more  to 
Lady  Huntingdon  than  Kingswood  is  to  me.  I  mixes 
with  every  thing.  It  is  my  college,  my  masters,  my 
students.  I  do  not  speak  so  of  this  school.  It  is  not 
mine^  but  the  Lord's."  Looking  upon  himself,  how- 
ever, as  the  vicegerent,  the  complacency  with  which 
he  regarded  the  design,  made  amends  to  him  for  the 
frequent  disappointment  of  his  hopes.  "  Every  man 
of  sense,"  he  said,  "  who  read  the  rules,  might  con- 
VOL.  II.  47 


370 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


elude  that  a  school  so  conducted  by  men  of  piety 
atid  understanding  would  exceed  any  other  school 
or  academy  in  Great  I  ritain  or  Ireland."  And  his 
amazing  credulity  whenevev  a  work  of  grace  was  an- 
nounced among  the  boys,  was  proof  against  repeated 
experience,  as  well  as  common  sense.  The  boys 
were  taken  to  see  a  corpse  one  day,  and,  w  hile  the 
impression  w^is  fresh  upon  them,  they  were  lectured 
upon  the  occasion,  and  jnade  to  join  in  a  i  ymn  upon 
death.  Home  of  them  beit)g  very  much  affected,  they 
were  told  that  those  who  were  resolved  to  serve  God 
might  go  and  pray  together;  and,  accordingly,  fifteen 
ot  them  went,  and,  in  Wesley's  language,  "  continued 
w  restling  with  God,  with  strong  ciies  and  tears,"  till 
their  bed-time.  Wesley  happened  to  be  upon  the 
spot.  The  excitement  was  kept  up  day  after  day, 
by  what  he  calls  strong  exhortations."  and  many 
gave  in  their  names  to  him,  being  resolved,  they  said, 
to  ser\e  God.  It  was  a  wonder  that  the  boys  were 
not  driven  mad  by  t'le  conduct  of  their  instructors. 
These  insane  persons  urged  them  ne\er  to  rest  till 
they  had  obtained  a  clear  sense  of  the  pardoning  love 
of  God.  Tins  advice  they  gave  them  severally,  as 
w  ell  as  collectively  ;  and  some  of  the  poor  children 
actually  agreed  that  they  would  not  sleep  till  God 
revealed  himself  to  them,  and  they  had  found  peace  I 
The  scene  w  hich  ensued  was  worthy  of  Bedlam,  and 
might  fairly  have  entitled  the  promoters  to  a  place 
there.  One  of  the  masters,  finding  that  they  had 
risen  from  bed,  and  were  hard  at  prayer,  some  half- 
dressed  and  some  almost  naked,  went  and  pray«d 
and  sung  with  them,  and  then  ordered  them  to  bed. 
It  was  impossible  that  they  could  sleep  in  such  a 
state  ol  delirium :  they  rose  again,  and  went  to  the 
same  work ;  and  being  again  ordered  to  bed,  again 
stole  out.  one  after  another,  till,  when  it  was  near 
midnight,  they  w  ere  all  at  prayer  again.  The  maids 
caughl  the  madness,  and  were  upon  their  knees  with 
the  children.  This  continued  all  night;  and  maids 
arid  boys  went  on  raving  and  praying  through  the 
next  day,  till,  one  after  another,  they  every  one  fan- 
cied at  last,  that  they  felt  their  justification!    "  In 


OP  METHODISM. 


371 


llie  evening  all  the  maids,  and  many  of  the  boys,  not 
liiiviiig  been  used  to  so  long  and  violent  speaking, 
(lor  this  had  lasted  from  Tuesday  till  Saturday!) 
Avere  worn  out  as  to  bodily  strength,  and  so  hoarse, 
th:\t  they  were  scarce  able  to  speak."  But  it  was 
added  ttiat  they  were  "strong  in  the  Spirit,  full  of 
love,  and  of  joy  and  peace  in  believing."  Most  of 
them  were  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper  the  next 
dav,  for  the  first  time:  and  Wesley  inserted  tlie 
M'liole  monstrous  account,  with  all  its  details,  in  his 
journal;  an  I,  in  a  letter  written  at  that  time,  affirms 
that  God  had  sent  a  shower  of  grace  upon  the  chil- 
dren !  Thirteen,"  he  says,  found  peace  with  God, 
and  four  or  five  of  them  were  some  of  the  stnallest 
there,  not  above  seven  or  eight  years  old  !"  Twelve 
months  afterwards,  there  is  this  notable  entry  in  his 
journal:  "  I  spent  an  hour  among  our  children  at 
Kingswood.  ft  is  strange  !  How  long  shall  we  be 
constrained  to  weave  Penelope's  web?  What  is 
become  of  the  wonderful  work  of  grace  which  God 
wrought  in  them  last  September?  It  is  gone !  It  is 
lost!  It  is  vanished  away!  There  is  scarce  any 
trace  of  it  remaining! — Then  we  must  begin  again  ; 
and,  in  due  time,  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not." 
On  this  subject  he  was  incapable  of  deriving  instruc- 
tion from  experience. 

Neither  did  Wesley  ever  discover  the  extreme 
danger  of  exciting  an  inflammatory  state  of  de- 
votional feeling.  His  system,  on  the  contrary, 
enjoined  a  perpetual  course  of  stimulants,  and 
lest  the  watch-nights  and  the  love-feasts,  with  the 
ordinary  means  of  class-meetings  and  band-meet- 
ings, should  be  insufficient,  he  borrowed  frnm  the 
Puritans  one  of  the  most  perilous  practices  that  ever 
was  devised  by  enthusiasm ;  the  entering  into  a  cove- 
nant, in  which  the  devotee  promises  and  vows  to  the 
"  most  dreadful  God,"  (beginning  the  address  with 
that  dreadful  appellation  !)  to  become  his  covenant 
servant;  and,  giviit":  up  himself,  body  and  soul,  to 
his  service,  to  observe  all  his  laws,  and  obey  him  be- 
fore all  others,  "  and  this  to  the  death!"  Mr.  Wes- 
ley may  perhaps  have  been  prejudiced  in  favour  of 


372 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


this  practice,  because  he  found  it  recommended  by 
the  non-conformist  Richard  Allein.  whose  works  had 
been  pubUshed  by  his  maternal  grandfather.  Dr.  An- 
neslej ;  so  that  he  had  probably  been  taught  to  re- 
spect the  author  in  his  youth.  In  thp  year  1755,  he 
first  recommended  this  covenant ;  and,  after  explain- 
ing the  subject  to  his  London  congregation  during 
several  successive  days,  he  assembled  as  many  as 
were  willing  to  enter  into  the  engagement,  at  the 
French  church  in  Spitalfields,  and  read  to  them  the 
tremendous  formula,  to  which  eighteen  hutidred  per- 
sons signified  their  assent  by  standing  up.  "Such  a 
night,"  he  says,  "  I  scarce  ever  saw  before :  surely 
the  fruit  of  it  shall  remain  forever!"  From  that 
time  it  has  been  the  practice  among  the  Methodists, 
to  renew  the  covenant  annually,  generally  on  the  first 
night  of  the  new  year,  or  of  the  Sunday  following. 
They  are  exhorted  to  make  it  not  oidy  in  heart,  but 
in  word  ;  not  orvly  in  word,  but  in  writing ;  and  to 
spread  the  writing  with  all  possible  reverence  before 
the  Lord,  as  if  they  would  present  it  to  him  as  their 
act  and  deed,  and  then  to  set  their  hands  to  it.  It  is 
said,  that  some  persons,  fvom  a  fanatical  and  fright- 
ful notion  of  making  the  covenant  perfect  on  their 
part,  have  signed  it  with  tlieir  own  blood  ! 

A  practice  like  this,  highly  reprehensible  as  it 
would  always  be,  might  be  comparatively  harmless, 
if  absolution  were  a  part  of  the  Method istic  econo- 
my, as  well  as  confession ;  and  if  the  distinction  be- 
tween venial  and  deadly  sins  were  admitted,  or  if 
things,  inrjocent  in  themselves,  were  not  considered 
sinful  in  their  morality.  The  rules  of  a  monastic 
order,  however  austere,  are  observed  in  the  convent, 
because  there  exists  an  authority  which  can  compel 
the  observance,  and  punish  any  disobedience  ;  more- 
over, all  opportunities  of  infractiorj  or  temptation 
are,  as  much  as  possible,  precluded  there,  and  the 
discipline  is  regularly  and  constantly  enforced.  But 
they  who  take  the  Methodistic  covenant,  have  no 
keeper  except  their  own  conscience  ;  that,  too,  in  a 
state  of  diseased  irritability,  often  unable  to  prevent 
them  from  lapsing  into  offences,  but  sure  to  exagge- 


OF  MRTHODISM. 


373 


rate  the  most  trifling  fault,  and  to  avenge  even  ima- 
ginary guilt  with  real  anguish  The  struggle  which 
such  an  engagement  is  but  too  likely  to  produce,  may 
well  be  imagined ;  nor  can  its  consequences  be 
doubtful :  some  would  have  strength  of  nerves  enough 
to  succeed  in  stifling  their  conscience,  or,  at  least, 
in  keeping  it  down  ;  and  they  would  throw  off  all  re- 
ligion as  burdensome,  because  they  had  taken  upon 
themselves  a  yoke  too  heavy  to  be  borne  :  others 
would  lose  their  senses 

Methodism  has  sometimes  been  the  cure  of  mad- 
ness, and  has  frequently  changed  the  type  of  the  dis- 
ease, and  mitigated  its  evils.  Sometimes  it  has  ob- 
tained credit  by  curing  the  malady  which  it  caused.: 
bul  its  remedial  powers  are  riot  always  able  to  re- 
store the  patient,  and  overstrained  feelings  have  end- 
ed in  confirmed  insanity  or  in  death  When  Wesley 
instructed  his  preadicrs  that  they  should  throw  men 
into  strong  terror  and  fear,  and  strive  to  make 
them  inconsolable,  he  did  not  consider  that  all  con- 
stitutions w  ere  not  strong  enough  to  stand  this  moral 
salivation.  The  language  of  his  own  sermons  was 
sometimes  well  calculated  to  produce  this  effect. — 
"  Mine  and  your  desert,"  said  he  to  his  hearers,  "  is 
hell :  and  it  is  mere  mercy,  free  undeserved  mercy, 
that  we  are  not  now  in  unquenchable  fire."  "  The 
natural  man,"  said  he,  "  lies  in  the  valley  of  the  sha- 
dow of  death.  Having  no  inlets  for  the  knowledge 
of  spiritual  things,  all  the  avenues  of  his  soul  being 
shut  up,  he  is  in  gross  stupid  ignorance  of  whatever 
he  is  most  coiicerned  to  know.  He  sees  not  that  he 
stands  on  the  edge  of  the  pit ;  therefore  he  fears  it 
not :  he  has  not  understanding  enough  to  fear.  He 
satisfies  himself  by  saying,  God  is  merciful  ;  con- 
founding and  swallowing  up  at  once,  in  that  unwieldy 
idea  of  mercy,  all  his  holiness  and  essential  hatred 
of  sin — all  his  justice,  wisdom,  and  truth.  God 
touches  him,  and  now  first  he  discovers  his  real  state. 
Horrid  light  breaks  in  upon  his  soul — such  light  as 
may  be  conceived  to  L'leam  from  the  bottomless  pit, 
from  the  lowest  deep,  from  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with 
brimstone."  The  efiect  of  such  sulphurous  language 


374 


MANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


may  be  easily  conceived,  especially  when  it  was  en- 
forced by  his  manner  of  addressing  himself  person- 
ally to  every  individual  who  chose  to  apply  it  to  him- 
self; Art  thou  thorousjhly  convinced  that  thou  de- 
servest  everlasting  damnation  ?  Would  God  do  thee 
any  wrong  if  he  commanded  the  earth  to  open  and 
swallow  thee  up? — if  thou  wert  now  to  go  down 
into  the  pit — into  the  fire  that  never  shall  be 
quenched  ?" 

The  manner  in  which  he  insisted  upon  the  neces- 
sity of  the  new  birth,  was  especially  dangerous : 
without  this  he  affirmed  that  there  could  be  no  sal- 
vation. "  To  say  that  ye  cannot  be  born  agairi,"  said 
he,  "that  there  is  no  new  birth  but  in  baptism,  is  to 
seal  you  all  under  damnation — to  consign  you  to  hell, 
without  help,  without  ho|)e.  Thousands  do  really 
believe  that  they  have  foutid  a  broad  loay  which  leadeth 
not  to  destruction.  '  What  danger,  (say  tliey,)  can  a 
woniati  be  in,  that  is  so /iarm/m  and  so  virtuous? — 
What  fear  is  there  that  so  honest  a  man,  one  of  so 
strict  morcditij^  should  miss  of  heaven  ?  Especially 
if,  over  and  above  all  this,  they  constantly  attend 
on  the  church  and  sacrament '  One  of  these  will 
ask.  with  all  assurance,  '  What  !  shall  I  not  do  as 
well  as  my  neighbours  ?'  Yes ;  as  well  as  your  un- 
holy neighbours  ;  as  well  as  your  neighbours  that  die 
in  their  sins;  for  you  will  all  drop  into  the  pit  toge- 
ther,itito  the  nethermost  hell.  You  will  all  lie  together 
in  the  lake  of  fire,  '  the  lake  of  fire  burning  with 
brimstone,'  Then  at  length  you  will  see  (but  God 
grant  you  may  see  it  before!)  the  necessity  of  holi- 
ness in  order  to  glory,  and.  consequently,  of  the  new 
birth  ;  since  none  can  be  holy,  except  he  be  born 
again."  And  he  inveighed  bitterly  against  all  who 
preached  any  doctrine  short  of  tliis.  "  Where  lies 
the  uncharitableness,"  he  asked  ;  "  on  my  side,  or  on 
yours  ?  I  say  he  may  be  born  again,  and  so  become 
an  heir  of  salvation  ;  you  say  he  cannot  be  born 
again;  and,  if  so.  he  must  inevitably  perish:  so  you 
utterly  block  up  his  way  to  salvati(Mi,  and  send  him 
to  hell,  out  of  mere  charity." — "  They  who  do  not 
teach  men  to  walk  in  the  narrow  way, — who  encou- 


OP  METHODISM. 


375 


rage  the  easy,  careless,  harmless,  useless  creature, 
the  man  who  suflers  no  reproach  for  righleoiitsness 
sake,  to  imagine  he  is  in  the  way  to  heaven  ;  these 
are  false  prophets  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word ; 
these  are  traitors  both  to  God  and  man ;  these  are  no 
other  than  the  first-born  of  Satan,  and  the  eldest  sons 
of  Apollyon  the  destroyer.  These  are  above  the 
rank  of  ordinary  cut-throats;  for  they  murder  the 
souls  of  men.  They  are  continually  peopling  the 
realms  of  night;  and,  whenever  they  follow  the  poor 
souls  whom  they  have  destroyed,  hell  shall  be  moved 
from  beneath  to  meet  them  at  their  coming." 

The  effect  of  these  violent  discourses  was  aided 
by  the  injudicious  language  concerning  good  works, 
into  which  Vv  esley  was  sometimes  hurried,  in  oppo- 
sition even  to  his  own  calmer  judgment  upon  that 
contested  point.  "If you  had  done  no  harm  to  any 
man,"  said  he,  if  you  had  abstained  from  all  wilful 
sin,  if  you  had  done  all  the  good  you  possibly  could 
to  all  men,  and  constantly  attended  all  the  ordinan- 
ces of  God,  all  this  will  not  keep  you  Irom  hell,  ex- 
cept you  be  born  again."  And  he  attempted  to 
prove,  by  a  syllogism,  that  no  w  orks  done  before  jus- 
tification arc  good,  because  they  are  not  done  as  God 
hath  willed  and  commanded  them  to  be  done. — 
"  Wherewithal,"  said  he,  "  shall  a  sinful  man  atone 
for  any  the  least  of  his  sins  With  his  own  Works.'' 
Were  they  ever  so  many  or  holy,  they  are  not  his 
own  but  God's.  But  indeed  they  are  all  unholy  and 
sinful  themselves;  so  that  every  one  of  them  needs  a 
fresh  atonement." — "  if  thou  couldst  do  all  things 
well;  if  from  this  very  hour  till  death  thou  couldst 
perform  perfect  uninterrupted  obedience,  even  this 
would  not  atone  for  what  is  past.  Yea,  the  present 
and  the  future  obedience  of  all  the  men  upon  earth, 
and  all  the  angels  in  Heaven,  w  ould  never  make  sa- 
tisfaction to  the  justice  of  God  for  one  single  sin." — 
Wesley  has  censured  the  error  of  reposing  in  what 
he  calls  the  unwieldy  idea  of  God's  niercy, — is  such 
an  idea  of  his  justice  more  tenable  ?  If  such  notions 
were  well  founded,  whereon  would  the  value  of  a 
good  conscience  consist.^ — or  why  should  we  have 


376 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS 


been  taught  and  commanded,  when  we  pray,  to  say — 
"  forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  them  that 
trespass  against  us  ?" 

These  were  not  Wesley's  dehberate  opinions.  He 
held  a  saner  doctrine,*  and  the  avowal  of  that  doc- 
trine was  what  drew  upon  him  such  loads  of  slander- 
ous abuse  from  the  Ulti  a-t  alviuists.  Yet  he  was  led 
to  these  inconsistencies  by  the  course  of  his  preach- 
ing, and  the  desire  of  emptying  men  of  their  righte- 
ousness, as  he  called  it.  And  if  he  were  thus  indis- 
creet, what  was  to  be  expected  from  his  lay-preach- 
ers, especially  from  those  who  were  at  the  same  time 
in  the  heat  of  their  enthusiasm,  and  the  plenitude  of 
their  ignorance.'*  The  overstrained  feelings  which 
were  thus  excited,  and  the  rigid  doctrine  which  was 
preached,  tended  to  produce  two  opposite  extremes 
of  evil.  Man}  would  become  what,  in  puritanical 
language,  is  chilled  backsliders,  and  still  more  would 
settle  into  all  the  hypocritical  formalities  of  puritan- 
ism.  "  Despise  not  a  profession  of  holiness,"  says 
Osborn,  because  it  may  be  true  :  but  have  a  care 
how  you  trust  it  for  fear  it  should  be  false !" 

The  tendency  to  produce  mock  humility  and  spi- 
ritual pride,  is  one  of  the  evil  effects  of  Methodism, 
It  is  chargeable  also  with  leading  to  bigotry,  illiberal 
manners,  confined  knowledge,  and  ujicharitable  su- 
perstition.   In  its  insolent  language,  all  awakened 

*  It  was  asked  in  the  second  Conference — Q.  9.  "  How  can  we  main- 
tain, that  all  works  done  before  we  have  a  sense  of  the  pardoning  love 
of  God  are  sin;  and  as  such,  an  abomination  to  him  ? — A.  The  works 
of  him  who  has  heard  the  Gospel,  and  does  not  believe,  are  not  done  iis 
God  hath  willed  and  commanded  them  to  be  done.  And  yet  we  know 
not  how  to  say,  that  they  are  an  abomination  to  the  Lord,  in  him  who 
feareth  God,  and  from  that  principle  does  the  best  he  can. — Q.  10.  See- 
ing there  is  so  much  difficulty  in  this  subject,  can  we  deal  too  tenderly 
with  them  that  oppose  us  ? — A.  We  cannot." 

Dr.  Hales,  Rector  of  KiUasaiidra,  in  Ireland,  happened  to  tell  Mr. 
Wesley,  that  when  Bishop  Chevenix,  (of  Waterford.)  in  his  old  age,  was 
congratulated  on  recovering  from  a  fever,  the  Bisliop  replied,  "  I  believe 
I  am  not  long  for  this  world.  I  have  lost  all  relish  for  what  formerly 
gave  me  pleasure ;  even  my  books  no  longer  entertain  me.  There  is 
nothing  sticks  by  me  but  the  recollection  of  what  little  good  I  may 
have  done."  One  of  Mr.  Wesley's  preachers,  who  was  present,  ex- 
claimed at  this,  '  Oh  the  vain  man,  boasting  of  his  good  works !"  Dr. 
Hales  vindicated  the  good  old  Bishop,  and  Mr.  Wesley  silenced  the 
preacher  by  saying,  "  Yes,  Dr.  Hales  is  right :  there  is  indeed  great  com- 
fort in  the  calm  remembrance  of  a  life  well  spent." 


OF  METHODISM. 


377 


persons,  that  is  to  say,  all  except  themselves,  or  such 
graduated  professors  in  other  evangelical  sects  as 
they  are  pleased  to  admit  ad  cundcvu  are  contemptu- 
ously styled  unbelievers.  Wesley  could  not  commu- 
nicate to  his  followers  his  own  Catholic  charity  :  in- 
deed, the  doctrine  which  he  held  forth  was  not  al- 
ways consistent  with  his  own  better  feelings.  Still 
less  was  he  able  to  impart  that  winning  deportment, 
which  arose,  in  him,  from  the  benignity  of  his  dispo- 
sition, and  w  hich  no  Jesuit  ever  possessed  in  so  con- 
summate a  degree  by  art,  as  he  by  nature.  The  cir- 
cle to  which  he  would  have  confined  their  reading 
was  narrow  enough  ;  his  own  works,  and  his  own  sc- 
ries of  abridgments,  would  have  constituted  the  main 
part  of  a  Methodist's  library.  But  in  this  respect  the 
zeal  of  the  pupils  exceeded  that  of  the  master,  and 
Wesley  actually  gave  offence  by  printing  Priors 
Henry  and  Emma  in  his  Magazine.  So  many  remon- 
strances were  made  to  him  upon  this  occasion,  that 
he  found  it  necessary,  in  a  subsequent  number,  to 
vindicate  himself,  by  urging  that  there  was  nothing 
in  the  poem  contrary  to  religion,  nothing  which  could 
offend  the  chastest  ear;  that  many  truly  rehgious 
men  and  women  had  read  it  and  profited  thereby ; 
that  it  was  one  of  the  finest  poems  in  the  language, 
both  for  expression  and  sentiment ;  and  that  whoever 
could  read  it  without  tears,  must  have  a  stupid  un- 
feeling heart.  However,  he  concluded,  I  do  not 
know  that  any  thing  of  the  same  kind  w  ill  appear  in 
any  of  the  following  Magazines. 

In  proportion  as  Methodism  obtained  ground 
among  the  educated  classes,  its  direct  efTects  were 
evil.  It  narrowed  their  views  and  feelings  ;  burthen- 
ed  them  with  forms  ;  restricted  them  from  recrea- 
tions which  keep  the  mind  in  health;  discouraged, 
if  it  did  not  absolutely  prohibit,  accomplishments 
that  give  a  grace  to  life ;  separated  them  from  general 
society  ;  substituted  a  sectarian  in  the  place  of  a 
catholic  spirit ;  and,  by  alienating  them  from  the  na- 
tional church,  weakened  the  strongest  cement  of  so- 
cial order,  and  loosened  the  ties  whereby  men  are 
bound  to  their  native  land.    It  carried  disunion  and 

voi,.  If.  48 


378 


MANNEUS  A.\D  EFFECTS 


discord  into  private  lite,  breaking  up  families  and 
friendshijjs.  The  sooner  you  weaned  your  affections 
from  those  M  ho,  not  being  awakened,  were  of  course 
in  the  way  to  perdition — the  sooner  the  sheep  with- 
drew from  the  goats,  the  better.  Upon  this  head  the 
monks  have  not  been  more  remorseless  than  the  Me- 
thodists *  Wesley  has  said  in  one  of  his  sermons 
that,  hou'  frequently  parents  sliould  converse  with 
their  children  when  tliey  are  grown  up,  is  to  be  de- 
termined by  Christian  prudence.  "  This  also,"  says 
he,  "  will  determine  how  long  it  is  expedient  for 
children,  if  it  be  at  their  own  choice,  to  remain  with 
their  parents.  In  general,  if  they  do  not  fear  God» 
you  should  leave  them  as  soon  as  is  convenient.  But, 
wherever  you  are,  take  care  (if  it  be  in  your  power) 
that  they  do  not  want  the  necessaries  or  conven- 
iences of  life.  As  for  all  other  relations,  even  bro- 
thers or  sisters,  if  they  arc  of  the  world,  you  are  un- 
der no  obligation  to  be  intimate  with  them:  you  may 
be  civil  and  friendly  at  a  distance."'  What  infinite 
domestic  unhappiness  must  this  abominable  spirit 
have  occasioned  ! 

Mr.  ^Vesley's  notions  concerning  education  must 
also  have  done  great  evil.  No  man  was  ever  more 
thoroughly  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  children. — 
"  Break  their  wills  betimes,"  he  says:  "begin  this 
work  before  they  can  run  alone,  before  they  can 
speak  plain,  perhaps  before  they  can  speak  at  all. 
Whatever  pains  it  costs,  break  the  will  if  you  would 
not  damn  the  child.  Let  a  child  from  a  year  old  be 
taught  to  fear  the  rod  and  to  cry  softly  ;  from  that 
age  make  him  do  as  he  is  bid,  if  you  whip  him  ten 
times  running  to  effect  it.  If  you  spare  the  rod  you 
spoil  the  child.    If  you  do  not  conquer,  you  ruin  him. 

*  Wh;it  an  old  \vi  itrr  says  of  the  Independents  in  the  time  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, is  perfectly  appliciihle  to  this  worst  part  of  Methodism. — 
"  They  take  all  other  Christians  to  be  heathens.  These  arc  those  great 
jirctenders  to  the  Spirit,  into  whose  parly  does  the  vilest  person  living  no 
sooner  adscribe  himself,  but  he  is  ipso  facto  dubbed  a  saint,  hallowed 
and  dear  to  God.  These  arc  the  confidents  who  can  design  the  minute, 
the  place,  and  the  means  of  their  conversion  :— a  schism  full  of  spi- 
ritual disdain,  incharity,  and  high  imposture,  if  any  such  there  be 
on  earth." — A  character  of  England,  ycolt's  Somer's  Tracts,  vol.  vii. 
p.  180. 


OF  METHODISM. 


379 


Break  his  Avill  now,  and  his  soul  shall  live,  and  he 
will  probably  bless  you  to  all  eternity."  He  exhorts 
parents  never  to  commend  their  children  for  any 
thing;  and  says,  "  that  in  particular  they  should  la- 
bour to  convince  them  of  atheisn),  and  shou'  them 
that  tiiey  do  not  know  God,  love  him,  delight  in  him, 
or  enjoy  him,  any  more  than  do  the  beasts  that  pe- 
rish I"  If  Wesley  had  been  a  father  himself,  he 
would  have  known  that  children  are  more  easily 
governed  by  love  than  by  fear.  There  is  no  sub- 
ject, that  of  government  excepted,  upon  which  so 
many  impracticable  or  injurious  systems  have  been 
sent  into  the  world,  as  that  of  education  ;  and, 
among  bad  systems,  that  of  Wesley  is  one  of  the 
very  worst. 

The  rigid  doctrine  which  he  preached  concerning 
riches,  being  only  one  degree  more  reasonable  than 
that  of  St.  Francis,  prevented  Methodism  from  ex- 
tending itself  as  it  otiierwise  might  have  done,  among 
those  classes  where  these  notions  would  have  been 
acted  upon  by  zealous  mothers.  When  Wesley  con- 
sidered the  prodigious  increase  of  his  society,  ''from 
two  or  three  poor  people,  to  hundreds,  to  thousands, 
to  myriads,"  he  aflirmed  that  such  an  event,  consi- 
dered in  all  its  circumstances, had  not  been  seen  upon 
earth  since  the  time  that  St.  John  went  to  x\braham's 
bosom.  But  he  perceived  where  the  principle  of 
decay  was  to  be  found.  "  Methodism,"  says  he,  "  is 
only  plain  scriptural  religion  guarded  by  a  few  pru- 
dential regulations.  The  essence  of  it  is  holiness  of 
heart  and  life:  the  circumstantials  all  point  to  tljis; 
and,  as  long  as  they  are  joined  together  in  the  peo- 
ple called  Methodists,  no  weapon  formed  against 
them  shall  prosper.  But  if  ever  the  circumstantial 
parts  are  despised,  the  essential  will  soon  be  lost; 
and  if  ever  the  essential  parts  should  evaporate, 
what  remains  will  be  dinig  and  dross.  I  fear,  wher- 
ever riches  have  increased,  the  essence  of  reli- 
gion has  decreased  in  the  same  proportion  There- 
fore I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  for  any  revival  of  true  religion  to  continue 
long.  For  religion  must  necessarily  produce  both 
industry  and  frugality,  and  these  cannot  but  produce 


38U 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECT* 


riches.  But  as  riches  increase  so  will  pride,  augti , 
and  love  of"  the  world  in  all  its  branches.  How  then 
is  it  possible  that  Methodism,  that  is,  a  religion  of  the 
heart,  though  it  flourishes  now  as  a  green  bay  tree< 
should  continue  in  this  state  ?  For  the  Methodists 
in  every  place  grow  diligent  and  frugal ;  conse- 
quently they  increase  in  goods.  Hence  they  propor- 
tionably  increase  in  pride,  in  anger,  in  the  desire  of 
the  flesh,  the  desire  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life. 
So,  although  the  form  of  religion  remains,  the  spirit 
is  swiftly  vanishing  away.  Is  there  no  way  to  prevent 
this — this  continual  decay  of  pure  religion  ?  We 
ought  not  to  prevent  people  from  being  diligent  and 
frugal ;  we  must  exhort  all  Christians  to  gain  all  they 
can,  and  to  save  all  they  can ;  that  is,  in  efTect,  to 
grow  rich.  What  way,  then,  can  we  take,  that  our 
money  may  not  sink  us  to  the  nethermost  hell  ? — 
There  is  one  way,  and  there  is  no  other  under  hea- 
ven. If  those  who  gain  all  they  can,  and  save  all  they 
can,  will  likewise  give  all  they  can,  then  the  more 
they  gain  the  more  they  will  grow  in  grace,  and  the 
more  treasure  they  will  lay  up  in  heaven." 

Upon  this  subject  Wesley's  opinions  were  incon- 
sistent with  the  existing  order  of  society.  "  Every 
man,"  he  said,  "  ought  to  provide  the  plain  neces- 
saries of  life  for  his  wife  and  children,  and  to  put 
them  into  a  capacity  of  providing  these  for  them- 
selves when  he  is  gone  :  I  say,  ihese — the  plain  neces- 
saries of  life,  not  delicacies,  not  superfluities  ;  for  it 
is  no  man's  duty  to  furnish  them  with  the  means  either 
of  luxury  or  idleness.  The  designedly  procuring 
more  of  this  world's  goods  than  will  answer  the  fore- 
going purposes  ;  the  labouring  after  a  larger  measure 
of  worldly  substance ;  a  larger  increase  of  gold  and 
silver;  the  laying  up  any  more  than  these  ends  re- 
quire, is  expressly  and  absolutely  forbidden."  And 
he  maintained,  that  whoever  did  this  practically  de- 
nied the  faith,  was  worse  than  an  African  infidel,  be- 
came an  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  pur- 
chased for  himself  hell-fire."  How  injurious,  if  such 
opinions  were  reduced  to  practice,  they  would  prove 
to  general  industry,  and  how  incompatible  they  were 


OF  METHODISM. 


381 


with  the  general  welfare  of  tlie  world,  Wesley  seems 
not  to  have  regarded.  Not  less  enthusiastic  in  this 
respect  than  Francis  or  Loyola,  and  not  less  sincere 
also,  he  exclaimed  :  "  I  call  God  to  record  upon  my 
soul,  that  I  advise  no  more  than  I  practise.  1  do, 
blessed  be  God,  gain,  and  save,  and  give  all  I  can  ; 
and,  I  trust  in  God,  I  shall  do,  while  the  breath  of  life 
is  itj  my  nostrils." 

This  was  strictly  true ;  Wesley  had  at  heart  the 
advice  which  he  gave*.  He  dwelt  upon  it  with 
great  earnestness  in  one  of  his  last  sermons  a  few 
months  only  before  his  death,  "  x\fter  you  have 
gained  all  you  can,"  said  he,  "and  saved  ail  you 
can,  wanting  for  nothing,  spend  not  one  pound,  one 
shilling,  or  one  penny,  to  gratify  either  the  desire  of 
the  flesh,  the  desire  of  the  eyes,  or  the  pride  of  life, 
or  for  any  other  end  than  to  please  and  glorify  God. 
Having  avoided  this  rock  on  the  right  hand,  beware 
of  that  on  the  left.  Hoard  nothing.  Lay  up  no  trea- 
sure on  earth,  give  all  you  can,  that  is,  all  you  have. 
I  defy  all  the  men  upon  earth,  yea,  all  the  angels  in 
heaven,  to  find  any  other  way  of  extracting  the  poi- 
son from  riches.  After  having  served  you  between 
sixty  and  seventy  years,  with  dim  eyes,  shaking 
hands,  and  tottering  feet,  I  give  this  advice,  before  I 
sink  into  the  dust.  1  am  pained  for  you  that  are  rich 
in  this  world.  You  who  receive  five  hundred  pounds 
a  year,  and  spend  only  two  hundred,  do  you  give 
three  hundred  back  to  God  ?  If  not,  you  certainly 
rob  God  of  that  three  hundred.  You  who  receive 
two  hundred  and  spend  but  one,  do  you  give  God 

*  Upon  this  principle  he  began  in  his  youth,  and  acted  upon  it 
throughout  his  long  life.  "This,"  said  he,  in  a  sermon,  "  was  the  prac- 
tice of  all  the  young  men  at  Oxford  who  were  called  Methodists.  For 
example  :  one  of  them  had  thirty  pounds  a  year;  he  lived  on  twenty- 
eight,  and  gave  away  forty  shillings.  The  next  year,  receiving  sixty 
pomids,  he  still  lived  on  twenty-eight,  and  gave  away  two-and-thirty. 
The  third  year  he  received  ninety  pounds,  and  gave  away  sixty-two. 
The  fourth  year  he  received  an  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  ;  still  he 
lived  as  before  on  twenty-eight,  and  gave  to  the  poor  ninety-two."  It 
was  of  himself  he  spoke.  It  is  affirmed  that,  in  the  course  of  his  life,  he 
gave  away  not  less  than  thirty  thousand  pounds;  and  the  assertion  is 
probably  well  founded.  "  All  the  profit  of  his  literary  labours,  all  that 
lie  received  or  could  collect,  (and  it  amounted,  says  Mv.  Nichols,  to  an 
immense  sum,  for  he  was  his  own  printer  and  bookseller,)  was  devoted 
to  charitable  jturpos^s." 


J82 


manners;  ani>  effects 


the  other  hundred  ?  If  not,  you  rob  him  of  just  so 
rnucli.  '  Nay,  may  I  not  do  what  I  will  with  my  own  ?' 
Here  hes  the  ground  of  your  mistake.  It  is  not  your 
own.  It  cannot  be,  unless  you  are  lord  of  heaven 
and  earth.  "  However  I  must  provide  for  my  chil- 
dren.' Certainly:  but  how  By  making  them  rich 
Then  you  will  probably  make  them  heathens,  as 
some  of  you  have  done  already.  Secure  them 
enough  to  live  on;  not  in  idleness  and  luxury,  but 
by  honest  industry.  And  if  you  have  not  children, 
upon  what  scriptural  or  rational  principle  can  you 
leave  a  groat  behind  you  more  than  will  bury  you.'* 
Oh  !  leave  nothing  behind  you !  Send  all  you  have 
before  you  into  a  better  world  !  Lend  it,  lend  it  all 
unto  the  Lord,  and  it  shall  be  paid  you  again. 
Haste,  haste,  my  brethren,  haste,  lest  you  be  called 
away  before  you  have  settled  what  you  have  on  this 
security.  When  this  is  done,  you  may  boldly  say, 
'  Now  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  die  !  Father,  into 
thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit !  Come,  Lord  Jesus! 
come  quickly !' " 

There  were  times  when  Wesley  perceived  and  ac- 
knowledged how  little  real  reformation  had  been 
effected  in  the  great  body  of  his  followers  :  Might 
I  not  have  expected,"  said  he,  "  a  general  increase 
of  faith  and  love,  of  righteoust)ess  and  true  holiness; 
yea,  and  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit — love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  meekness,  gentleness,  fidelity,  good- 
ness, temperance  ? — Truly,  when  .1  saw  what  God 
had  done  among  his  people  between  forty  and  fifty 
years  ago,  when  I  saw  them  warm  in  their  first  love, 
magnifying  the  Lord,  and  rejoicing  in  God  their  Sa- 
viour, I  could  expect  nothing  less  than  that  all  these 
would  have  lived  like  angels  here  below;  that  they 
would  have  walked  as  continually  seeing  him  that  is 
invisible,  having  constant  communion  with  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son,  living  in  eternity,  and  walking  in 
eternity.  I  looked  to  see  '  a  chosen  generation,  a 
royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people ;' 
in  the  wiiole  tenor  of  their  conversation  '  showing 
forth  His  praise  who  had  called  them  into  his  mar- 
vellous light.' "    But,  instead  of  this,  it  brought  forth 


OF  METHODISM. 


383 


error  in  ten  thousand  shapes.  It  brought  forth  en- 
thusiasm, imaginary  inspiration,  ascribing  to  the  all- 
wise  God  all  the  wild,  absurd,  selt-inconsistent 
dreams  of"  a  heated  imagination.  It  brought  forth 
pride.  It  brought  forth  prejudice,  evil-surmising, 
censoriousness,  judging  and  condemning  one  an- 
other; all  totally  subversive  of  that  hrotherly  love 
which  is  the  very  badge  of  the  Christian  profession, 
without  which  whosoever  liveth  is  counted  dead  be- 
fore God.  It  brought  forth  anger,  hatred,  malice,  re- 
venge, and  every  evil  word  and  work;  all  direful 
fruits,  not  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  of  the  bottomless 
pit.  It  brought  forth  such  base  grovelling  affections, 
such  deep  earthly-mindedness  as  that  of  the  poor 
heathens,  which  occasioned  the  lamentation  of  their 
own  poet  over  them  :  O  curvm  in  terras  animte  et  cccles- 
tium  inancs!  "  O  souls  bowed  down  to  earth,  and  void 
of  God!"  And  he  repeated,  from  the  pulpit,  a  re- 
mark which  had  been  made  upon  the  Methodists  by 
one  whom  he  calls  a  holy  man,  that  "  never  was  there 
before  a  people  in  the  Christian  Church  who  had  so 
much  of  the  power  of  God  among  them,  w  ith  so  little 
self-denial." 

Mr.  Fletcher  also  confirms  this  unfavourable  re- 
presentation, and  indicates  one  of  its  causes.  There 
were  members  of  the  Society,  he  said,  who  spoke 
in  the  most  glorious  manner  of  Christ,  and  of  their 
interest  in  his  complete  salvation,  and  yet  were  in- 
dulging the  most  unchristian  tempers,  and  living  in 
the  greatest  immoralities :  "For  some  years,"  said 
he,  "  I  have  suspected  there  is  more  imaginary  than 
unfeigned  faith  in  most  of  those  who  pass  for  be- 
lievers. With  a  mixture  of  indignation  and  grief 
have  I  seen  them  carelessly  follow  the  stream  of  cor- 
rupt nature,  against  which  they  should  have  man- 
fully wrestled;  and  when  they  should  have  exclaim- 
ed against  their  antinomianism,  I  have  heard  them 
cry  out  against  the  legality  of  their  wicked  hearts, 
which,  they  said,  still  suggested  they  were  to  do 
somelhing  in  order  to  salvation."  Antinomianism,  he 
said,  was,  in  general,  "  a  motto  better  adapted  to 
the  state  of  profesBlng  congregations,  societies,  fami- 


MANNERS  AND  EFrECTS 


lies,  and  individuals,  iha-n  holiness  unto  the  Lofd,  the 
inscription  that  should  be  even  upon  our  horses' 
bells."  He  saw  what  evil  had  been  done  by  "  making 
much  ado  about  finished  salvation^  "  The  smooth- 
ness of  our  doctrine,"  said  he,  "  will  atone  for  our 
most  glaring  inconsistencies.  We  have  so  whetted 
the  Antinomian  appetite  of  our  hearers,  that  they 
swallow  down  almost  any  thing." 

Against  this  error,  to  which  the  professors  of 
sanctity  so  easily  incline,  Wesley  earnestly  endea- 
voured to  guard  his  followers.  But  if  on  this  point 
he  was,  during  the  latter,  and  indeed  the  greater 
part  of  his  life,  blameless,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
his  system  tended  to  produce  more  of  the  appear- 
ance than  of  the  reality  of  religion.  It  dealt  too 
much  in  sensations,  and  in  outward  manifestations  of 
theopathy  ;  it  made  religion  too  much  a  thing  of  dis- 
play, an  affair  of  sympathy  and  confederation  ;  it  led 
persons  too  much  from  their  homes  and  their  closets: 
it  imposed  too  many  forms;  it  required  too  many 
professions ;  it  exacted  too  many  exposures.  And 
the  necessary  consequence  was,  that  many,  when 
their  enthusiasm  abated,  became  mere  formalists, 
and  kept  up  a  Pharisaical  appearance  of  holiness, 
when  the  whole  feeling  had  evaporated. 

It  was  among  those  classes  of  society  whose  moral 
and  religious  education  had  been  blindly  and  culpa- 
bly neglected,  that  Methodism  produced  an  imme- 
diate beneficial  effect;  and,  in  cases  of  brutal  de- 
pravity and  habitual  vice,  it  often  produced  a  tho- 
rough reformation,  which  could  not  have  been 
brought  about  by  any  less  powerful  agency  than 
that  of  religious  zeal.  "  Sinners  of  every  other 
sort,"  said  a  good  old  clergyman,  "  have  I  frequently 
known  converted  to  God  :  but  an  habitual  drunkard 
I  have  never  known  convei  ted." — "  But  I,"  says 
Wesley,  "  have  known  five  hundred,  perhaps  five 
thousand."  To  these  moral  miracles  he  appealed  in 
triumph  as  undeniable  proofs  that  Methodism  was 
an  extraordinary  work  of  God.  "  1  appeal,"  said 
he,  "  to  every  candid  unprejudiced  person,  whether 
ive  may  not  at  this  day  discern  all  those  signs  (un- 


OP  METHODISM. 


385 


derstanding  the  words  in  a  spiritual  sense)  lo  which 
our  Lord  referred  John's  disciples,  '  The  blind  re- 
ceive their  sight.'  Those  who  were  blind  from  their 
birth,  unable  to  see  their  own  deplorable  state,  and 
much  more  to  sec  God,  and  the  remedy  he  has  pre- 
pared for  them,  in  the  Son  of  his  love,  now  see 

'  themselves,  yea,  and  '  the  light  of  the  gldty  of  God, 
in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.'  The  eyes  of  their  un- 
derstanding being  now  opened,  they  see  all  things 
clearly.  '  The  deaf  hear.'  Those  that  were  before 
utterly  deaf  to  all  the  outward  and  inward  calls  of 
God,  now  hear  not  only  his  providential  calls,  but 
also  the  whispers  of  his  grace.    '  The  lame  v.alk.' 

'  Those  who  never  before  arose  from  the  earth,  or 
moved  one  step  toward  heaven,  are  now  walking  in 
all  the  ways  of  God  ;  yea,  running  the  race  that  is 
set  before  them.  '  The  lepers  are  cleansed.'  The 
deadly  leprosy  of  sin,  which  they  brought  with  them 
into  the  world,  and  which  no  art  of  man  could  ever 
cure,  is  now  clean  departed  from  them.  And  surely, 
never,  in  any  age  or  nation  since  the  Apostles,  have 

j  those  words  been  so  eminently  fulfilled, — '  the  poor 

I  have  the  Gospel  preached  unto  them,'  as  they  arc 
at  this  day.  At  this  day,  the  Gospel  leaven,  faith 
working  by  love,  inward  and  outward  holiness,  or 
(to  use  the  terms  of  St.  Paul)  righteousness,  and 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  hath  so  spread  in 
various  parts  of  Europe,  particularly  in  England, 
Scotland,  Ireland,  in  the  Islands,  in  the  north  and 
south  from  Georgia  to  New  England  and  Newfound- 
land, that  sinners  have  been  truly  converted  to  God, 
thoroughly  changed  both  in  heart  and  in  life,  not  by 
tens,  or  by  hundreds  only,  but  by  thousands,  yea,  by 
myriads.  The  fiict  cannot  be  denied  :  wo  can  point 
out  the  persons,  with  their  names  and  places  of 
abode;  and  yet  the  wise  men  of  the  world,  the  men 
of  eminence,  the  men  of  leartiing  and  renown,  caimot 

j  imagine  what  we  mean  by  talking  of  any  extraordi- 

I  nary  work  of  God." 

Forcible  examples  are  to  be  found  of  this  true 
conversion,  this   real   regeneration  ;    as   well  as 
many  atTecting  instances  of  the  support  which  rc- 
voL.  II.  49 


386 


BIANNERS   AND  EFFECTS 


ligion,  through  the  means  of  Methodism,  has  given 
in  the  severest  afflictions,*  and  of  the  peace  and 
contentmentt  which  it  has  afforded  to  those  who 
without  it  would  have  been  forlorn  and  hopeless. — 
Many,  perhaps  most  of  these  conversions,  were  pro- 
duced by  field-preaching;  and  it  is  probable,  there- 
fore, that  Methodism  did  more  good  in  its  earlier  than 
in  its  latter  days,  when  preaching  in  the  open  air  was 
gradually  disused,  as  chapels  were  multiplied.  The 
two  brotliers,  and  the  more  zealous  of  their  follow- 
ers, used  at  first  also  to  frequent  Bedlam  and  the  pri- 
sons, for  the  purpose  of  administering  consolation  to 
those  who  stood  most  in  need  of  it.  When  Methodism 
was  most  unpopular,  admission  at  these  places  was 
refused  them,  which  occasioned  Wesley  to  exclaim, 
"  So  we  are  forbid  to  go  to  Newgate  for  fear  of  mak- 
ing them  wicked,  and  to  Bedlam  for  fear  of  driving 
them  mad  !"  In  both  places,  and  in  hospitals  also, 
great  good  might  be  effected  by  that  zeal  w'lich  the 
Methodists  possess,  were  it  tempered  with  discretion. 
If  they  had  instituted  societies  to  discharge  such  ■ 

*  I'l  Dr.  Coke's  History  of  the  West  Indies,  there  is  one  remarkable- 
instance,  but  it  is  too  painful  to  be  repeated. 

t  Of  this  there  is  a  beautiful  example  in  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  Wes-l 
!i>y  by  one  of  his  female  disci|)ies,  who  was  employed  in  the  Orphan- 
house  at  N'ewcastle.  "  I  know  not,"  she  says,  "  how  to  agree  to  the 
not  workinrr;.  I  am  still  unwilling  to  take  any  thing  from  any  l)ody.  I 
work  out  of  choice,  having  never  yet  learned  how  a  woman  can  be  idle 
and  innocent.  I  have  had  as  blessed  times  in  my  soul  sitting  at  work, 
as  ever  I  had  in  my  life  ;  especially  in  the  night-time,  when  I  see  nothing 
but  the  ligiit  of  a  candle  and  a  white  cloth,  hear  nothing  but  the  sound 
of  my  own  breath,  with  God  in  ray  sight  and  heaven  in  my  soul  I  think 
myself  one  of  the  happiest  creatures  below  the  skies.  I  do  not  complain 
that  Gnd  has  not  made  me  some  fine  thing,  to  be  set  up  to  be  gazed  at ; 
but  I  can  iieartily  bless  him,,  that  he  has  made  me  just  what  I  am,  a 
creatm-e  capable  of  the  enjoyme-jt  of  himself.  If  I  go  to  the  window 
and  look  out,  I  see  the  moon  and  stars ;  I  meditate  a  while  on  the  silence 
of  the  night,  consider  this  world  as  a  beautiful  structure,  and  the  work 
of  an  almighty  hand  ;  then  1  sit  down  to  work  again,  and  think  myself 
one  of  the  happiest  of  beings  in  it." 

Both  the  feeling  and  the  expression  in  the  letter  are  so  sweet,  that  the 
reader  will  probably  be  as  sorry  as  I  was  to  discover  that  this  happy 
state  of  mind  was  not  permanent.  In  a  letter  of  *V>sley's,  written  three 
years  afterwards,  he  says  '  I  know  not  what  to  do  more  for  poor  Jenny 
keilh,  (that  was  her  name.)  \las !  from  what  a  hei-ht  is  she  fallen  ! 
What  a  burning  and  shining  light  was  she  six  or  seven  years  ago  !  But 
thus  it  ever  vras.  Many  of  the  first  shall  be  last,  and  many  of  the  last 
first.'' 


OF  ftlETHODIPM. 


387 


painful  offices  of  humanity  as  are  performed  by  the 
Sceurs  de  la  Churile  in  France,  and  by  the  Beguines  of 
Brabant  and  Flanders,  the  good  which  they  might 
have  effected  would  have  been  duly  appreciated  and 
rewarded  by  public  opinion.  It  is  remarkable,  that 
none  of  their  abundant  enthusiasm  should  have  taken 
this  direction,  and  that  so  little  use  should  have  been 
made  of  the  opportuuity  w  hen  the  prisons  w  ere  again 
opened  to  them.  The  Wesleys  appear  not  to  have 
repeated  their  visits  after  the  exclusion.  One  of  their 
followers,  by  name  Silas  Told,  a  weak,  credulous, 
and,  notwithstanding  his  honest  zeal,  not  always  a 
credible  man,  attended  at  Newgate  for  more  than 
twenty  years :  his  charity  was  bestowed  almost  ex- 
clusively upon  condemned  criminals.  After  his 
death,  he  had  no  successor  in  this  dismal  vocation, 
and  the  honour  of  having  shown  in  what  manner  a 
prison  may  be  made  a  school  of  reformation,  was  re- 
served for  Mrs.  Fry  and  the  Quakers. 

In  estimating  the  effects  of  Methodism,  the  good 
which  it  has  done  indirectly  must  not  be  overlooked. 
As  the  Reformation  produced  a  visible  reform  in 
those  parts  of  Christendom  where  the  Romish  Church 
maintained  its  supremacy,  so,  though  in  a  less  de- 
gree, the  progress  of  Wesley's  disciples  has  been 
beneficial  to  our  Establishment,  exciting  in  many  of 
the  parochial  clergy  the  zeal  which  was  wanting. — 
Where  the  clergy  exert  themselves,  the  growth  of 
Methodism  is  checked  ;  and  perhaps  it  may  be  said 
to  be  most  useful  where  it  is  least  successful.  To  the 
impulse  also,  which  was  given  by  Methodism,  that 
missionary  spirit  may  be  ascribed  which  is  now^  car- 
rying the  light  of  the  gospel  to  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth.  In  no  way  can  religious  zeal  be  so  bene- 
ficially directed  as  in  this. 

Some  evil  also,  as  well  as  some  good,  the  Metlio- 
dists  have  indirectly  caused.  Though  they  became 
careful  in  admitting  lay-preachers  themselves,  the 
bad  example  of  suffering  any  ignorant  enthusiast  to 
proclaim  himself  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  found  nu- 
merous imitators.    The  number  of  roving  adventur- 


388 


manaers  and  effects 


ers*  in  all  the  intermediate  grades  between  knavery 
and  madness,  who  took  to  preaching  as  a  thriving 
trade,  brought  an  opprobrium  upon  religion  itself ; 
and  when  an  attempt  was  made  at  last  to  put  an  end 
to  this  scandal,  a  most  outrageous  and  unreasonable 
cry  was  raised,  as  if  the  rights  of  conscience  were  in- 
vaded.f  Perhaps  the  manner  in  which  Methodism 
has  familiarized  the  lower  classes  to  the  work  of 
combining  in  associations,  making  rules  for  their  own 
governance,  raising  funds,  and  communicating  from 
one  part  of  the  kingdom  to  another,  may  be  reckoned 
among  the  incidental  evils  which  have  I'esulled  from 
it ;  but  in  this  respect  it  has  only  facilitated  a  pro- 
cess to  which  other  causes  had  given  birth.  The 
principles  of  Methodism  are  strictly  loyal ;  and  the 
language  which  has  been  held  by  the  Conference  in 
all  times  of  political  disturbance,  have  been  highly 
hotiourable  to  the  society,  and  in  strict  conformity  to 
the  intentions  of  the  founder.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  good  which  it  has  done,  by  rendering  men  good 
civil  subjects,  is  counteracted  by  separating  them 
from  the  Church.  This  tendency  Wesley  did  not 
foresee  ;  and  when  he  perceived  it,  he  could  not  pre- 
vent it.  But  his  conduct  upon  this  point  was  neither 
consistent  nor  ingenuous.  Soon  after  he  had  taken 
the  memorable  step  of  consecrating  Dr.  Coke  as  an 

*  One  magistrate  in  the  county  of  Middlesex  licensed  fourteen  hun- 
dred preachers  in  the  course  of  five  years.  Of  six-and-thirty  persons 
who  obtained  licenses  at  one  sessions,  six  spelled  "  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel" in  six  different  ways,  and  seven  signed  their  mark !  One  fi-l!o\v,  who 
applied  for  a  lietnsc,  bcin;:  asked  if  he  could  read,  replied,  "Mother 
reads,  and  I  'spounds  and  snlains." 

I  A  writer  in  the  Gospel  Magazine  says,  concerning  Lord  Sidmouth's  i 
well-meant  bill,  "  By  the  grace  of  God  I  can  speak  for  one.  If  in  any 
place  I  am  called  to  preach,  and  cannot  obtain  a  license,  1  shall  feel  my- 
self called  upon  to  l)reak  through  all  restrictions,  even  if  death  be  the 
consequence;  for  I  kaow  that  God  will  avenge  his  own  elect  against 
their  persecutors,  let  them  be  who  they  may.  Thi?  men  that  are  sent 
of  God  must  deliver  tht-ir  message,  whether  men  will  hear,  or  whether 
they  will  forbear;  whether  tliey  can  obtain  a  license  or  not.  If  God 
opens  their  mouths,  none  can  shut  them." — Every  man  his  own  Pope, 
and  his  own  lawgiver !  These  are  days  in  which  authority  may  s:.fcly 
be  defied  in  such  cases ;  but  there  is  no  reiison  to  doubt  that  the  man 
who  sp»;aks  thus  plainly  would  not  have  been  as  ready  to  break  the  laws 
as  to  defy  them.  Had  he  been  born  in  the  right  place  and  time,  he 
would  have  enjoyed  a  glorification  in  the  Grass-market. 


OP  METHODISM. 


389 


American  bishop,  he  arro<i;ateJ  to  himself"  the  same 
authority  for  Scotland  as  for  America ;  and  this,  he 
maintained,  a\  as  not  a  separation  from  the  Ctiurch  ; 

not  from  the  Church  of  Scotland,"  said  he,  "  for  we 
were  never  connected  tlicrewitli ;  not  from  the 
Church  of  England,  for  this  is  not  concerned  in  l^ie 
steps  which  are  taken  in  Scotland.  ^^  hatever,  then, 
is  done,  either  in  America  or  .'Scotland,  is  no  separa- 
tion from  the  Church  of  England.  1  have  no  thought 
of  this  :  I  liave  many  objections  against  it."  He  had 
been  led  toward  a  separation  imperceptibly,  step  by 
step;  but  it  is  not  to  his  honour  that  he  atlected  to 
deprecate  it  to  the  last,  while  he  w  as  evidently  bring- 
ing it  about  by  the  measures  which  he  pursued. 

In  tiie  latter  end  of  his  life,  the  tendency  to  sepa- 
ration was  increased  by  the  vexatious  manner  in 
which  some  Lincolnshire  magistrates  enforced  the 
letter  of  the  Toleration  Act.  They  insisted,  that  as 
the  Methodists  professed  themselves  members  of  the 
Church,  they  were  not  w  ilhin  tlie  intention  of  the 
act ;  they  refused  to  license  their  chapels  therefore, 
unless  they  declared  themselves  dissenters :  and 
when  some  of  t!ie  trustees  were  ready  to  do  this,  they 
were  told  that  tiiis  was  not  sufficient  by  itself;  they 
must  declare  also,  tliat  they  scrupled  to  attend  the 
service  and  sacrament  of  the  Church,  tlie  Act  in 
question  ha-ving  been  made  for  those  only  who  enter- 
tained such  scruples.  This  system  of  injurious  se- 
verity did  not  stop  here.  Understanding  in  what 
manner  these  magistrates  interpreted  the  law,  some 
informers  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  and  en- 
forced the  Conventicle  Act  against  those  who  had 
preaching  or  prayer  meetings  in  their  houses :  the 
persons  thus  aggrieved  were  mostly  in  humble  cir- 
cumstances, so  that  they  were  distressed  to  pay  the 
fine ;  atid  when  they  appealed  to  the  quarter  ses- 
sions, it  was  in  vain  ;  the  magistrates  had  no  power 
to  relieve  them.  Mr.  Wesley  was  irritated  at  this, 
and  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  in  a  tone 
which  he  had  never  before  assumed.  "  My  Lord," 
said  he,  in  his  letter,  "  I  am  a  dying  man,  having  al- 
ready one  foot  in  the  grave.    Humanly  speaking,  I 


390 


MANNERS  AND  EFFECTS,  icc. 


cannot  long  creep  upon  the  earth,  being  now  nearer 
ninety  than  eighty  years  of  age.  But  I  cannot  die  in 
peace  before  I  have  discharged  this  office  of  Chris- 
tian love  to  your  lordship.  1  write  without  ceremo- 
ny, as  neither  hoping  nor  fearing  any  thing  from  your 
lordship,  or  from  any  man  living.  And  I  ask,  in  the 
name  and  in  the  presence  of  Him,  to  whom  both  you 
and  I  are  shortly  to  give  an  account,  why  do  you 
trouble  those  that  are  quiet  in  the  land, — those  that 
fear  God  and  work  righteousness  Does  your  lord- 
ship know  what  the  Methodists  are  that  many  thou- 
sands of  them  are  zealous  members  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  strongly  attached,  not  only  to  His 
Majesty,  but  to  his  present  ministry  ?  Why  should 
your  lordship,  setting  religion  out  of  the  question, 
throw  away  such  a  body  of  respectable  friends  Is 
it  for  their  religious  sentiments  ?  Alas  !  my  lord,  is 
this  a  time  to  persecute  any  man  for  conscience  sake  ? 
I  beseech  you.  my  lord,  do  as  you  would  be  done  to. 
You  are  a  man  of  sense  ;  you  are  a  man  of  learning; 
nay,  I  verily  believe  (what  is  of  infinitely  more  value) 
you  are  a  man  of  piety.  Then  think  and  let  think. 
I  pray  Go  i  to  bless  you  with  the  choicest  of  his 
blessings."*  These  circum'^tances  occurred  a  few 
months  only  before  his  death.  His  friends  advised 
that  an  application  should  be  made  to  Parliament  for 
the  repeal  of  the  Conventicle  Act.  In  some  shape, 
it  cannot  be  doubted  but  that  relief  would  have  been 
afforded,  and  several  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, who  respected  Mr.  Wesley,  would  have  stirred 
in  his  behalf.  But  his  grow  ing  infirmities  prevented 
him  from  exerting  himself  upon  this  business  as  he 
"would  otherwise  have  done. 

*  In  the  life  of  Wesley,  by  Dr.  Coke,  and  Mr.  Moore,  there  is  a  letter 
upon  this  occasion,  in  a  more  angry  strain.  Probably  Mr  Wesley  upon 
reflection  snw  that  he  had  written  in  an  linbcconiin?;  manner,  and  substi- 
tuted in  its  place  that  which  I  have  copied  from  the  life  by  Dr.  Whitehead. 
The  official  biograpli.-rs  indeed  had  in  their  hands  such  private  docu- 
ments only,  as  had  not  been  entrusted  to  the  doctor. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


WESLEY   IN  OLD  AGE. 

Leisure  and  I,"  said  Wesley,  "  have  taken  leave 
of  one  another.  I  propose  to  be  busy  as  long  as  I 
live,  if  my  health  is  so  long  indulged  to  me."  This 
resolution  was  made  in  the  piiine  of  life,  and  never 
was  resolution  more  punctually  observed.  "  Lord, 
let  me  not  live  to  be  useless  !"  was  the  prayer  which 
he  uttered  after  seeing  one  whom  he  had  long  known 
as  an  active  and  uselul  magistrate,  reduced  by  age 
to  be  a  picture  of  human  nature  in  disgrace,  fee- 
ble in  body  and  mind,  slow  of  speech  and  under- 
standing." He  was  favoured  with  a  constitution  vi- 
gorous beyond  that  of  ordinary  men,  and  with  an 
activity  of  spirit  which  is  even  rarer  than  his  singular 
felicity  of  health  and  strength.  Ten  thousand  cares 
of  various  kinds,  he  said,  were  no  more  weight  or 
burden  to  his  mind,  than  ten  thousand  hairs  were  to 
his  head.  But  in  truth  his  only  cares  were  those  of 
superintending  the  work  of  his  ambition,  which  con- 
tinually prospered  under  his  hands.  Real  cares  he 
had  none ;  no  anxieties,  no  sorrows,  no  griefs  which 
touched  him  to  the  quick.  His  manner  of  life  was 
the  most  favourable  that  could  have  been  devised  for 
longevity.  He  rose  early,  and  lay  down  at  night 
with  nothing  to  keep  him  waking,  or  trouble  him  in 
sleep.  His  mind  w<is  always  in  a  pleasurable  and 
wholesome  state  of  activity,  he  was  temperate  in  his 
diet,  and  lived  in  perpetual  locomotion  :  and  irequent 
change  of  air  is  perhaps,  of  all  things,  that  which 
rtiost  conduces  to  joyous  health  and  long  life. 

The  time  which  Mr.  Wesley  spent  in  travelling  was 
not  lost.  "  History,  poetry,  and  philosophy,"  said  he, 

I  commonly  read  on  horseback,  having  other  em- 
ployment at  other  times."  He  used  to  throw  the  reins 
on  his  horse's  neck ;  and  in  this  way  he  rode,  in  the 


392 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


course  of  his  life,  above  a  hundred  thousand  miles, 
without  any  accident  of  sutficient  magnitude  to  make 
him  sensible  of  the  danger  which  he  incurred.  His 
friends,  however,  saw  the  danger ;  and  in  the  sixty- 
nintli  year  of  his  age,  they  prevailed  upon  him  to 
travel  in  a  carriage,  in  consequence  of  a  hurt  which 
had  produced  a  hydrocele.  The  ablest  practitioners 
in  Edinburgh  were  consulted  upon  his  case,  and  as- 
sured him  there  was  but  one  method  of  cure.  "  Per- 
haps but  one  natural  one,"  says  he,  "  but  I  think  God 
has  more  than  one  method  of  healing <^ither  the  soul 
or  the  body."  He  read,  upon  the  subject,  a  treatise 
which  recommends,  a  seton  or  a  caustic,  "  but  I  am 
not  inclined,"  said  he,  "to  try  either  of  them;  I 
knov,'  a  physician  that  has  a  shorter  cure  than  cither 
one  or  the  other."  After  two  years,  however,  he  sub- 
mitted to  an  operation,*  and  obtained  a  cure.  A  lit- 
tle before  this,  he  notices  in  his  Journal,  the  first 
night  that  he  had  ever  lain  awake  ;  "  I  believe,"  he 
adds,  "few  can  say  this;  in  seventy  years  I  never 
lost  one  night's  sleep." 

He  lived  to  preach  at  Kingswood  under  the  shade 
of  trees  which  he  had  planted  ;  and  he  outlived  the 
lease  of  the  Foundery,t  the  place  which  had  been 
the  cradle  of  Methodism.  In  1778,  the  head-quar- 
ters of  the  society  were  removed  to  the  City  Road, 
where  a  new  chapel  was  built  upon  ground  leased 
by  the  city.    Great  multitudes  assembled  to  see  the 

*  "  Mr.  AVathen  performed  the  operation,  !\tid  drew  ofT  something 
more  than  a  half  pint  of  a  thin,  yellow,  transparent  water ;  with  this 
came  out  (to  his  no  small  surprise)  a  pearl  of  the  size  of  a  small  shot, 
which  he  supposed  might  be  one  cause  of  the  disorder,  by  occasioning 
a  conflux  of  humours  to  the  part." — Journal,  xvii.  p.  0.— What  an  ex- 
trai^rdiiiary  relic  would  this  paui  have  been,  had  it  been  extracted  from 
a  Romish  s;iint !  I  know  not  whether  there  be  any  other  case  recorded 
of  physical  Ostracism. 

f  Silas  Told  describes  this  in  the  year  1740  as  «'  a  ruinous  place,  with 
an  old  pantile  covering,  a  few  rough  d(!al  boards  put  together  to  consti- 
tute a  temporary  pulpit,  and  several  other  decayed  timbers,  which  com- 
posed tlie  whole  structure."  No  doubt  it  was  improved  afterwards. 
Mr.  Wesley's  preaching  hours,  when  he  began  there,  were  five  in  tho 
morning  and  seven  in  the  evening,  for  the  convenience  of  the  labour- 
ing part  of  the  congregation.  The  men  and  wome  n  sr.te  apart,  and 
there  were  no  pews,  or  diflercncc  of  benches,  or  appointed  place  for  any 
person. 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


393 


ceremony  of  laying  the  foundation,  so  that  Wesley 
could  not,  without. much  difficulty,  get  through  the 
press  to  lay  the  first  stone,  in  which  his  name  and 
the  date  were  inserted  upon  a  phite  of  brass: "  This 
was  laid  by  John  Wesley  on  April  1,  1777."  "  Pro- 
bably," says  he,  this  will  be  seen  no  more  by  any 
human  eye,  but  will  remain  there  till  the  earth  and 
the  works  thereof  are  burnt  up."  Charles,  having 
long  ceased  to  itinerate,  used  to  officiate  here,  and 
the  lay  preachers,  who  were  always  jealous  of  him, 
were  greatly  offended,  because  he  excluded  them 
from  the  pulpit  by  serving  the  chapel  twice  on  Sun- 
days, when  John  was  not  in  town.  They  complain- 
ed of  this  as  invidious  and  derogatory  to  themselves, 
and  Wesley  so  far  yielded  to  their  importunities  as 
to  promise  that  cue  of  their  body  should  preach 
w  hen  Charles  could  not,  an  arrangement  which  pre- 
ferred them  to  the  clergymen  in  the  Connexion. — 
Charles  was  hurt  at  this  concession  of  his  brother's, 
and  with  good  reason.  He  represented  that  many 
persons,  who  had  subscribed  towards  the  building  of 
the  chapel,  and  were  friends  to  Methodism,  were  yet 
not  members  of  the  society,  but  true  churchmen; 
and  that,  from  regard  to  them  and  to  the  Church,  not 
out  of  ill  will  to  the  preachers,  he  wished  the  Church 
service  to  be  continued  there  ;  for  this  also  was  made 
a  matter  of  complaint  against  him.  Next  to  his  bro- 
ther, he  affirmed,  he  had  the  best  right  to  preach 
there  ;  and  he  used  it  because  he  had  so  short  a  time 
to  preach  any  where.  I  am  sorry,"  said  he,  "  you 
yielded  ^to  the  lay  preachers :  I  think  them  in  the 
greatest  danger  through  pride.  They  affect  to  be- 
lieve that  I  act  as  a  clergyman  in  opposition  to  them. 
If  there  was  no  man  above  them,  what  would  become 
of  them !  how  would  they  tear  one  another  in  pieces ! 
Convince  them,  if  you  can,  that  they  want  a  clergy- 
man over  them  to  keep  them  and  the  flock  together. 
But  rather  persuade  them,  if  you  can,  to  be  the  least, 
not  the  greatest,  and  then  all  will  be  right  again. — 
You  have  no  alternative  but  to  conquer  that  spirit, 
or  be  conquered  by  it.  The  preachers  do  not  love 
the  Church  of  England.  What  must  be  the  con- 
TOL.  n.  50 


394 


WESLEY   I\  OLD  AGE. 


sequence  when  we  are  gone  ?  A  separation  is 
inevitable.  Do  you  not  wish  to  keep  as  many 
good  people  in  the  Church  as  you  can  ?  Some- 
thir^g  might  be  done  to  save  the  remainder,  if  you 
had  resolution  and  would  stand  by  me,  as  firmly  as 
I  will  by  you." 

This  ill  temper  in  the  preachers  produced  a  schism 
in  the  connexion.  An  Irish  clergyman,  being  at  Bath 
on  account  of  his  wife's  health,  was  desired  by  Mr. 
Wesley  to  preach  every  Sunday  evening  in  the  Me- 
thodist chapel,  as  long  as  he  remained  there.  As 
soon  as  Wesley  had  left  that  city,  a  lay  preacher,  by 
name  N""  Nab,  raised  a  sort  of  rebellion  upon  this 
groui)d,saying  it  was  the  common  cause  of  all  the  lay 
preachers,  for  they  were  appointed  by  the  Confe- 
rence, not  by  Mr.  Wesley,  and  they  would  not  sulfer 
the  clergy  to  ride  over  their  heads.  This  touched 
Mr.  Wesley  where  he  was  most  sensitive.  He  set 
out  for  Bath,  summoned  the  society,  and  read  to 
them  a  paper*  which  he  had  drawn  up  many  years 
before,  upon  a  somewhat  similar  occasion,  and  which 
had  been  read  to  the  Conference  of  I76t).  He  ob- 
served that  the  rules  of  the  preachers  were  fixed  by 
him  before  any  Conference  existed,  and  that  the 
twelfth  rule  stated,  "  above  all,  you  are  to  preach 
when  and  where  I  appoint."  This  fundamental  rule 
M'^  Nab  had  opposed,  and  therefore  he  expelled 
him.  But  the  mutinous  preacher  had  "  thrown  wild- 
fire among  the  people,  and  occasioned  anger,  jealou- 
sies, judging  each  other,  backbiting,  and  tale  bearing 
without  end  :"  sti"ange  weeds  to  spring  up  in  the  gar- 
den of  Christian  perfection  ! 

On  this  occasion,  as  on  all  others,  when  his  autho- 
rity was  invaded,  Wesley  acted  with  promptitude 
and  decision.  He  had  great  talents  for  government ; 
and  even  when  it  was  necessary,  to  conform  to  cir- 
cumstances which  he  could  not  control,  he  under- 
stood how  important  it  was  that  he  should  never  ap- 
pear to  yield.    But  though,  by  his  presence  of  mind 

*  The  substance  of  this  paper  has  been  previously  given,  Vol.  ii.  pp. 
145—148. 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  Af.E. 


395 


and  skill  in  directing  the  minds  of  men,  he  contrived 
in  difiicult  circumstances  to  save  himself  from  any 
sacrifice  of  pride,  he  was  not  always  so  successful  on 
the  score  of  principle ;  for  his  attachment  to  the 
Church  was  sacrificed  to  the  desire  of  extending  and 
preservirjg  his  power.  Contented  if  he  could  stave 
off  the  separation  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  took  mea- 
sures which  prepared  for  it,  just  as  he  provided  a 
system  by  which  the  constitution  of  his  society  should 
become  republican  after  his  death,  satisfied  with 
maintaining  his  authority  over  it  as  a  monarch  during 
his  life. 

The  remarkable  talents  with  which  the  Wesley 
family  were  endowed,  manifested  themselves  in  the 
third  generation  as  strikingly  as  in  the  second.  One 
of  the  nieces  of  Mr.  Wesley,  named  Mehetabel,  after 
her  mother,  was  that  Mrs.  Wright  who  attained  to 
such  excellence  as  a  modeller  in  wax,  and  who  is 
said  to  have  acted  with  great  dexterity  in  conveying 
treasonable  intelligence  to  the  Americans  during  the 
war.  The  two  sons  of  Charles  were  among  the  most 
distinguished  musicians  of  their  age.  Their  father, 
perceiving  the  decided  bent  of  their  genius,  very 
properly  permitted  them  to  follow  it,  and  make  the 
science  of  music  their  profession.  In  a  letter  to  his 
brother,  he  said,  "  I  am  clear,  without  doubt,  that  my 
sons'  concert  is  after  the  will  and  order  of  Provi- 
dence." When  John  printed  this  letter  after  his 
brother's  death,  be  added,  in  a  note,  "  I  am  dear  of 
another  mind."  Dr.  Coke  also  looked  upon  the  con- 
certs which  were  performed  in  Charles  Wesley's 
own  house  as  l)eing  highly  dishonourable  to  God, 
and  considered  him  as  crimirial  "  by  reason  of  his 
situation  in  the  church  of  Christ."  But  upon  mature 
consideration  the  Doctor  saw  reason  to  alter  this  se- 
vere opinion.  "  It  has  established  them,"  said 
Charles,  "  as  musicians,  in  a  safe  and  honourable 
way.  We  do  not  repent  that  we  did  not  make  a 
show  or  advantage  of  our  swans.  They  may  still 
make  their  fortunes  if  I  will  venture  them  into  the 
world  ;  but  I  never  wish  them  rich  :  you  also  agretf 


396 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


with  me  in  this.  Our  good  old  father  neglected  eve- 
ry opportunity  of  selhng  our  souls  to  the  devil." 

One  of  these  brothers  became  a  papist,  to  the 
Bore  grief  of  his  parents.  Upon  this  occasion  John 
addressed  a  letter  to  them,  saying,  he  doubled  not 
that  they  were  in  great  trouble,  because  their  son 
had  "changed  his  religiofi ;"  and,  deducing  a  topic 
of  consolation  from  the  inaccuracy  of  that  expres- 
sion, Nay,"  said  lie,  "  he  has  changed  his  opinions^ 
and  mode  of  worship,  but  that  is  not  religion  ;  it  is 
quite  another  tiling.  Has  lie  then,  you  may  ask,  sus- 
tained no  loss  by  the  change Yes ;  unspeakable 
loss:  because  his  new  opinions  and  mode  of  worship 
are  so  unfavourable  to  religion,  that  they  make  it,  if 
not  impossible  to  one  that  knew  better,  yet  extreme- 
ly difficult.  What,  then,  is  religion?  It  is  happi- 
ness in  God,  or  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 
It  is  '•faith  working  by  love;'  producing  'righteous- 
ness, and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.'  In 
other  words,  it  is  a  heart  and  life  devoted  to  God ; 
or  communion  with  God  the  Falher  and  the  Son ;  or 
the  mind  which  was  in  Chi'ist  Jesus,  enabling  us  to 
walk  as  he  walked.  Now,  either  he  has  this  reli- 
gion, or  he  has  not :  if  he  has,  he  will  not  finally  pe- 
rish, notwithstanding  the  absurd  unscriptural  opi- 
nions he  has  embraced,  and  the  superstitious  and 
idolatrous  modes  of  worship.  But  these  are  so  ma- 
ny shackles  which  will  greatly  retard  him  in  running 
the  race  that  is  set  before  him.  If  he  has  not  this 
religion  ;  if  lie  has  not  given  God  his  heart,  the  case 
is  unspeakably  worse  :  I  doubt  if  he  ever  will;  for 
his  new  friends  will  continually  endeavour  to  hinder 
him,  by  putting  something  else  in  its  place,  by  en- 
couraging him  to  rest  in  the  form,  notions,  or  exter- 
nals, without  being  born  again;  w  ithout  having  Christ 
in  him,  the  hope  of  glory  ;  without  being  renewed  in 
the  image  of  Him  that  created  him.  This  is  the 
deadly  evil.  {  have  of\en  lamented  that  he  had  not 
this  holiness,  without  which  no  man  can  see  the 
Lord.  But  though  he  had  it  not,  yet,  in  his  hours  of 
cool  reflection,  he  did  not  hope  to  go  to  heaven  with- 
out it  •  but  now  he  is,  or  will  be  taught,  that,  let  him 


WESLEY    IN   OLD  AGE. 


only  have  a  right  faiths  (that  is,  such  and  such  no- 
tions,) and  add  thereunto  such  and  such  externals^ 
and  he  is  quite  safe.  He  may  indeed  roll  a  few 
years  m  purging  fire,  but  he  will  surely  gotoheaveri 
at  last." 

The  father  felt  this  evil  so  deeply,  that,  it  is  as- 
serted, one  of  the  last  things  he  said  upon  his  death- 
bed was  to  declare  his  forgiveness  of  the  person  by 
•whose  means  his  son  had  been  perverted.  To  Mr. 
Wesley  it  was  a  mortification  as  well  as  a  grief;  for 
he  had  exposed  the  errors  of  the  Romanists  in  some 
controversial  vvritin^s,  perspicuously  and  forcibly. 
One  of  those  writings  gave  tfie  Catholics  an  advan- 
tage, because  it  defended  the  Protestant  Association  of 
1780  ;  and  the  events  which  speedily  followed,  were 
turned  against  him.  But,  upon  the  great  points  in 
dispute,  he  was  clear  and  cogent;  and  the  temper 
of  this,  as  of  his  other  controversial  tracts,  was  such, 
that,  some  years  afterwards,  when  a  common  friend 
invited  him  to  meet  his  antagonist,  Father  O'Leary, 
it  was  gratifying  to  both  parties  to  meet  upon  terms 
of  courtesy  and  mutual  good  will. 

Before  Mr.  Wesley  submitted  to  the  operation, 
he  considered  himself  as  almost  a  disabled  soldier; 
so  little  could  he  reconcile  himself  to  the  restriction 
from  horse  exercise.  So  perfectly,  however,  was  he 
re-established  in  health,  that,  a  few  months  after- 
wards, upon  entering  his  seventy-second  year,  he 
asked,  How  is  this,  that  1  fii.'d  just  the  same  strength 
as  1  did  thirty  years  ago;  that  my  sight  is  conside- 
rably better  now,  and  my  nerves*  firmer  than 
they  were  then  ;  that  I  have  none  of  the  infirmities 
of  old  age,  and  have  lost  several  I  had  in  my  youth  } 
The  grand  .cause  is  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  who 
doth  wliatsoever  pleaseth  him.  The  chief  mcana 
are,  my  constantly  risir)g  at  four  for  about  fifty  years  ; 
my  generally  preaching  at  five  in  the  morning — one 

*  Mr.  Wesley  believed  that  the  use  of  tea  made  his  hand  shake  so, 
before  he  was  twenty  years  old,  that  he  could  hardly  write.  He  pub- 
lished an  essay  against  tea-drinking,  and  left  oft"  during;  twelve  years; 
then 'at  the  close  of  a  consumption,"  by  Dr.  Fothergills  directions,  he 
used  it  again,  and  probably  learnt  how  much  he  had  been  mistaken  in  at 
tributing  ill  effects  to  so  refreshing  and  innocent  a  beveryirc. 


398 


WESLEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


of  the  most  healthy  exercises  in  the  world  ;  my  never 
travelling  less,  by  sea  or  land,  than  four  thousand 
five  hundred  miles  in  a  year."  Repeating  the  same 
question  after  another  year  had  elapsed,  he  added  to 
this  list  of  natural  means,  "  the  abihty,  if  ever  I 
want,  to  sleep  immediately  ;  the  never  losing  a  night's 
sleep  in  my  life ;  two  violent  fevers,  and  two  deep 
consumptions ;  these,  it  is  true,  were  rough  medi- 
cines; but  they  were  of  admirable  service,  causing 
my  flesh  to  come  again  as  the  flesh  of  a  little  child. 
May  I  add,  lastly,  evenness  of  temper:  I  feel  and 

fneve  ;  but,  by  the  grace  of  God.  I  fret  at  nothing, 
ut  still,  the  help  that  is  done  upon  earth,  He  dofh  it  him- 
self; and  this  he  doth  in  answer  to  m^ny  prayers," 

He  himself  had  prayed  that  he  might  not  live  to 
be  useless;  and  the  extraordinary  vigour  which  he 
preserved  to  extreme  old  age,  might  well  make  him 
believe,  that,  in  this  instance,  his  heart's  desire  had 
been  granted.  The  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age 
found  him,  he  says,  "  by  the  blessing  of"  God,"  just* 
the  same  as  when  he  entered  the  twenty-eighth; 
and,  upon  entering  his  eightieth,  he  blessed  God  that 
his  time  was  not  labour  and  sorrow,  and  that  he 
found  no  more  infirmities  than  when  he  was  in  the 
flower  of  manhood.  But  though  this  uncommon  ex- 
emption from  the  burthen  of  age  was  vouchsafed 
him,  it  was  not  in  the  nature  of  things  that  he  should 
be  spared  from  its  feelings  and  regrets.  The  days 
of  his  childhood  returned  upon  him  when  he  visited 
Epworth;  and,  taking  a  solitary  walk  in  the  church 
yard  of  that  place,  he  says,  "  I  felt  the  truth  of  '  one 
generation  gocth,  and  another  cometh.^  See  how  the 
earth  drops  its  inhabitants,  as  the  tree  drops  its 
leaves!"  Wherever  he  went,  his  old  disciples  had 
past  away,  and  other  generations  had  succeeded  in 
their  stead  ;  and,  at  the  houses  to  which  he  looked 
on  with  pleasure  in  the  course  of  his  yearly  rounds^ 
he  found  more  and  more  frequently,  in  every  suc- 
ceeding year,  that  death  had  been  before  him. 


*  "  In  the  year  1769,"  he  says,  "  I  weighed  a  hundred  and  twenty 
two  pounds.    In  1783,  I  weighed  not  a  pound  more  ov  less." 


WE»LEY  IN  OLD  AGE. 


399 


Whole  families  dropt  off  one  by  one,  while  he  con- 
tinued still  in  his  green  old  age,  full  of  life,  and  ac- 
tivity, and  strength,  and  hope,  and  ardour.  Such 
griefs  were  felt  by  him  less  keenly  than  by  other 
men ;  because  every  day  brought  with  it  to  him 
change  of  scene  and  of  persons ;  and  because,  busy 
as  he  was  on  earth,  his  desires  were  in  heaven.  1 
had  hopes,"  says  he,  in  his  Journal,  "  of  seeing  a 
friend  at  Lewisham  in  my  way :  and  so  I  did  ;  but  it 
was  in  her  coffin.  It  is  well,  since  she  tinished  her 
course  with  joy.  In  due  time  I  shall  see  her  in 
glory."  To  one  of  his  young  female  correspondents 
he  says,  with  melancholy  anticipation,  "  I  sometimes 
fear  lest  you  also,  as  those  I  tenderly  love  generally 
have  been,  should  be  snatched  away.  But  let  us 
live  to-day !"  Many  of  his  most  ardent  and  most 
amiable  disciples  seem  to  have  been  cut  off,  in  the 
flower  of  their  youth,  by  consumption — a  disease  too 
frequently  connected  with  what  is  beautiful  in  form, 
and  intellect,  and  disposition. 

Mr.  Fletcher,  though  a  much  younger  man,  was 
summoned  to  his  reward  before  him.  That  excel- 
lent person*  left  England,  under  all  the  symptoms 
of  advanced  consumption,  to  try  the  effect  of  his 

*  In  the  year  1788,  Mr.  Wesley  printed  a  letter  written  to  him  from 
France,  in  1770,  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  in  which  the  following  remarkable 
passage  occurs :  "  A  set  of  Free-thinkers  (great  admirers  of  Voltaire 
and  Rousseau,  Bayle,  and  Mirabeau)  seem  bent  uj)on  destroying  Chris- 
tianity and  government.  With  one  hand,  says  a  lawyer,  who  has  writ- 
ten against  thclii,  they  shake  the  throne,  and,  with  the  other,  they 
throw  doAvn  the  altar.  If  we  believe  them,  the  world  is  the  dupe  of 
kings  and  priests  ;  religion  is  fanaticism  and  superstition  ;  subordination 
is  slavery  and  tyranny;  Christian  morality  is  absurd,  unnatural,  and  im- 
practicable; and  Christianity  is  the  most  bloody  religion  that  ever  was. 
And  here  it  is  certain,  that,  by  the  example  of  Christians,  so  called, 
and  by  our  continual  disputes,  they  have  a  great  advantage.  Popery 
will  certainly  fall  in  France  in  this  or  the  next  century ;  and  God  will 
use  those  vain  men  to  bring  al)out  a  reformation  here,  as  lie  used 
Henry  VIII.  to  do  that  great  work  in  England :  so  the  madness  of  his 
enemies  shall  turn  at  last  to  his  praise,  and  to  the  furtherance  of  his 
kingdom.  If  you  ask  what  sj  stem  these  men  adopt,  I  answer,  that 
some  build,  upon  deism,  a  morality  founded  upon  self-preservation,  self- 
interest,  and  self-honour.  Others  laugh  at  all  morality,  except  that 
which  violently  disturbs  society ;  and  external  order  is  the  decent  cover 
of  fatalism  ;  while  materialism  is  their  system."  He  invites  all  (Miris- 
tians  "  to  do  what  the  herds  do  on  the  Swiss  mountains,  when  the 
wolves  make  an  attatk  upon  them  :  instead  of  goring  one  another,  they 
unite,  form  a  close  battalion,  and  face  the  enemy  on  all  sides." 


40(1 


MR.  FLETCHRK. 


native  air;  anJ,  in  the  expectation  of  death,  address- 
ed a  paf<toral  letter  at  that  time  to  his  parishioners. 
"  I  sometimes,"  said  he,  feel  a  desire  of  being  bu- 
ried where  you  are  buried,  and  having  my  bones  lie 
in  a  common  earthen  bed  with  yours.  But  I  soon 
resiafn  that  wish ;  and,  leaving  that  particular  to 
Providence,  exult  in  thinking,  that  neither  life  nor 
death  shall  ever  be  able  (while  we  hang  on  the  Cru- 
cified, as  He  hung  on  the  cross)  to  separate  us  from 
Christ  our  head,  nor  Ironi  the  love  of  each  other  his 
members."  His  recovery,  which  appears  almost 
miraculous,  was  ascribed  by  himself  more  to  eating 
plentifidly  of  cherries  and  grapes,  than  to  any  other 
remedies.  His  friends  wished  him  to  remain  among 
them  at  Nyon  :  "  they  urge  my  being  born  here," 
said  he,  "  and  I  reply,  that  1  was  born  again  in  Eng- 
land, and  therefore  that  is,  of  course,  tiie  country 
which  to  me  is  (lie  dearer  of  the  two."  He  returned 
to  his  parish,  and  married  Mi^s  Bosanquet ;  a  wo- 
man perfectly  suited  to  him  in  age,  temper,  piety, 
and  talents.  "  We  are  two  poor  invalids,"  said  be, 
"  who,  between  us,  make  half  a  labourer.  She 
sweetly  helps  me  to  drink  the  dregs  of  life,  and  to 
carry  with  ease  the  daily  cross."  His  account  of 
himself,  after  this  time,  is  so  beautiful,  that  its  inser- 
tion might  be  pardoned  here,  even  if  Mr.  Fletcher 
were  a  less  important  personage  in  the  history  of 
Methodism.  I  keep  in  my  sentry-box,"  says  he, "  till 
Providence  remove  me  :  my  situation  is  quite  suited 
to  my  little  strength.  I  may  do  as  much  or  as  little 
as  I  please,  according  to  my  weakness ;  and  I  have 
an  advantage,  which  I  can  have  no  where  else  in 
such  a  degree  :  my  little  field  of  action  is  just  at  my 
door,  so  that,  if  I  happen  to  overdo  myself,  I  have 
but  a  step  from  ray  pulpit  to  my  bed,  and  from  my 
bed  to  mv  grave.  If  I  had  a  body  full  of  vigour,  and 
a  purse  full  of  money,  I  should  like  well  enough  to 
travel  about  as  Mr  Wesley  does;  but,  as  Providence 
does  not  call  me  to  it,  i  readily  submit.  The  snail 
does  best  in  its  shell." 

\  his  good  mm  died  in  1785,  and  in  the  56th  year 
of  his  age.    Volumes  have  been  filled,  and  are  per- 


DEATH  OF  MR.  FLETCHER. 


401 


petually  being  filled,  by  sectarians  of  every  descrip- 
tion, with  accounts  of  the  behaviour  and  triumphant 
hopes  of  the  dying,  all  resembling  each  other  ;  but 
the  circumstances  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  death  were  as 
peculiar  as  those  of  his  lite.  He  had  taken  cold,  and 
i\  considerable  degree  of  fever  had  been  induced  ; 
but  no  persuasion  could  prevail  upon  him  to  stay  from 
church  on  the  Sunday,  nor  even  to  permit  that  any 
part  of  the  service  sliould  be  performed  for  him.  It 
was  the  will  of  the  Lord,  he  said,  that  he  should  go; 
and  he  assured  his  wife  and  his  friends  that  G.od 
would  strengthen  him  to  go  through  the  duties  of  the 
day.  Before  he  had  proceeded  far  in  the  service,  he 
grew  pale,  and  faltered  in  his  speech,  and  could 
scarcely  keep  himselt"  from  fainting.  The  congrega- 
tion were  greatly  affected  and  alarmed  ;  and  Mrs. 
Fletcher  pressing  through  the  crowd,  earnestly  en.- 
treated  him  not  to  persevere  in  what  was  so  evident- 
ly beyond  liis  strength.  He  recovered,  however,  when 
the  windows  were  opened,  exerted  himself  against 
the  mortal  illness  which  he  felt,  went  through  the  ser- 
vice, and  preached  with  remarkable  earnestness, 
and  with  not  less  effect,  for  his  parishioners  plainly 
saw  that  the  hand  of  death  was  upon  him.  After  the 
sermon,  he  walked  to  the  communipn-table,  saying, 
"  I  am  going  to  throw  myself  under  the  wings  of  the 
Cherubim,  before  the  Mercy-seat  !" — Here,"  (it  is 
his  widow  who  describes  this  last  extraordinary  ef- 
fort of  enthusiastic  devotion)  "  the  same  distressing 
scene  was  renewed,  with  additional  solemnity.  The 
people  were  deeply  affected  while  they  beheld  hiia 
offering  up  the  last  languid  remains  of  a  life  that  had 
been  lavishly  spent  in  their  service.  Groans  and 
tears  were  on  every  side.  In  going  through  this  last 
part  of  his  duty,  he  was  exhausted  again  and  again ; 
but  his  spiritual  vigour  triumphed  over  his  bodily 
weakness.  After  several  times  sitikingon  the  sacra- 
mental table,  he  still  resumed  his  sacred  work,  and 
cheerfully  distributed,  with  his  dying  hand,  the  love- 
memorials  of  his  dying  Lord.  In  the  course  of  this 
concluding  office,  which  he  performed  by  means  of 
the  most  astonishing  exertions,  he  gave  out  several 
VOL.  H.  /jI 


402 


DEATH  OF  MR.  FLETCHER. 


verses  of  hyiniis,  and  delivered  many  affectionate  ex- 
hortations to  liis  people,  calling  upon  them,  inter- 
vals, to  celebrate  the  mercy  of  God  in  short  songs 
of  adoration  and  praise.  And  now,  having  strug- 
gled through  a  service  of  near  four  hours'  continu- 
ance, he  w  as  supported,  with  blessings  in  his  mouth, 
from  the  altar  to  his  chamber,  w'  ere  he  lay  for  some 
time  in  a  swoon,  and  from  whence  he  never  walked 
into  the  world  again."  Mr.  Fletcher's  nearest  and 
dearest  friends  sympathised  entirely  with  him  in  his 
devotional  feelings,  and  therefore  they  seem  never  to 
have  entertained  a  thought  that  this  tragedy  may 
have  exasperated  his  disease,  and  proved  the  direct 
occasion  of  his  death.  "  I  besought  the  Lord,'* 
says  Mrs.  Fletcher,  if  it  were  his  good  pleasure,  to 
spare  him  to  me  a  little  longer.  But  my  prayer  seem- 
ed to  have  no  wings  ;  and  1  could  not  help  mingling 
continually  therewith,  Lord,  give  me  perfect  resig- 
nation !" 

On  the  Sunday  following  he  died,  and  that  day  al- 
so was  distinguished  by  circumstances  not  less  re- 
markable. A  supplicatory  hymn  for  his  recovery 
was  sung  in  the  church  ;  and  one  who  was  present 
says,  it  is  impossible  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  burst 
of  sorrow  that  accompanied  it.  "  The  whole  vil- 
lage," says  his  friend  Mr.  Gilpin,  "  wore  an  air  of 
consternation  and  sadness.  Hasty  messengers  were 
passing  to  and  fro,  with  anxious  enquiries  and  confus- 
ed reports ;  and  the  members  of  every  family  sate 
together  in  silence  that  day,  awaiting,  with  trembling 
expectation,  the  issue  of  every  hour."  After  the 
evening  service,  several  of  the  poor,  who  came  from 
a  distance,  and  who  were  usually  entertained  under 
his  roof,  lingered  about  the  house,  and  expressed  an 
earnest  wish  that  they  might  see  their  expiring  pas- 
tor. Their  desire  was  granted.  The  door  of  his 
chamber  was  set  open ;  directly  opposite  to  which, 
he  was  sitting  upright  in  his  bed,  with  the  curtains 
undrawn,  "  unaltered  in  his  usual  venerable  appear- 
ance ;"  and  they  passed  along  the  gallery  one  by  one, 
pausing,  as  they  passed  by  the  door,  to  look  upon 
him  for  the  last  time.    A  few  hours  after  this  extra- 


DEATH  OF  MR.  FLETCHER. 


403 


ordinary  scene  he  breathed  his  last,  without  a  strug- 
gle or  a  groan,  in  perfect  peace,  and  in  the  fulness  of 
faith  and  of  hope.  Such  was  the  death  of  Jean 
Guillaume  de  la  Flechere,  or  as  he  may  more  pro- 
perly be  designated,  in  this  his  adopted  country, 
Fletcher  of  Madeley,  a  man  of  whom  iVIethodism 
may  well  be  proud  as  the  most  able  of  its  defenders; 
and  whom  the  Church  of  England  may  hold  in  ho- 
nourable remembrance,  as  one  of  the  most  pious  and 
excellent  of  her  sons.  "  I  was  intimately  acquaint- 
ed with  him,"  says  Mr.  \Yesley,  "  for  above  thirty 
years.  I  conversed  with  him  morning,  noon,  and 
night,  without  the  least  reserve,  during  a  journey  of 
many  hundred  miles  ;  and  in  all  that  time  I  never 
heard  him  speak  one  improper  word,  nor  saw  him  do 
an  improper  action.  Many  exemplary  men  have  I 
known,  holy  in  heart  and  life,  within  fourscore  years ; 
but  one  equal  to  him  I  have  not  known  :  one  so  in- 
wardly and  outwardly  devoted  to  God,  so  unblame- 
able  a  character  in  every  respect,  I  have  not  found, 
either  in  Europe  or  America.  Nor  do  I  expect  to 
find  another  such  on  this  side  of  eternity." 

Wesley  thought,  that  if  Mr.  Fletchers  friends  had 
not  dissuaded  him  from  continuing  that  course  of 
itinerancy  which  he  began  in  his  company,  it  would 
have  made  him  a  strong  man.  And  that,  after  his 
health  was  restored  by  his  native  air,  and  confirme4 
by  his  wife's  constant  care,  if  he  had  used  this 
health  in  travelling  all  over  llie  kingdom  five  or  six, 
or  seven  months  every  year,  (for  which  never  was 
man  more  eminently  qualified,  no,  not  Mr.  Whitefield 
himself)  he  would  have  done  more  good  than  any 
other  man  in  England.  I  cannot  doubt,"  he  adds, 
"  but  this  would  have  been  the  more  excellent  Wciy." 
It  had  been  Mr.  Wesiey's  hope,  at  one  time,  that 
after  his  death,  Mr.  Fletcher  would  succeed  to  the 
supremacy  of  the  spiritual  dominion  which  he  had 
established.  Mr.  Fletcher  was  qualified  for  the  suc- 
cession by  his  thorough  disregard  of  worldly  advan- 
tages, his  perfect  piety,  his  devotedness  to  the  people 
among  whom  he  ministered,  his  affable  manner,  and 
his  popular  and  persuasive  oratory, — qualification'" 


404 


■tt'ESLliY  IN  Ol.h  AdE. 


in  which  he  was  not  inferior  to  Wesley  himself.  But 
he  had  neither  the  ambition,  nor  the  flexibility  of 
Mr.  Wesley;  he  would  not  have  known  how  to  rule, 
nor  how  to  yield  as  he  did  :  holiness  with  him  was 
all  in  all.  Wesley  had  the  temper  and  talents  of  a 
statesman :  in  the  Romish  Church  he  would  have 
been  the  general,  if  not  the  founder,  of  an  order;  or 
might  have  held  a  distinguished  place  in  history,  as 
a  cardinal  or  a  pope.  Fletcher,  in  any  communion, 
■would  have  been  a  saint. 

Mr.  Wesley  still  continued  to  be  the  same  marvel- 
lous old  man.  No  one  who  saw  him,  even  casually, 
in  his  old  age,  can  have  forgotten  his  venerable  ap- 
pearance. His  face  was  remarkably  fine  ;  his  com- 
plexio!)  fresh  to  the  last  week  of  his  life ;  his  eye 
quick,  and  keen,  and  active.  When  you  met  him  in 
the  street  of  a  crowded  city,  he  attracted  notice,  not 
only  by  his  band  and  cassock,  and  his  long  hair, 
white  and  bright  as  silver,  but  by  his  pace  and  man- 
ner, both  indicating  that  all  his  minutes  were  num- 
bered, and  that  not  one  was  to  be  lost.  "  Though  I 
am  always  in  haste,"  he  says  of  himself,  "  I  am  never 
in  a  hurry;  because  I  never  undertake  any  more 
work  than  I  can  go  through  with  perfect  calmness  of 
spirit.  It  is  true,  I  travel  four  or  five  thousand  miles 
in  a  year;  but  I  generally  travel  alone  in  my  car- 
riage, and,  consequently,  am  as  retired  ten  hours  a 
day  as  if  I  were  in  a  wilderness.  On  other  days,  ! 
never  spend  less  than  three  hours  (frequently  ten  or 
twelve)  in  the  day,  alone.  So  there  are  few  persons 
who  spend  so  many  hours  secluded  from  all  company." 
Thus  it  was  that  he  found  lime  to  read  much,  and  write 
voluminously.  After  his  eightieth  year,  he  went  twice 
to  Holland,  a  country  in  which  Methodism,  as  Qua- 
kerism had  done  before  it,  met  with  a  certain  degree 
of  success.  Upon  completing  his  eighty-second  year, 
he  says,  "  is  any  thing  too  hard  for  God  ?  It  is  now 
eleven  years  since  I  have  felt  any  such  thing  as  wea- 
riness. Many  times  I  speak  till  my  voice  fails,  and 
I  can  speak  no  longer.  Frequently  I  walk  till  my 
strerigth  fai's,  and  I  can  walk  no  further;  vet.  even 
then,  1  feel  no  sensation  of  weariness,  but  am  perfect- 


WESLEY  IN-  OLD  AGE. 


405 


Ij  easy  from  head  to  foot.  I  dare  not  impute  this  to 
imtural  causes.  It  is  the  will  of  God."'  A  year  after- 
wards he  s  lys,  "  I  am  a  wonder  to  myself!  1  am  uever 
tired  (such  is  the  goodness  of  God),  either  with 
writing,  preaching,  or  travelling.  One  natural  cause, 
undoubtedly,  is,  my  continual  exercise,  and  change 
of  air.  How  the  latter  contributes  to  health  I  k.^.ow 
not ;  but  certainly  it  does."  In  his  eighty-fourth 
year,  he  first  began  to  feel  decay ;  and,  upon  com- 
mencing his  eighty-fifth,  he  observes,  I  ani  not  so 
agile  as  1  was  in  times  past ;  I  do  not  run  or  walk  so 
fast  as  1  did.  My  sight  is  a  little  decayed.  My  left 
eye  is  grown  dim,  and  hardly  serves  me  to  read.  I 
have  daily  some  pain  in  the  ball  of  my  right  eye,  as 
also  in  my  right  temple  (occasioned  by  a  blow^  re- 
ceived some  months  since.)  and  i[i  my  right  shoulder 
and  arm,  which  I  impute  partly  to  a  sprain,  and 
partly  to  the  rheumatism.  1  find,  likewise,  some  de- 
cay in  my  memory  with  regard  to  names  and  things 
lately  past ;  but  not  at  all  with  regard  to  what  1  have 
read  or  heard  twenty,  forty,  or  sixty  years  ago.  Nei- 
ther do  I  find  any  decay  in  my  hearing,  smell,  taste, 
or  appetite,  (though  I  want  but  a  third  part  of  the 
food  i  did  once,)  nor  do  I  feel  any  such  thing  as  wea- 
riness, either  in  travelling  or  preaching.  And  I  am 
not  conscious  of  any  decay  in  writing  sermons,  which 
I  do  as  readily,  and,  I  believe,  as  correctly  as  ever." 
He  acknowledged,  therefore,  that  he  had  cause  to 
praise  God  for  bodily,  as  well  as  spiritual  blessings ; 
and  that  he  had  suffered  little,  as  yet,  by  "  the  rush 
of  numerous  years." 

Other  persons  perceived  his  growing  weakness, 
before  he  was  thus  aware  of  it  himself;  the  most 
marked  symptom  was  that  of  a  frequent  disposition 
to  sleep  during  the  day.  He  had  always  been  able 
to  lie  down  and  sleep  almost  at  will,  like  a  mere  ani- 
mal, or  a  man  in  little  better  than  an  animal  state, — 
a  consequence,  probably,  of  the  incessant  activity  of 
his  life:  this  he  himself  rightly  accounted  one  of  the 
causes  of  his  excellent  health,  and  it  was,  doubtless, 
a  consequence  of  it  also :  but  the  involuntary  slum- 
bers w  Inch  came  upon  him  in  the  latter  years  of  his 


406 


DEATH  OF  CHARLES  WESLEY. 


life,  were  indications  that  the  machine  was  wearing 
out,  and  would  soon  come  to  a  stop.  In  1783,  he 
lost  his  brother  Charles,  who,  during  many  years, 
had  been  his  zealous  coadjutor,  and,  through  life, 
his  faithful  and  affectionate  Iriend.  Latterly  their 
opinions  had  differed.  Charles  saw  the  evil  ten- 
dency of  some  part  of  the  discipline,  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  he  abominated  the  band-meetings, 
which  he  had  formerly  approved ;  and,  adhering 
faithfully  himself  to  the  church,  he  regretted  the  se- 
paration which  he  foresaw,  and  disapproved  of  John's 
conduct,  in  taking  steps  which  manifestly  tended  to 
facilitate  it.  Indeed,  Mr.  Wesley  laid  aside,  at  last, 
all  those  pretensions  by  which  he  had  formerly  ex- 
cused himself;  and,  in  the  year  1787,  with  the  assis- 
tance of  two  of  his  clerical  coadjutors,  Mr.  Creighton 
and  Mr.  Peard  Dickinson,  he  ordained  two  of  his 
preachers,  and  consecrated  Mather  a  bishop  or  su- 
perintendent.   But  this  decided  difference  of  opinion 

Eroduced  no  diminution  of  love  between  the  two 
rothers.  They  had  agreed  to  differ;  and,  to  the 
last,  Johti  was  not  more  jealous  of  his  own  authority, 
than  Chtirles  was  solicitous  that  he  should  preserve 
it.  "•  Keep  it  while  you  live,''  he  said,  "  and  after 
your  death,  detur  digniort,  or  rather,  digniorihus.  Yoq 
cannot  settle  the  succession  ;  you  cannot  divine  how 
God  will  settle  it."  Charles,  though  he  attained  to 
his  eightieth  year,  was  a  valetudinarian  through  the 
greatest  part  of  his  life,  in  consequence,  it  is  be- 
lieved, of  having  injured  his  constitution  by  close 
application  and  excessive  abstinence  at  Oxford.  He 
had  always  dreaded  the  act  of  dying;  and  his  pray- 
er was,  that  God  would  grant  him  patience  and  an 
easy  death.  A  calmer  frame  of  mind,  and  an  easier 
passage,  could  not  have  been  granted  him  ;  the  pow- 
ers of  life  were  fairly  worn  out,  and,  without  any  dis- 
ease, he  fell  asleep.  By  his  own  desire,  he  was  bu- 
ried, not  in  his  brother's  burying  ground,  because  it 
was  not  consecrated,  but  in  the  churchyard  of  Ma- 
ry-le-bone,  the  parish  in  which  he  resided  ;  and  his 
pall  was  supported  by  eight  clergymen  of  the  Church 
of  England. 


WESLEY   IN  OLD  AGE. 


407 


it  was  reported  that  Charles  had  said,  his  brother 
iVould  not  outlive  him  more  than  a  year.  The  pre- 
diction might  have  been  hazarded  with  sutiicietit 
likelihood  of  its  fulfilment;  for  John  was  then  draw- 
ing near  the  grave.  Upon  his  eighty-sixth  birthday, 
he  says,  "  I  now  find  I  grow  old.  My  sight  is  decay- 
ed, so  that  I  cannot  read  a  small  print,  unless  in  a 
strong  light.  My  strength  is  decayed  ;  so  that  I 
walk  much  slower  than  I  did  some  years  since.  My 
memory  of  names,  whether  of  persons  or  places,  is 
decayed,  till  I  stop  a  little  to  recollect  them.  What 
I  should  be  afraid  of  is,  if  I  took  thought  for  the  mor- 
row, that  my  body  should  weigh  down  my  mind,  and 
create  either  stubbornness,  by  the  decrease  of  my 
understandit)g.  or  peevishness,  by  the  increase  of 
Bodily  infirmities.  But  tfiou  shalt  answer  for  me,  O 
Lord,  my  God !"  His  strength  now  diminished  so 
much,  that  he  found  it  difficult  to  preach  more  than 
twice  a-day  ;  and  for  many  weeks  he  abstained  from 
his  five  o'clock  morning  sermons,  because  a  slow  and 
settled  fever  parched  his  mouth.  Finding  himself  a 
little  better,  he  resumed  the  practice,  and  hoped  to 
hold  on  a  little  longer;  but,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1790,  he  writes,  "  lam  now  an  old  man,  decay- 
ed from  head  to  foot.  My  eyes  are  dim ;  my  right 
hand  shakes  much  ;  my  mouth  is  hot  and  dry  every 
morning;  I  have  lingering  fever  almost  everyday; 
my  motion  is  weak  and  slow.  However,  blessed  be 
God  !  I  do  not  slack  my  labours  :•  I  can  preach  and 
write  still."  In  the  middle  of  the  same  year,  he 
closed  his  cash  account-book  with  the  following 
words,  written  with  a  tremulous  hand,  so  as  to  be 
scarcely  legible  :  "  For  upwards  of  eighty-six  years 
I  have  kept  my  accounts  exactly  :  I  will  not  attempt 
it  any  longer,  being  satisfied  with  the  continual  con- 
viction, that  I  save  all  I  can,  and  give  all  I  can  ;  that 
is,  all  I  have."  His  strength  was  now  quite  gone,  and 
jio  glasses  would  help  his  sight.  "  But  I  feel  no 
pain,"  he  says,  "  from  head  to  foot ;  only,  it  seems, 
nature  is  exhausted,  and,  humanly  speaking,  will  sink 
more  and  more,  till 

The  waaty  sprinjs  of  life  stanJ  still  at  last.'' 


408 


t)i:ATH  OF  WKSLEY. 


On  the  first  of  February,  1791,  he  wrote  his  hist 
letter  to  America.  It  shows  how  anxious  he  was  (hat 
his  followers  should  consider  themselves  as  one  unit- 
ed body.  "  See,"  said  he,  "  that  you  never  give 
place  to  one  thought  of  separating  from  your  bre- 
thren in  Europe.  Lose  no  opportunity  of  declaring 
to  all  men,  that  the  Methodists  are  one  people  in  all 
the  world,  and  that  it  is  their  full  determination  so  to 
continue."  He  expressed,  also,  a  sense  that  his  hour 
was  almost  come.  "  Those  that  desire  to  write," 
said  he,  "  or  say  any  thing  to  me,  have  no  time  to 
lose  ;  for  time  has  shaken  me  by  the  hand,  and  death  is 
not  far  behind ;" — words  which  his  father  had  used  in 
one  of  the  last  letters  that  he  addressed  to  his  sons 
at  Oxford.  On  the  17th  of  that  month,  he  took  cold 
after  preaching  at  Lambeth.  For  some  days  he 
struggled  against  an  increasing  fever,  and  continued 
to  preach  till  the  Wednesday  following,  when  he  de- 
livered his  last  sermon.  From  that  time  he  became 
daily  weaker  and  more  lethargic,  and,  on  the  2d  of 
March,  he  died  in  peace;  being  in  the  eighty-eighth 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  sixty-fifth  of  his  ministry. 

During  his  illness  he  said,  "  Let  me  be  buried  in 
nothing  but  what  is  woollen ;  and  let  my  corpse  be 
carried  in  my  coffin  into  the  chapel."  Some  years 
before,  he  had  prepared  a  vault  for  himself,  and  for 
those  itinerant  preachers  who  might  die  in  London. 
In  his  will  he  directed,  that  six  poor  men  should  have 
twenty  shillings  each  for  carrying  his  body  to  the 
grave ;  "  for  1  particularly  desire,"  said  he,  "  there 
may  be  no  hearse,  no  coach,  no  escutcheon,  no  poinp 
except  the  tears  of  them  that  loved  me,  and  are  fol- 
lowirig  me  to  Abraham's  bosom.  I  solemnly  adjure 
my  executors,  in  the  name  of  God,  punctually  to  ob- 
serve this."  At  the  desire  of  many  of  his  friends, 
his  body  was  carried  into  the  chapel  the  day  preced- 
ing the  interment,  and  there  lay  in  a  kind  of  state  be- 
coming the  person,  dressed  in  his  clerical  habit,  with 
gown,  cassock,  and  band  ;  the  old  clerical  cap  on 
his  head,  a  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  a  white  handker- 
chief in  the  other.  The  fice  was  placid,  an<.I  the 
expression  which  death  had  fixed  upon  his  venerable 


Wesley's  funeral. 


409 


features,  was  that  of  a  serene  and  heavenly  smile. — 
The  crowds  who  flocked  to  see  him  were  so  great, that 
it  was  thought  prudent,  for  fear  of  accidents,  to  ac- 
celerate the  funeral,  and  perform  it  between  five  and 
six  in  the  morning.  The  intelligence,  however,  could 
not  be  kept  entirely  secret,  and  several  hundred  per- 
sons attended  at  that  unusual  hour.  Mr.  Richardson, 
who  performed  the  service,  had  been  one  of  his 
preachers  almost  thirty  years.  When  he  came  to 
that  part  of  the  service,  "  Forasmuch  as  it  hath 
pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  unto  himself  the  soul 
of  our  dear  brother,''''  his  voice  changed,  and  he  sub- 
stituted the  word  father;  and  the  feeUng  with  which 
he  did  this  was  such,  that  the  congregation,  who 
were  shedding  silent  tears,  burst  at  once  into  loud 
weeping. 

Mr.  Wesley  left  no  other  property  behind  him 
than  the  copyright  and  current  editions  of  his  works, 
and  this  he  bequeathed  to  the  use  of  the  Connexion 
after  his  debts  should  have  been  paid.  There  was 
a  debt  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  pounds  to  the 
family  of  his  brother  Charles;  and  he  had  drawn  al- 
so for  some  years  upon  the  fund  for  superannuated 
preachers,  to  support  those  who  were  in  full  employ- 
ment. When  he  was  told  that  some  persons  mur- 
mured at  this,  he  used  to  answer  "  what  can  I  do  } 
must  the  work  stand  still  ?  the  men  and  their  fami- 
lies cannot  starve.  I  have  no  money.  Here  it  is ; 
we  must  use  it ;  it  is  for  the  Lord's  work."  The 
money  thus  appropriated  and  the  interest  due  upon 
it,  amounted  to  a  considerable  sum.  In  building 
chapels,  also,  the  expenses  of  tlie  Connexion  outran 
its  means,  so  that  its  finances  were  left  in  an  embar- 
rassed state.  The  number  of  his  preachers  at  the 
time  of  his  death  amounted  in  the  British  dominions 
to  313,  in  the  United  States  to  19H;  the  number  of 
members  in  tlie  British  dominions  was  76,968,  in  th^ 
United  States,  57,621. 


yoL  II. 


410 


CONCLUSION. 


Such  was  the  life,  and  such  the  labours  of  John 
Wesley  ;  a  man  of  great  views,  great  energy,  and 
great  virtues.  That  he  awakened  a  zealous  spirit, 
not  only  in  his  own  community,  but  in  a  Church 
which  needed  something  to  quicken  it,  is  acknow- 
ledged by  the  members  of  that  Church  itself ;  that 
he  encouraged  enthusiasm  and  extravagance,  lent  a 
ready  ear  to  false  and  impossible  relations,  and 
spread  superstition  as  well  as  piety,  would  hardly 
be  denied  by  the  ( andid  and  judicious  among  his 
own  people.  In  its  immediate  effects  the  powerful 
principle  of  religion,  which  he  and  his  preachers  dif- 
fused, has  reclaimed  many  from  a  course  of  sin,  has 
supported  many  in  poverty,  sickness,  and  affliction, 
and  has  imparted  to  many  a  triumphant  joy  in  death. 
What  Wesley  says  of  the  miracles  wrought  at  the 
tomb  of  the  Abbe  Paris,  may  fitly  be  applied  here  ; 
"  In  many  of  these  instances,  I  see  great  supersti- 
tion, as  well  as  strong  faith  :  but  God  makes  allow- 
ance for  invincible  ignorance,  and  blesses  the  faith, 
notwithstanding  the  superstition."  Concerning  the 
general  and  remoter  consequences  of  Methodism, 
opinions  will  differ  They  who  consider  the  wide- 
spreading  schism  to  which  it  has  led,  and  who  know 
that  the  welfare  oi  the  country  is  vitally  connected 
with  its  church-es-tablishment,  may  think  that  the 
evil  overbalances  the  good.  But  the  good  may  en- 
dure, and  the  evil  be  only  for  a  time.  In  every 
other  sect  there  is  an  inherent  spirit  of  hostility  to 
the  Church  of  England,  too  often  and  too  naturally 
connected  with  di  eased  political  opinions.  So  it 
was  in  the  beginning,  and  so  it  will  continue  to  be, 
as  long  as  those  fleets  endure.  But  Methodism  is 
free  from  this.  1  lie  extravagancies  which  accom- 
panied its  growth  are  no  longer  encouraged,  and  will 
altogether  be  discountenanced,  as  tlieir  real  nature 
is  understood.  This  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is  in 
the  natural  course  of  things  that  it  should  purify  it- 
self gradually  from  whatever  is  objectionable  in  its 
institutions.  Nor  is  it  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason- 
able hope,  that  conforming  itself  to  the  original  in- 
tention of  its  founders,  it  may  again  draw  towards 


CONCLUSION. 


411 


the  establishment  from  which  it  has  seceded,  and 
deserve  to  be  recognized  as  an  auxiliary  institution, 
its  ministers  being  analogous  to  the  regulars,  and  its 
members  to  the  tertiaries  and  various  confraternities 
of  the  Romish  Church.  The  obstacles  to  this  are 
surely  not  insuperable,  perhaps  not  so  difficult  as 
they  may  appear.  And  were  this  effected,  John 
Wesley  would  then  be  ranked,  not  only  among  the 
most  remarkable  and  influential  men  of  his  age, 
but  among  the  great  benefactors  of  his  country  and 
his  kind. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  I.    Page  22. 

Charles  Wesley  accused  of  praying  for  the  Pretender. 

I  HAVK  read  somewhere  a  more  comical  blunder  upon  this  subject :  apreachei 
reading  in  Jeremiah  x.  22.  "  Behold  the  noise  of  the  bruit  is  come,  and  a  great 
commotion  from  the  Js'orth  country,"  took  it  for  granted  that  the  rebellion  in 
Scotland  was  meant,  and  that  the  brute  was  the  Pretender. 

NOTE  II.    Page  55. 
Lay  Preachers. 

The  (luestion  whether,  in  the  ancient  Church,  laymen  were  ever  allowed  by 
authority  to  make  sermons  to  the  people,  is  investigated  by  Bingham  with  his 
usual  erudition.  "  Tliat  they  did  it  in  a  private  way,  as  catechists,  in  their 
catechetick  schools,  at  Alexandria  and  other  places,  there  is  no  question.  For 
Origen  read  lectures  in  the  catechetick  school  of  Alexandria,  before  he  was  in 
orders,  by  the  appointment  of  Demetrius  ;  and  St.  Jerome  says,  there  was  a 
long  succession  of  famous  men  in  that  school,  wlio  were  called  ecclesiastical 
doctors  upon  that  account.  But  this  was  a  different  thing  from  their  public 
preaching  in  the  church.  Yet  in  some  cases  a  special  commission  was  given  to 
a  layman  to  preach,  and  then  he  might  do  it  by  the  authority  of  the  bishop's 
commission  for  that  time.  Thus  Eusebius  says,  Origen  was  approved  by  Alex- 
ander, bishop  of  Jerusalem,  and  Theotistus  of  Caesarea,  to  preach  and  expound 
the  Scriptures  publicly  in  the  church,  when  he  was  only  a  layman.  And  when 
Demetrius  of  Alexandria  made  a  remonstrance  against  this,  as  an  innovation 
that  had  never  been  seen  or  heard  of  before,  that  a  layman  should  preach  to 
the  people  in  the  presence  of  bishops,  Alexander  replied  in  a  letter,  and  told 
him  he  was  much  mistaken  ;  for  it  was  an  usual  thing  in  many  places,  where 
men  were  well  qualified  to  edify  the  brethren,  for  bishops  to  entreat  them  to 
preach  to  the  people." — Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  book  xiv.  ch.  4.  H- 

NOTE  III.    Page  81. 
Thomas  Olivers. 

"  For  four  or  five  years,"  says  this  person,  "  I  was  greatly  entangled  with  o 
farmer's  daughter,  whose  sister  was  married  to  Sir  I.  P.  of  N — wt — n,  in  that 
country.  What 

"  Strange  reverse  of  human  fates  !" 

for  one  sister  was  wooed  by,  and  married  to  a  baronet,  who  was  esteemed  one 
of  the  finest  men  in  the  country.  When  she  died,  Sir,  I  was  almost  distracted. 
Presently  after  her  funeral,  he  published  an  elegy  on  her  of  a  thousand  verses  ! 
For  some  time  he  daily  visited  her  in  hor  vault,  and  at  last  took  her  up,  and 
kept  her  in  his  bed-chamber  for  several  years. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  her  sister,  who  was  but  little  inferior  in  person,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  a  most  insignificant  young  man,  who  was  a  means  of  driving 
Jier  almost  to  an  untimely  end." 

The  Baronet  whom  Olivers  alludes  to  was  probably  Sir  John  Price  of  Buck- 
land.  A  certain  Bridget  Boslock  was  famous  in  the  county  of  Cheshire,  in  his 
time,  for  performing  wonderful  cures,  and  he  applied  to  her  to  raise  his  wife 
from  the  dead.  His  letters  upon  this  extraordinary  subject  may  be  found  in 
the  Monthly  Magazine,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  30,  31.  The  person  by  whom  they  were 
communicated  to  that  journal  says,  that  they  exposed  the  writer  to  the  severest 
ridicule  ;  but  in  any  good  mind  they  would  rather  excite  compassion.  Sir  John 
fully  believed  that  this  woman  could  work  miracles,  aud  reasoning  upon  that 
belief  he  applied  to  her  in  full  faith. 


414 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  IV.    Page  92. 
What  Haime  saw  was  certainly  a  bustard. 

"  The  following  very  curious  and  authentic  account  of  two  bustards,  was 
published  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  the  year  1805,  by  Mr.  Tucker, 
school-niastet-  at  Tilshead.  '  A  man,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on 
some  day  in  June,  1801,  was  coming  from  Tinhead  to  Tilbhead,  when  near  a 
place  called  Askings  Penning,  one  mile  from  Tilshead,  he  saw  over  his  head  a 
large  bird,  w  hich  alterwacds  proved  to  be  a  bustard.  He  had  not  proceeded 
far,  before  it  lighted  on  the  ground,  immediately  before  his  horse,  which  it  in- 
dicated an  inclination  to  attack,  and  in  fact  very  soon  began  the  onset.  The 
man  alighted,  and  getting  hold  of  the  bird,  endeavoured  to  secure  it ;  and  after 
struggling  with  it  nearly  an  hour,  succeeded,  and  brought  it  alive  to  the  house 
of  Mr.  Bartletf,  at  Tilshead,  where  it  continued  till  the  month  of  August,  when 
it  was  sold  to  Lord  Temple  for  the  sum  of  thirty-one  guineas. 

"  About  a  fortnight  subsequent  to  the  taking  this  bustard,  Mr.  Grant,  a 
farmer  residing  at  Tilthead,  returning  from  Warminster  market,  was  attacked 
in  a  similar  manner  near  Tilshead  Lodge,  by  another  bird  oi  the  same  species. 
His  horse  being  spirited,  took  fright  and  ran  off,  which  obliged  INlr.  Grant  to 
relinquish  his  design  of  endeavouring  to  take  the  bird.  The  circumstance  of 
two  iDirds  (whose  nature  has  been  always  considered,  like  that  of  a  turkey, 
domestic)  attacking  a  man  and  horse,  is  so  very  singular,  that  it  deserves  re- 
cording ;  and  particularly  as  it  is  probably  the  last  record  we  shall  find  of  the 
existence  ot  this  bird  upon  our  downs." — Sir  Richard  Hoare's  Ancient  Wilt- 
shire, p.  94.  JNote. 

The  birds  certainlj'.had  their  nest  near,  and  there  is  nothing  more  wonderful 
in  the  fact,  than  what  every  sportsman  has  seen  in  the  paitridge,  when  the 
mother  attempts  to  draw  him  away  from  her  young.  But  it  was  with  the 
greatest  pleasure  that  I  recollected  this  anecdote  in  reading  the  Life  of  John 
Haime,  not  merely  as  explaining  the  incident  in  the  text,  but  as  proving  his 
veracity  ;  for  undoubtedly,  without  this  explanation,  many  readers  would  have 
supposed  the  story  to  be  a  mere  falsehood,  which  would  have  discredited  the 
v/riter's  testimony  in  every  other  part  of  his  narration. 

NOTE  V.    Page  125. 
The  renewal  of  the  image  of  God  in  the  heart  of  man. 
Mr.  Toplady  has  a  curious  paper  upon  this  subject. 

"  When  a  portrait  painter  takes  a  likeness,  there  must  be  an  original  from 
whom  to  take  it.  Here  the  original  are  God,  and  Christ.  '  When  I  awake  up 
after  thy  likeness,'  &c.  and,  we  are  'predestinated  to  be  conformed  to  the 
image  of  his  Son.' 

"  Tiie  painter  chooses  the  materials  on  which  he  will  delineate  his  piece. 
There  are  paintings  on  wood,  on  glass,  on  metals,  on  ivory,  on  canvass.  So 
God  chooses  and  selects  the  persons,  on  whom  his  uncreated  spirit  shall,  with 
the  pencil  of  effectual  grace,  re-delineate  that  holy  likeness  which  Adam  lost. 
Among  these  are  some,  whose  natural  capacities,  and  acquired  improvements, 
are  not  of  the  first  rate  :  there  the  image  of  God  is  painted  on  wood.  Others 
of  God's  people  have  not  those  quick  sensibilities,  and  poignant  feelings,  by 
which  many  are  distinguished  :  there  the  Holy  Spirit's  painting  is  on  marble. 
Others  are  permitted  to  fall  from  the  ardour  of  their  first  love,  and  to  deviate 
from  their  steadfastness  :  there  the  Holy  Spirit  paints  on  glass,  which,  perhaps, 
the  first  stone  of  temptation  may  injure.  But  the  Celestial  Artist  will,  in  time, 
repair  those  breaches,  and  restore  the  fiai),  brittle  Cliristian,  to  his  original 
enjoyments,  and  to  more  than  his  original  purity  ;  and,  what  may  seem  truly 
wonderful,  Divine  Cirace  restores  the  picture  by  breaking  it  over  again.  It  is 
the  broken-hearted  sinner  to  whom  God  will  impart  the  comforts  of  salvation. 

"  The  ancients  painted  only  in  water-colours  ;  but  the  moderns  (from  about 
A.  D.  1320)  have  added  beauty  and  durability  to  their  pictures,  by  painting 
them  in  oil.  Applicable  to  hypocrites  and  true  believers.  An  hypocrite  may 
outwardly  bear  something  that  resembles  the  image  of  God;  but  it  is  only  in 
fresco,  or  water-colours,  which  do  not  last ;  and  are,  at  best,  laid  on  by  the 
hand  of  dissimulation-  But  (if  I  may  accommodate  so  familiar  an  idea  to  so 
high  a  subject)  the  Holy  Spirit  paints  in  oil ';  he  accompanies  his  work  with 
unction  and  with  power  ;  and  hence  it  shall  be  crowned  with  honours,  and 
praise,  and  glory,  at  Christ's  appearing." — 

The  remainder  of  the  pr>per  is  left  apposite. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


415 


NOTE  VL    Page  126. 
The  jVew  Birlh. 

"  The  ground  and  reason  of  the  expression,"  says  Wesley,  "  are  easy  to  be 
understood.  When  we  iinderco  this  great  change,  we  inay„  with  much  propri- 
ety, be  said  to  be  born  again,  because  there  is  so  near  a  resemblance  between 
the  circumstances  of  the  natural  and  of  the  spiritual  birth  ;  so  that  to  consider 
the  circumstances  of  the  natural  birth,  is  tlie  most  easy  way  to  understand  the 
spiritual. 

"  The  child  which  is  not  yi-t  born  subsists  indeed  by  the  air,  as  does  every 
thing  which  has  life,  but  feels  it  not,  nor  any  thing  else  unless  in  a  very  dull  and 
imperfect  manner.  It  hoars  little,  if  at  all,  the  organs  of  hearing  being  as  yet 
closed  up.  It  sees  nothing,  having  its  eyes  fast  shut,  and  being  surrounded 
with  utter  darkness.  There  are,  it  may  be,  some  faint  beginnings  of  life,  when 
the  time  of  its  birth  draws  nigh  ;  and  some  motion  consequent  thereon,  whereby 
it  is  distinguished  from  a  more  mass  of  matter.  But  it  has  no  senses ;  all  these 
avenues  of  the  soul  are  hitherto  quite  shut  up.  Of  consequence,  it  has  scarcely 
any  intercourse  with  this  visible  world  ;  nor  any  knowledge,  or  conception,  or 
idea,  of  the  things  that  occur  therein. 

"  The  reason  why  he  that  is  not  yet  born  is  wholly  a  stranger  to  the  visible 
world,  is,  not  because  it  is  afar  off;  it  is  very  nigh  ;  it  surrounds  him  on  every 
side  :  but  partly  because  he  has  not  those  senses,  they  are  not  yet  opened  in  his 
soul,  whereby  alone  it  is  possible  to  hold  commerce  with  the  material  world  ; 
and  partly  because  so  thick  a  veil  is  cast  between,  tlirough  which  he  can  discern 
nothing. 

"  But  no  sooner  is  the  child  horn  into  the  world  than  he  exists  in  a  quite  dif- 
ferent manner.  He  now  f  els  the  air,  with  which  he  is  surrounded,  and  which 
pours  into  him  from  every  si.lc,  as  fast  as  he  alternately  breathes  it  back  to 
sustain  the  flame  of  life,  and  hence  springs  a  continual  increase  of  strength,  of 
motion,  and  of  sensation  :  all  the  bodily  senses  being  now  awakened,  and  fur- 
nished with  their  proper  objects. 

"  His  eyes  are  now  opened  to  perceive  the  light,  which  silently  flowing  in 
tjpon  them,  discovers  not  only  itself,  but  an  infinite  variety  of  things  with  which 
before  he  was  wholly  unacquainted.  His  ears  are  unclosed,  and  sounds  rush 
in  with  endless  diversity.  Every  sense  is  employed  upon  such  objects  as  are  pe- 
culiarly suitable  to  it,  and  by  these  inlets,  the  soul,  having  an  open  intercourse 
with  the  visible  world,  acquires  more  and  more  knowledge  of  sensible  things,  of 
all  the  things  which  are  under  the  sun. 

S«  it  is  with  him  that  is  born  of  God.  Before  that  great  change  is  wrought, 
although  he  subsists  by  him  in  whom  all  that  have  life  live,  and  move,  and  have 
their  oeing,  yet  he  is  not  sensible  of  God  ;  he  does  not  feel,  he  has  no  inward 
consciousness  of  his  presence.  He  does  not  perceive  that  divine  breath  of  life, 
without  which  he  cannot  subsist  a  moment.  iVor  is  he  sensible  of  any  of  the 
things  of  God.  They  make  no  impression  upon  his  soul.  Cod  is  continually 
calling  to  him  from  on  high,  but  he  heareth  not  ,  his  ears  are  shut,  so  that  the 
'  voice  of  the  charmer,'  is  lost  on  him,  '  charm  he  ever  so  wisely.'  He  seeth  not 
the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  eyes  of  his  untierstanding  being  closed,  and 
utter  darkness  covering  his  whole  soul,  surrounding  him  011  every  side.  It  is 
true,  he  may  have  some  faint  dawnings  of  life,  some  small  beginnings  of  the  spi- 
ritual motion  ;  hut  as  yet  he  has  no  spirinal  senses  capable  of  discerning  spiri- 
tual objects;  consequently  he  discerneth  not  the  thingsx>fthe  Spirit  of  God. 
He  cannot  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 

"  Hence  he  has  scarce  any  knowledge  of  the  invisible  world,  as  he  has  scarce 
any  intercourse  with  it.  Not  that  it  is  afar  off.  No  :  he  is  in  the  midst  of  it  : 
it  encompasses  him  round  about.  The  olhtr  world,  as  we  usually  term  it,  is 
not  far  from  any  of  us.  It  is  above,  and  beneuth,  and  on  every  side  :  oidy  the 
natural  man  discerneth  it  not;  partly  because  he  hath  no  spiritual  senses, 
whereby  alone  we  can  discern  the  things  of  God  ;  partly  because  so  thick  a  veil 
is  interposed,  as  he  knows  not  how  to  penetrate. 

"  But  when  he  is  born  of  God,  born  of  the  Spirit,  how  is  the  manner  of  exis- 
tence changed  '.  His  whole  .soul  is  now  sensible  of  God,  and  he  can  say>  by 
sure  experience,  *  Thou  art  about  my  bed,  and  about  my  path;'  I  feel  thee 
'  in  all  my  ways.'  Thou  besettest  me  behind  and  before,  and  layest  thy  hand 
upon  me.  The  spirit  or  breath  of  God  is  immediately  inspired,  breathed  into 
the  new-born  soul.  And  the  same  breath,  which  comes  from,  returns  to  God  : 
as  it  is  continually  received  by  faith,  so  it  is  contiitually  rendered  back  by  love, 
by  prayer,  and  praise,  and  thanksgiving;  love,  and  praise,  and  prayer,  being 


416 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


the  breath  of  every  soul  which  is  truly  born  of  God.  And  by  this  new  kind  oi 
spiritual  respiration,  spiritual  life  is  not  only  sustained,  but  increased  day  by 
day,  together  with  spiritual  strength,  and  motion,  and  sensation.  All  the  sen- 
ses of  the  soul  being  now  awake,  and  capable  of  discerning  spiritual  good  and 
evil. 

"  The  eyes  of  his  understanding  are  now  open,  and  he  seeth  Him  that  is  in- 
visible. He  sees  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his  power,  and  of  his  love 
towards  them  that  believe.  He  sees  that  Cod  is  merciful  to  him,  a  sinner,  that 
he  is  icconciled  through  the  Son  of  his  love.  He  clearly  perceives  both  the  par- 
doning love  of  God  and  all  his  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises.  God, 
who  tominanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  halh  shincd,  and  doth  shine, 
in  his  licait,  to  enlighten  him  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ.  All  the  darkness  is  now  passed  away,  and  he  abides  in  the 
light  of  God's  countenance. 

"  His  ears  are  now  opened,  and  the  voice  of  God  no  longer  calls  in  vain.  He 
hears,  and  obeys  the  heavenly  calling  :  he  '  knows  the  voice  of  his  Shepherd.' 
All  his  spiritual  senses  being  now  awakened,  he  has  a  clear  intercourse  with  the 
invisible  world.  And  hence  he  knows  more  and  more  of  the  things  which  be- 
fore 'it  could  not  enter  into  his  heart  to  conceive.'  He  now  knows  what  the 
peace  of  God  is  :  what  is  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  what  the  love  of  God  which  is 
shed  abroad  in  the  hearts  of  them  that  believe  in  him  through  Christ  Jesus. 
Thus  tlie  veil  being  removed,  which  before  intercepted  the  light  and  voice,  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  God,  he  who  is  born  of  the  Spirit,  dwelling  in  love,  dwelt- 
eth  in  God,  and  God  in  him." — Wesley's  Works,  vol.  vii.  p.  268. 

NOTE  VII.    Page  12S. 
He  entangled  himself  in  Contradictions. 

"  The  expression  being  born  again,  was  not  first  used  by  our  Lord  in  his 
conversation  with  Nicodemus.  It  was  in  common  use  among  the  Jews  when 
our  Saviour  appeared  among  them.  When  an  adult  heathen  was  convinced 
that  the  Jewish  religion  was  of  God,  and  desired  to  join  therein,  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  baptize  him  first,  before  he  was  admitted  to  circumcision.  And  when  he 
Viias  baptized,  be  was  said  to  be  born  again  ;  by  which  they  meant,  that  he  who 
was  before  a  child  of  the  devil,  was  now  adopted  into  the  family  of  God,  and  ac- 
counted one  of  his  children." — vol.  vii.  p.  296. 

Yet,  in  the  same  sermon,  Wesley  aftiiius,  "  that  Baptism  is  not  the  New 
Birth,  tliat  they  are  not  one  and  the  same  thing.  Many  indeed  seem  to  ima- 
gine that  they  are  just  the  same  ;  at  least  they  speak  as  if  they  thought  so  ;  but 
I  do  not  know  that  this  opinion  is  publicly  avowed,  by  any  denomination  of 
Christians  whatever.  Certainly  it  is  not  by  any  within  these  kingdoms,  whe- 
ther of  the  Established  Church  or  dissenting  from  it.  The  judgment  of  the  lat- 
ter is  clearly  declared  in  their  large  catechism  :  "  Q.  What  are  the  parts  of  a 
Sacrament  A.  The  parts  of  a  Sacrament  are  two  ;  the  one  an  outward  and 
sensible  sign,  the  other  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace  signified.  Q.  What  is 
Baptism  A.  Baptism  is  a  sacrament,  wherein  Christ  hath  ordained  the  wash- 
ing with  water  to  be  a  sign  and  seal  of  regeneration  by  his  Spirit.''  Here  it  is 
manifest,  baptism,  the  sign,  is  spoken  of  as  distinct  from  regeneration,  the  thing 
tignified.'' 

Wliere  was  Wesley's  logic'  or  where  his  fairness.'  Can  any  thing  be 
more  evident,  than  that  this  catechism  describes  regeneration  as  the  inward 
and  spiritual  grace,  and  the  act  of  baptism  (sprinkling  or  immersion)  as  the  out- 
ward and  visible  sign.    What  follows  is  as  bad. 

"  In  the  Church  Catechism  likewise,  the  judgment  of  our  Church  is  declared 
with  the  utmost  clearness.  '  Q.  What  meanest  thou  by  this  word  Sacrament 
A.  I  mean  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace.  Q. 
What  is  the  outward  part  or  form  in  baptism.''  A.  Water,  wherein  the  person 
is  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  Q.  What  is  the 
inward  parts,  or  thing  signified?  A.  A  death  unto  sin,  and  a  new  birth  unto 
righteousness."  Nothing  therefore  is  plainer,  than  that,  according  to  the 
cliurch  of  England,  baptism  is  not  the  New  Birth." 

I  do  not  believe  that  an  instance  of  equal  blindness  or  disingenuity  (which- 
ever it  may  be  thought)  can  be  found  in  all  the  other  parts  of  Wesley's  works. 
So  plain  is  it  that  the  words  of  the  catecliism  mean  precisely  what  Wesley  af- 
firms they  do  not  mean,  that,  in  the  very  next  page,  he  coniradicts  himself  in 
the  clearest  manner,  and  says,  "  it  is  certain,  our  church  supposes,  that  all  who 
are  baptized  in  their  infancy  are  at  the  same  time  born  again.    And  ii  is  allow- 


KOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


417 


,*d,  that  the  whole  office  for  the  baptism  of  infants  proceeds  upon  this  suppresi- 
tioii.  Kor  is  it  an  objection  of  any  weight  against  this,  that  we  cannot  coinpre- 
heud  how  this  work  can  be  wrought  in  infants."    Vol.  vii.  p.  302. 

NOTE  VIII.    Page.  127. 
Instantaneous  Conversion. 
"  Aie  observation,"  says  Toplarty,  "  which  I  met  with  in  reading  Down- 
mane's  Christian  Warfare,  struck  me  much  :  speaking  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the 
sealer  of  the  Elect,  he  asks,  how  is  it  possible  to  receive  the  seal  without  feeling 
the  impression." 

"  Lord,"  says  Fuller  in  one  of  his  Scripture  Observations,  "  I  read  of  my  Sa- 
viour, that  when  he  was  in  the  wilderness,  then  the  devil  leaveth  him,  and  behold 
angels  came  and  miniatered  unto  him.  A  great  change  in  a  little  time.  jS  o  twi- 
liiiiit  betwixt  night  and  day.  ISo  purgatory  condition  betwixt  bell  ,;nd  hcavon, 
but  instantly,  when  out  devil,  in  augel.  Such  is  the  case  of  every  solitary  soul. 
It  will  make  company  for  itself.  A  musing  mind  will  not  stand  neuter  a  mi- 
nute, but  presently  side  with  legions  of  good  or  bad  thoughts.  Grant,  therefore, 
tkat  my  soul,  which  ever  will  have  some,  may  never  have  bad  company." 

NOTE  IX.  Page  128. 
Salvation  not  to  be  sought  by  Works. 
This  doctrine  it  stated  with  perilous  indiscretion  in  one  of  the  Moraviai) 
Symns. 

When  any,  thro'  a  beam  of  light, 
Can  see  and  own  they  are  not  right, 
But  enter  on  a  legal  strife, 
*  Amaid  their  former  course  of  life, 

And  work  and  toil,  and  sweat  from  day  to  day. 
Such,  to  their  Saviour  quite  mistake  the  way. 

NOTE  X.    Page  130. 
Faith. 

In  Methodistical  and  mystical  biography,  the  reader  will  sometimes  be  rer 
minded  of  these  lines  in  Ovid. 

In  prece  totus  eram,  ca:lestia  numina  sensi, 
Lataque  purpurea  luce  refulsit  humus. 
JVon.  equidem  tidi  (valeant  mendacia  vatum  .') 

Te  Dea  ;  nec  fueras  adspicienda  viro. 
Sed  qua  nescieram,  qunrvmque  errort  tenebar, 
Cognita  sunt  nullo  prcecipiente  mihi. 

Ovid,  Fast.  vi.  251—254. 

NOTE  XI.    Page  133. 
Jissurance. 

There  is  a  good  story  of  assurance  in  Belknap's  History  of  New-Hamp- 
shire. "  A  certain  captain,  John  Underbill,  in  the  days  of  Puritanism,  affirmed, 
that  having  long  lain  under  a  spirit  of  bondage,  he  could  get  no  assurance  ;  till 
at  length,  as  he  was  taking  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  the  Spirit  set  borne  upon  him  an 
absolute  promise  of  free  grace,  with  such  assurance  and  joy,  that  he  had  never 
since  doubted  of  his  good  estate,  neither  should  he,  whatever  sins  he  might  fall 
into.  And  he  endeavoured  to  prove,  '  that  as  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  convert 
Saul  while  he  was  persecuting,  so  he  might  manifest  himself  to  him  while 
making  a  moderate  use  of  the  good  creature  tobacco  !'  This  was  one  of  the 
things  for  which  he  was  questioned  and  censured  by  the  elders  at  Boston." 
Vol.  i.  p.  42. 

'*  Another,"  says  South,  "  flatters  himself,  that  he  has  lived  in  full  assurance 
•f  his  salvation  for  ten  or  twenty,  or,  perhaps,  thirty  years  ;  that  is,  in  other' 
words,  the  man  has  been  ignorant  and  confident  very  long." 

NOTE  XII.    Page  134. 
Perfection. 

The  Gospel  Magazine  contains  a  likely  anecdote  concerning  this  curious 
ioctrine.    "  A  lady  of  my  acquaintance,"  says  the  writer,  "  had,  in  the  early 

VOL.  Ji.  53 


418 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


stage  of  her  religious  profession,  very  closely  attached  herstlf  to  a  society 
avowed  Avminians,  she  had  imbibed  all  their  notions,  and,  among  the  rest,  that 
of  sinless  perfection.  What  she  had  been  taught  to  believe  attainable,  she  at 
last  concluded  she  had,  herself,  attained  as  perfectly  as  any  of  the  perfect  class 
in  Mr.  Wesley's  societies  ;  and  she  accordingly  went  so  far  as  to  profess  she  had 
obtained  what  they  call  the  "second  blessing,"  that  is,  an  eradication  of  all 
sin  and  a  heart  filled  with  nothin'j;  but  pure  and  perfect  love.  A  circumstance, 
however,  not  long  after  occurred,  wiiich  gave  a  complete  shock  to  her  self-right- 
eous presumption,  as  well  as  to  the  principles  front  whence  it  sprung.  Her 
husband  having  one  day  contradicted  her  opinion  and  controlled  her  will,  in  a 
matter  where  he  thought  himself  authorized  to  do  both  one  and  the  other,  the 
perfect  lady  felt  heiself  so  extremely  angry,  that,  as  she  declared  to  me,  she 
could  have  boxed  his  ears,  and  had  great  difficulty  to  refrain  from  some  act  de- 
clarative of  the  emotions  of  rising  passion  and  resentment.  Alarmed  at  what 
sh"  felt,  and  not  knowing  how  to  account  for  such  unhallowed  .sensations  in  a 
heart,  in  wliicli,  is  .'ho;  thou;;!i',  all  sin  liad  been  done  away,  she  ran  for  expla- 
nraion  to  th>:  ioatlor  of  ihe  pcrlf'ct  hand.  To  her  she  related  ingenuously  all 
that  passed  in  the  iutei  view  with  her  husband.  The  band-leader,  instructed  in 
the  usual  art  of  administering  consolation,  though  at  the  expense  of  truth  and 
rectitude,  replied,  '  What  you  felt  on  that  occasion,  my  dear,  was  nothing  but  a 
little  animal  nature  !'  My  friend  being  a  lady  of  too  much  sense,  and  too  much 
honesty  to  be  imposed  upon  by  such  a  delusory  explanation,  exclaimed,  '  Animal 
nature!  jVo;  it  was  animal  devil  !'  From  that  moment  she  bid  adieu  to 
perfection,  and  its  concomitant  delusions,  as  well  as  to  those  who  are  led 
by  them." 

"  tinat-strainer?,''  says  Toplady  in  one  of  his  sermons,  "  are  too  often  camel- 
swallov.'CiS  ;  and  the  Pharisaical  mantle  of  superstitious  austerity  is,  very  fre- 
(luuutly,  a  cover  for  a  cloven  foot.  B;  ware  then,  of  driving  too  furiously  at  first 
sotting  out.  Take  the  cool  of  (he  d;iy.  Begin  as  3-0U  can  hold  on.  I  knew  a 
lady,  who  to  prove  herself  perfect,  ripped  oft'  her  flounces,  and  would  not  wear 
an  ear-ring,  a  necklace,  a  riii'z,  or  an  iuclj  of  lace.  Uuflles  were  Babylonish. 
Powder  was  Anlichristian.  A  riband  was  carnal.  A  snuff-l)ox  smelt  of  the 
bottomless  pit.  And  yet,  under  all  this  parade  of  outside  humility,  the 
fair  ascetic  was — but  I  forbear  entering  into  particulars:  suffice  it  to  say, 
that  shfi  was  a  concealed  Antinomian.  And  I  have  known  too  many  similar 
instances." 

NOTE  XIII.    Page  136. 
Ministry  of  Angels. 
L'porf  this  subject  Charles  Wesley  has  thus  expressed  himself,  in  a  sermon 
upon  Psalm  xci.  11.    "  He  shall  give  his  Angels  charge  over  thee,  lokecp  theeiiL 
all  Uiy  ways." 

■*'  I5y  these  perfections,  strength,  and  wisdom,  they  are  well  able  to  preserve 
us  either  from  the  approach  (if  that  be  more  profitable  for  us)  or  in  the  attack 
of  any  evil.  By  their  wisdom  they  discern  whatever  either  obstructs  or  pro- 
motes our  real  advantage  ;  by  their  strength  they  effectually  repel  the  one  and 
secure  a  free  course  to  the  other  :  by  the  first,  they  choose  means  conducive  to 
these  ends  ;  by  the  second,  they  put  them  in  execution.  One  particular  method 
of  preserving  good  men,  which  wc  may  reasonably  suppose  these  wise  beings 
sometimes  choose,  and  by  their  strength  put  in  execution,  is  the  altering  some 
material  cause  that  would  have  a  pernicious  effect ;  the  purifying  (for  instance) 
tainted  air,  which  would  otherwise  produce  a  contagious  distemper.  And  this 
they  may  easily  do,  either  by  increasing  the  current  of  it,  so  as  naturally  to 
cleanse  i+s  putridity;  or,  by  nuxing  with  it  some  other  substance,  so  to  correct 
Its  hurtful  qualities,  and  render  it  salubrious  to  human  bodies.  Another  method 
they  may  he  supposed  to  adopt  when  their  commission  is  not  so  general  ;  when 
they  are  authnrizeii  to  preserve  some  few  persons  from  a  conunon  calamity.  It 
then  is  probable  that  they  do  not  alter  the  cause,  but  the  subject  on  which  it  is 
to  work;  that  they  do  not  lessen  the  strength  of  the  one,  but  increase  that  of  the 
other.  'ITius,  too,  where  they  are  not  allowed  to  prevent,  they  may  reu)Ove,  paia 
or  sickness;  thus  the  angel  restored  Daniel  in  a  moment,  when  neither  strength 
nor  breath  remained  in  him. 

"  By  these  means,  by  changing  cither  our  bodies  or  the  material  causes  tha? 
use  to  affect  them,  they  may  easily  defend  us  from  all  bodily  evils,  .'O  far  as  is 
evpcdient  for  us.  A  third  method  they  may  be  conceived  to  employ  to  defend 
ijs  from  spiritual  dangers,  by  applying  themselves  inmicdiately  to  the  soul  to 


.NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


419 


t;iibe  or  allay  our  passions  ;  and,  indeed,  tliis  province  seems  more  natural  to 
;hem  lliaii  either  of  ihe  former,  llow  a  spiritual  being  can  act  upon  matter 
seems  more  unaccountable  llian  how  it  can  act  on  spirit ;  that  ojie  immaterial 
being,  by  touching  another,  should  increase  or  lessen  its  motion  ;  that  an  angel 
should  retard  or  quiclten  the  channel  wherein  t)ie  passions  of  angelic  substance 
flow,  no  more  excites  our  astonishment  than  that  one  piece  of  matter  should  have 
the  same  efl'ect  on  its  kindred  substance  ;  or  that  a  floud-gate,  or  other  material 
instrument,  should  affect  the  course  of  a  river  :  rather,  considering  how  con- 
tagious the  nature  of  the  passions  is,  the  wonder  is  on  the  other  tide  ;  not  how 
they  can  avoid  to  aflfect  him  at  all,  but  liow  tlicy  can  avoid  afl'ecling  them  more  ; 
how  they  can  continue  so  near  us,  who  arc  so  subject  to  catch  them,  williout 
spreading  tlie  flames  which  burn  in  themselves.  And  a  plain  instance  of  their 
power  to  allay  human  passions  is  afforded  us  in  the  case  of  Daniel,  when  he 
beheld  that  gloriously  terrible  minister,  whose  '  face  was  as  the  appearance  of 
lightning,  and  his  eyes  as  lamps  of  fire  ;  his  arms  and  feet  like  polished  brasc, 
and  his  voice  as  the  voice  of  a  multitude,'  x.  6.  ;  wlien  the  tears  and  sorrows  of 
the  propliet  were  turned  so  strong  upon  him,  that  he  was  in  a  deep  slecji,  void 
of  sense  and  motion.  Yet  this  fear,  tlicse  turbulent  passions,  the  angel  allayed 
in  a  moment;  when  they  were  hurrying  on  with  the  utmost  impetuosity,  he 
checked  them  in  their  course  ;  so  that  immediately  after  we  find  Daniel 
desiring  the  continuance  of  that  converse  which  before  he  was  utterly  unable  to 
sustain. 

"  The  same  efifect  was,  doubtless,  wrought  on  all  those  to  whom  these  superior 
beings,  on  their  first  appearance,  used  this  salutation — '  Fear  not which  would 
have  been  a  mere  insult  and  cruel  mockery  upon  human  weakness,  had  they 
not,  witli  that  advice,  given  the  power  to  follow  it.  Kcarly  allied  to  this 
method  of  influencing  the  passions,  is  the  last  I  intend  to  mention,  by  which  the 
angels  (it  is  probable)  preserve  good  men,  especially  in  or  from  spiritual  dan- 
gers. And  this  is  by  applying  themselves  to  their  reason,  by  instilling  good 
ihouglits  into  their  hearts;  either  such  as  are  good  in  their  own  nature,  as  tend 
to  our  improvement  in  virtue,  or  such  as  are  contrary  to  the  suggestions  of  flesh 
and  blood,  by  which  we  are  tempted  to  vice.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  we  are 
indebted  to  them,  not  only  for  most  of  those  reflections  which  suddenly  dart 
into  our  minds,  we  know  not  how,  iiaving  no  connexion  w  ith  any  thing  that 
went  before  them  ;  but  for  many  of  those  also  which  seem  entirely  our  own, 
and  naturallj'  consequent  from  the  preceding." 

NOTE  XIV.    Page  137. 

Jlgtnc^  of  evil  Sfiirils. 

"  Let  us  consider,"  says  Wesley,  "  what  may  be  the  employment  of  unholy 
spirits  from  death  to  the  resurrection.  Wc  caonol  doubt  but  the  moment  tiiey 
leave  the  body,  they  find  themselves  surrounded  by  spirits  of  their  own  kind, 
probably  human  as  well  as  diabolical.  What  power  God  may  permit  these  to 
pxerciso  over  them,  we  do  not  distinctly  know.  But  it  is  not  improbable,  he 
may  suffer  Satan  to  employ  them,  as  he  does  his  own  angels,  in  inflicting  death, 
or  evils  of  various  kinds,  on  the  men  that  know  not  God.  Tor  this  end,  they 
may  raise  storms  by  sea  or  by  land  ;  they  may  shoot  meteors  through  the  air ; 
they  may  occasion  earth(iuakes ;  and,  in  numberless  ways,  afflict  those  whom 
they  are  not  suffered  to  destroy.  Where  they  are  not  permitted  to  take  away 
life,  they  may  inflict  various  diseases  :  and  many  of  these,  which  wc  mayjudgc 
to  be  natural,  are  luidoubtedly  diabolic.Tl.  I  believe  this  is  fri'quently  the  ca.se 
with  lunatics.  It  is  observa?)le  that  many  of  these,  mentioned  in  Scripture,  who 
are  called  lunatics  by  one  of  the  Evangelists,  are  termed  demoniacs  by  another. 
One  of  tlie  most  eminent  physicians  I  ever  knew,  particularly  in  cases  of  in- 
tianity,  the  late  Dr.  Deacon,  was  clearly  of  opinion,  that  this  was  the  case  with 
jnany,  if  not  with  most  lunatics.  And  it  is  no  valid  objection  to  this,  that  these 
diseases  are  so  often  cured  by  natural  means  ;  for  a  wound  inflicted  by  an  evil 
spirit  might  be  cured  as  any  other  ;  unless  that  spirit  were  permitted  to  repeat 
the  blow. 

"  -May  not  somn  of  these  evil  spirits  be  likewise  employed,  in  conjunction  with 
.■vil  angels,  in  templing  wicked  men  to  sin,  and  in  procuring  occasions  for  them.'' 
Yea,  and  in  tempting  good  men  to  sin^  even  after  they  have  escaped  the  cor- 
ruption that  is  in  the  world.  Herein,  doubtless,  they  put  forth  all  their  strength, 
and  greatly  glory  if  they  conquer."    Vol.  xi.  p.  ;>1. 

"  The  ingenious  Dr.  Ch.-ync,"  says  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  corregpondcnts. 


420 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"  reckons  all  gloomy  wrong-headetlness,  and  spurious  free-thinking,  so  many 
symptoms  nf  bodily  diseases :  and,  I  think,  says,  the  human  organs,  in  some 
nervous  distempers,  may,  perhaps,  be  rendered  fit  for  the  actuation  of  demons  : 
and  advises  religion  as  an  excellent  remedy.  Nor  is  this  unlikely  to  be  my 
own  case  ;  for  a  nervous  disease  of  some  years'  standing,  rose  to  its  height  in 
1748,  and  I  was  attacked  in  proportion  by  irreligious  opinions.  The  medicinal 
part  of  his  advice,  a  vegetable  diet,  at  last,  cured  my  dreadful  distemper.  It  is 
natural  to  think  the  spiritual  part  of  his  advice  equally  good  ;  and  shall  I  ne- 
glect it,  because  I  am  now  in  health  ?  God  forbid  I — John  IValsh.  Ahntrviari 
Magazine,  vol.  ii.  p.  433. 

NOTE  XV.     Page  140. 
Immortality  of  Animals. 
Off  this  point  Wesley's  bitterest  opponent  agreed  with  him.    "  1  will  honestly 
confess,"  says  Toplady,  "  that  I  never  yet  heard  one  single  argument  urged 
against  the  immortality  of  brutes  which,  if  admitted,  would  not,  mutatis  mutah- 
dis,  be  equally  conclusive  against  the  immortality  of  man." 

NOTE  XVI.    Page  152. 
Itinerancy. 

There  are  some  things  in  the  system  of  the  Methodists  which  very  much 
resetnblfi  certain  arrangements  proposed  by  John  Knox  and  his  colleagues  in 
the  First  Book  of  Discipline.  "  It  was  found  necessary,  says  Dr.  M'Crie,  t6 
employ  some  persons  in  extraordinary  and  temporary  charges.  As  there  was 
not  a  sufficient  number  of  ministers  to  supply  the  different  parts  of  the  country, 
that  the  people  might  not  be  left  altogether  destitute  of  public  worship  and  in- 
struction, ceiiain  pinus  persons  who  had  received  a  common  education,  were 
appointed  to  read  the  Scriptures  and  the  Common  Prayers.  These  were  called 
Readers.  In  large  parishes  persons  of  this  description  were  also  employed  to 
relieve  the  ministers  from  a  part  of  the  public  service.  If  they  advanced  in 
knowledge,  they  were  encouraged  to  add  a  few  plain  exhortations  to  the  reading 
of  the  Scriptures.  In  that  case  they  were  called  Exhorters  ;  but  they  were  ex- 
amined and  admitted,  before  entering  upon  this  employment. 

"  The  same  cause  gave  rise  to  another  temporary  expedient.  Instead  of 
(ixini;  all  the  ministers  in  particular  charges,  it  was  judged  proper,  after  supply- 
ing the  principal  towns,  to  assign  to  the  rest  the  superintendence  of  a  large 
district,  over  which  they  were  appointed  regularly  to  travel  for  the  purpose  of 
preaching,  of  planting  churches,  and  inspecting  the  conduct  of  ministers,  ex- 
horters, and  readers.  These  were  called  Superintendents.  The  number  ori- 
ginally proposed  was  ten  ;  but  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  proper  persons,  or  rather 
to  the  want  of  necessary  funds,  there  were  never  more  than  six  appointed. 
The  deficiency  was  supplied  by  Commissioners  or  Visiters,  appointed  from  time 
10  time  by  the  General  .Assembly." — Life  of  Knox,  vol.  ii.  pp.  6,  7. 

"  We  were  not  the  first  itinerant  preachers  in  England,"  says  Wesley, 
"  twelve  were  appointed  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  travel  continually,  in  order  to 
spread  true  religion  through  the  kingdom.  And  the  office  and  salary  still  con- 
tinues, though  their  work  is  little  attended  to.  Mr.  Milner,  late  Vicar  of  Chip- 
ping, in  Lancashire,  was  one  of  them." 

Itinerant  preaching  (without  referring  to  the  obvious  fact,  that  the  firsV 
preachers  of  Christianity  in  any  country  must  necessarily  have  been  itinerant) 
is  of  a  much  earlier  origin  than  Wesley  has  here  supposed.  It  was  the  especial 
business  of  the  Dominicans,  and  was  practised  by  the  other  mendicant  orders, 
and  by  the  Jesuits.  And  it  was  practised  long  before  the  institution  of  thes» 
orders. 

St.  Cuthbert  used  to  itinerate  when  he  was  abbot  of  Melrose,  as  his  prede- 
cessor St.  Boisil  had  done  before  him  ;  and  Bede  tells  us,  that  all  persons 
eagerly  flocked  to  listen  to  these  preachers.  "  JVec  sohnn  ipsi  monasterio 
regularis  vita'  monita,  simul  exempla  prabi  bat ;  scd  et  vulgus  cireumpontvm 
longe  laterpie  a  vita  slultm  consuetudinis  ad  cmkstium  gavdiorum  convertere 
curabat  amorem.  TVam  et  multi  Jidem  quum  habebanl,  iniquis  profanabant 
operibus  ;  et  aliqui  eliam  tempore  mortalitatis  negleclisfidei  sacramcntis  (quibus 
erant  imlmti)  ad  erratira  idoMatria  medicamina  concurrebani,  quasi  missam  a 
Deo  conditore  plagam,  per  incantationes,  vel  philacleria,  vel  alia  qtmlibet  damo- 
niaca.  artis  arcana,  cohibere  valerent.  Jld  utrorumque  ergo  corrigendum  erro- 
rm,  crebro  ipse  de  monasterio  egressus,  aliquot iem  equo  sedens,  serf  sapiut 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


421 


p«iibus  ineedens,  c irrumpositas  veniebat  ad  villas,  el  viam  verilatii  prcedicabal 
erranlihus :  quod  zptum  ttiani  Boisil  sua  tempore  facere  consueveral.  Erat 
quippi-  moris  to  tempore  populis  Anglorum,  ut  veniente  in  villam  cUrico  vel 
pi'  sopteru,  runcti  ad  ejus  imperium,  verbum  audiluri  confluerent,  libtnter  ea  qiue 
'L'  eiciitnr  audirtnt,  Ubeiilius  ea  qum  audire  et  intellij^ere  polerant  operando 
s-  f/nerentur. — Sokbat  auttmea  maxiine  loca  peragrare,  cl  Hits  prwdicart  in  l  icu- 
«,  qui  in  iirduis  asperisque  morttibus procul  positi,  aiiis  horrori  erant  ad  visendum, 
el  pauperlale  pariter  ac  rusticilate  sua  doclorum  prokibebant  accestum  .-  quos 
(amen  Hie,  pio  lihenier  mancipatus  labori,  tanla  doctriruz  (xcolebat  industria,  ut 
dc  monasterio  egrediens,  sape  hebdomada  iniegra,  aiiqiiando  duabtis  rel  tribus, 
nonnunquam  ttiicm  inense  plena  domnm  nan  redircl :  se  i  demoratiis  in  monlanis, 
plebem  rusticatn  verba  pradicationit  simul  cl  exemplo  virlulis  adcoelestia  voearet. 

Beda,  1.  4.  c.  27. 

St.  Chad  used  to  itinerate  on  foot.  "  Consecral us  ergo  in  episcopation  Ccadda, 
■mar imam  moxccrpil  Ecclesiastics  veritatiet  cast i tali  curam  impendere ;  humili- 
tati,  contiiitntioe,  leclioni  opcram  dare  ;  oppida,  rura^  easas,  vicos,  castella,  prop- 
ter evangelizandum  non  eqiiitando,  sed  Apnstolorum  m  re  pedibus  inccdendo 
peragrare.  (Beda.  1.  3.  c.  28.)  In  this  he  followed  the  example  of  his  master 
Aidan,  till  the  primate  compelled  him  to  ride  :  El  quia  moris  erat  eidem  reve- 
rendissimo  antistiti  opus  Evangelii  magis  ambulando  per  loca,  quam  cqxdlando 
ptrficere,  jussit  eum  Theodorus,  ubicwnque  longius  iter  inslaret,  equitare ;  mul- 
tumque  renitentem  studio  et  amore  pii  laboris,  ipse  eum  manu  sua  levavit  m 
equum  ;  quia  nimirum  sanctum  virum  esse  comperit,  atque  eqxio  vehi  quo  esseC 
necesse,  compulil. — Beda.  1.  4.  c.  3. 

NOTE  XVII.    Page  156, 
The  Select  Bands. 

"  The  utility  of  these  meetings  appears  from  the  following  considerations. 
St.  John  divides  the  followers  of  God  into  three  classes,  (1  St.  John,  ii.  12.) 
St.  Paul  exhorts  ministers  to  give  every  one  his  portion  of  meat  in  due  season. 
And  there  were  some  things  which  oui  Lord  did  not  make  known  to  his  d.sci- 
ples  till  after  his  ascension,  when  tliey  were  prepared  for  them  by  the  descent  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Tliese  meetings  give  the  preachers  an  opportunity  of  speaking 
of  the  deep  tilings  of  God,  and  of  exhorting  the  members  to  press  after  the  :ull 
image  of  God.  They  also  form  a  bulwark  to  the  doctrine  of  Chiistian  perfec- 
fion.  It  is  a  pity  tliat  so  few  of  the  people  embrace  this  privilege,  and  that  every 
preacher  does  not  warmly  espouse  such  profitable  meetings." — J\Ii/les''s  Chrono- 
logical History  of  the  Methodists,  p.  34. 

The  following  letter  upon  this  subject  (transcribed  from  the  original,  which 
was  written  by  IVIr.  Wesley  a  few  weeks  only  before  his  death)  shows  how  easily 
a  select  society  was  disturbed  by  puzzling  questions  concerning  the  perfection 
'whicli  the  members  professed. 

"  To  Mr.  Edicard  Lewly,  Birmingham. 
"  My  Dear  Brother,  London,  Jan.  12,  1791. 

"I  BO  not  believe  a  single  person  in  your  select  society  scruples  saying. 

Every  moment  Lord  I  need 
The  merit  of  thy  death. 

This  is  clearly  determined  in  the  "  Thoughts  upon  Perfection."  But  who  ex- 
pects common  people  to  speak  accurately  ?  And  how  easy  is  it  to  entangle  them 
in  their  talk!  I  am  afraid  some  have  done  this  already.  A  man  that  is  not  a 
thorough  friend  to  Cliristian  Perfection  will  easily  puzzle  others,  and  thereby 
weaken,  if  not  destroy  any  select  society.  I  doubt  this  has  been  the  case  with 
you.  That  society  was  in  a  lively  state,  and  well  united  together,  when  I 
was  last  at  Birmingham.  My  health  has  been  better  for  a  few  days  than  it 
has  been  for  several  months.  Peace  be  with  all  your  spirits.  I  am  your  affec- 
tionate Brother, 

"J.  Weslet." 

NOTE  XVIII.    Page  162. 
Psalmody. 

"  About  this  time,  David's  Psalms  were  translated  into  English  metre,  and 
(if  not  publicly  commanded)  generally  permitted  to  be  sung  in  all  churches. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  \rork  was  performed  by  Thomas  Slrrnhold,  (;in  Hampshire  man,  ci(iuirc, 
un<i  oi'  the  ])r)\y  c;iain!)fr  to  King  lidv.  Mid  tho  Sixth,  who  lur  his  p?ut  translated 
thirty  seven  td  'cti  i!  i  ^alms,)  Joliii  Hopliins,  Koljert  Wiscnome,  ic,  men, 
whose  piety  w  js  bitui  th:'.i]  tlniii  poetry;  and  they  liad  draiili  more  of  Jordan 
than  of  Helicon.  These  Psalms  were  tliereiote  translated,  to  make  them  more 
portable  in  prople's  memories,  (verses  bcaig  twice  as  light  as  the  self-same  bulk 
in  prose,")  as  also  to  raise  men's  alfeclions,  the  better  to  enable  them  to  practise 
the  Apostle's  precept,  '  Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms.'  Yet  this  work  met 
afterwardb  with  some  frowns  in  tlie  face  s  of  great  clergymen,  who  were  rather 
contented,  than  well  pleased,  witli  the  si.iging  of  them  in  churches.  I  will  not 
s>3y,  because  they  misliked  so  much  liberty  should  be  allowed  the  laity  (Rome 
only  can  be  guilty  of  so  j,rcat  envy)  as  to  sing  in  churches  :  rather,  because 
they  coucei\  i''l  these  siiii^iiij-iisaliiis  erected  in  conviviality  and  opposition  to  the 
reading-jjsaliiij,  which  v> ere  formerly  sung  in  cathedral  churches:  or  else,  the 
child  was  cibliked  lor  the  mother's  sake;  because,  such  translators,  though 
branched  hither,  had  their  root  in  Ormcva. 

Since,  later  men  lia  vt  veiit(  d  their  just  exceptions  against  the  baldness  of  the 
translation,  so  that  sohiciiaies  they  make  the  JMaker  of  the  tongue  to  speak  lit- 
tle better  th.ui  barbarism  ;  and  iiave  in  many  verses  such  poor  rhyme,  that  two 
hamintrs  on  a  snutli's  anvil  would  make  better  music.  Whilst  others  (rather  to 
excuse  it,  tijan  deiciid  il)  do  plead,  that  English  [loetry  was  then  in  the  non-age, 
not  to  say,  infancy  thereof;  and  that,  match  these  verses  for  their  age,  they 
shall  go  abreast  with  (lie  best  poems  of  th<jse  times.  Some,  in  favour  of  the 
translators,  allege,  that  to  be  ciuious  theiein,  and  over-descanting  with  wit,  had 
not  become  tlit  plain  song,  and  simplicity  of  an  holy  style.  But  these  must 
know,  tliere  is  gicat  diff'eienee  lietwcen  painiing  a  face  and  not  washing  it. — 
Many  since  have  far  ulined  these  trausiations,  but  yet  their  labours  therein 
never  generally  received  in  the  chuich  ;  princijjalh',  because  un-book-learned 
people  have  conned  by  heart,  many  psalms  of  the  old  translation,  which  would 
be  wholly  disinherited  of  their  patrimony,  if  a  new  edition  were  set  forth. — 
However,  it  is  desired,  and  expected  by  moderate  men,  that,  though  the  fabric 
stand  unremoved  for  the  main,  yet  some  bad  contrivance  therein  may  be 
mended,  and  the  bald  rhymes  in  some  places  get  a  new  nap,  which  would  not 
much  discompose  the  memory  of  the  people." — Fuller's  Church  History,  Cent. 
XVL  book  vii.  p.  406. 

lu  a  letter  of  Jewel's,  written  in  1560,  he  says,  "  that  a  change  appeared  now 
more  visible  among  the  people.  Nothing  promoted  it  more  than  the  inviting  the 
people  to  sing  psalms.  That  was  begun  in  one  church  in  London,  and  did 
quickly  spread  itself,  not  only  through  the  city,  but  in  the  neighbouring 
places.  Sometimes  at  Paul's  Cross  there  will  be  six  thousand  people  sing- 
ing together.  This  was  very  grievous  to  the  Papists." — BumePs  Reformation, 
pa«  iii.  p.  290. 

"  There  are  two  things,"  says  Wesley,  "  in  all  modern  pieces  of  music,  which 
I  could  never  reconcile  to  conmion  sense.  One  is,  singing  the  same  words  ten 
times  over;  the  other,  singin?  ditTerent  words  by  different  persons,  at  one  and 
the  same  time  ;  and  this  in  the  most  solemn  addresses  to  God,  whether  by  way 
of  prayer  or  of  thanksgiving.  This  can  never  be  delended  by  all  the  musicians 
in  Europe,  till  reason  is  quite  out  of  date." — Journal,  xiii.  p.  56. 

And  again,  officiating  in  the  church  at  Neath,  he  says  :  "  1  was  greatly  dis- 
gusted at  the  manner  of  singing.  First,  Twelve  or  fourteen  persons  kept  it  to 
themselves  and  quite  shut  out  the  congregation.  Secondly,  These  repeated  the 
same  words,  contrary  to  all  sense  and  reason,  six,  eight,  or  ten  times  over. 
Thirdly,  According  to  the  shocking  custom  of  modern  music,  diflerent  per- 
sons sung  different  words  at  one  and  the  same  moment — an  intolerable  insult 
on  common  sense,  and  utterly  incompatible  with  any  devotion.''' — Journal, 
XV.  p.  2l. 

"  From  the  first  and  apostolical  age,  singing  was  always  a  part  of  divine 
service,  in  which  the  whole  body  of  the  chiuch  joined  toj^etber ;  which  is  a  thing 
so  evident,  that  though  Cabassutius  denies  it,  and  in  his  spite  to  the  reformed 
churches,  where  it  is  generally  practised,  calls  it  only  a  protestant  whim;  yet 
Cardinal  Bona  has  more  than  once  not  only  confessed,  but  solidly  proved  it  to 
have  been  the  primitive  practice.  The  decay  of  this  first  brought  the  order  of 
^s«/w;><tt  or  singers  into  the  church.  For  when  it  was  foumi  by  experience, 
that  the  negligence  and  unskilfulness  of  the  people  rendered  them  unfit  to  per- 
form tliis  service,  without  some  more  curious  and  skilful  to  guide  and  assist  them, 
ihuii  a  peculiar  ordnr  of  men  were  appointed  and  set  o\cr  this  business,  with  a 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


423 


design  toicttieve  and  improve  the  ancient  psalmody,  and  not  to  abolish  or  des- 
troy it." — Bingiiain,  b.  iii.  c.  7.  J  2. 

VVhiiefield  was  censured  once  for  having  some  of  his  liymns  set  to  profane 
music,  and  he  is  said  to  have  replied,  "  Would  you  have  the  devil  keep  all  the 
good  tunes  to  himself?" 

NOTE  XIX.  Page  163. 
Serviee  of  the  Methodists. 

Mr.  Wesley  prided  himself  upon  the  decency  of  worship  in  his  chapels. 
He  says  :  "  The  longer  I  am  absent  from  London,  and  the  more  I  attend  the 
service  of  the  church  in  other  places,  the  more  I  am  convinced  of  the  unspeaka- 
ble advantage  which  the  people  called  Methodists  enjoy.  I  mean,  even  with 
regard  to  public  worship,  particularly  on  the  Lord's  Day.  The  church  where 
they  assemble  is  not  gay  or  splendid  ;  which  might  be  an  hindrance  on  the  one 
hand  :  nor  sordid  or  dirty,  which  might  give  distaste  on  the  other  ;  but  plain  as 
well  as  clean.  The  persons  who  assemble  there  are  not  a  gay,  giddy  crowd, 
who  come  chiefly  to  see  and  be  seen  ;  nor  a  company  of  goodly,  formal,  outside 
Christians,  whose  religion  lies  in  a  dull  round  of  duties  ;  but  a  people,  most  of 
whom  know,  and  the  rest  earnestly  seek  to  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
Accordingly,  they  do  not  spend  their  time  there  in  bowing  and  curtscyins,  or  in 
staring  about  them  :  but  in  looking  upward  and  looking  inward,  in  hearkening 
to  the  voice  of  God,  and  pouring  out  their  hearts  before  him. 

"  It  is  also  no  small  advantage  that  the  person  who  reads  prayers  (though  not 
always  the  same)  yet  is  always  one,  who  may  be  supposed  to  speak  from  his 
iieart ;  one  whose  life  is  no  reproach  to  his  profession  ;  and  one  who  performs 
that  solemn  part  of  divine  service,  not  in  a  careless,  hurrying,  slovenly  manner, 
but  seriously  and  slowly,  as  becomes  him  who  is  transacting  so  high  an  affair 
between  God  and  man. 

"  iVor  are  their  solemn  addresses  to  God  interrupted  cither  by  the  formal 
drawl  of  a  parish  clerk,  the  screaming  of  boys,  who  bawl  out  what  they  neither 
feci  or  understand,  or  the  unreasonable  and  unmeaning  impertinence  of  a  volun- 
tary on  the  organ.  When  it  is  seasonable  to  sing  praise  to  God,  they  do  it  witli 
the  spirit,  and  with  the  understanding  also  :  not  in  the  miserable,  rcandalous, 
doggrel  of  Hopkins  and  Sternhold,  but  in  psalms  and  hymns  which  are  both 
sense  and  poetry  ;  such  as  would  sooner  provoke  a  critic  to  turn  Christian,  than 
a  Christian  to  turn  critic.  What  they  sing  is,  therefore,  a  proper  continuation 
of  the  spiritual  and  reasonable  service  ;  being  selected  for  that  end,  (not  by  a 
poor  hum-drum  wretch,  who  can  scarce  read  what  he  drones  out  with  such  an 
air  of  importance,  but,)  by  one  who  knows  what  he  is  about,  and  how  to  connect 
the  preceding  with  the  following  part  of  the  service  :  nor  does  he  take  just 
•  two  staves,'  but  more  or  less  as  may  best  raise  the  soul  to  God,  especially 
when  sung  in  well  composed  and  well  adapted  tunes  ;  not  by  a  handful  of  wild 
unawakened  striplings,  but  by  a  whole  serious  congregation  ;  and  then  not 
lolling  at  ease,  or  in  the  indecent  posture  of  sitting,  drawling  out  one  word  after 
another,  but  all  standing  before  God,  and  praising  him  lustily,  and  with  a  good 
courage." 

NOTE  XX.  Page  174. 
Strong  feelings  expressed  vilh  lerity. 
FrLtER  relates  a  remarkable  example  of  this  : — "  When  worthy  master 
Samuel  Hern,  famous  for  his  living,  preaching,  and  writing,  lay  on  his  death 
bed,  (rich  only  in  goodness  and  children,)  his  wife  made  much  womanish  la- 
mentation what  should  hereafter  become  of  her  litlle  ones.  '  Peace,  sweet- 
heart,' said  he  ;  '  that  God  who  feedeth  the  ravens  will  not  starve  the 
Herns.'  A  speech,  censured  as  light  by  some,  observed  by  others  as  propheti- 
cal, as  indeed  it  came  to  pass  that  they  were  well  disposed  of." — FulleT''s  Good 
Thouglits. 

NOTE  XXI.    Page  136. 
Methodism  in  Sculland. 
The  Methodists  thus  explain  the  cause  of  their  failure  in  that  cotintry  : — 
"  There  certainly  is  a  very  wide  difference  between  the  people  of  Scotland,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  England.    The  former  have,  from  their  earliest  years,  been 
arcii<=tomcd  to  hear  the  leading  truths  of  the  GofpeJ,  mi.xed  with  Calvinism,  con- 


424 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


stantly  preached,  so  that  the  truths  are  beeome  quite  familiar  to  them;  buf,  in 
general,  they  know  little  or  nothing  of  Christian  experience  ;  and  genuine  reli- 
gion, or  the  life  and  power  of  godliness,  is  in  a  very  low  slate  in  that  country. 
1  am  fully  satisfied  that  it  requires  a  far  higher  degree  of  the  Divine  influence, 
generally  speakinc;,  to  awaken  a  Scotchman  out  of  the  dead  sleep  of  sin,  than 
an  Englishman.  So  greatly  are  they  bigoted  to  their  own  opinions,  their  mode 
of  church  government,  and  way  of  worship,  that  it  does  not  appear  probable, 
that  our  preachers  will  ever  be  of  much  use  to  that  people  :  and,  in  my 
opinion,  except  those  who  are  sent  to  Scotland  exceed  their  own  ministers 
in  heart-searching,  experimental  preaching,  closely  applying  the  truth  to  the 
consciences  of  the  hearers,  they  may  as  well  never  go  thither."-— Patcwn. 

NOTE  XXir.    Page  183. 

Effect!  ef  the  Reformation  upon  Ireland. 

"  Ireland,  and  especiallic  the  ruder  part,  is  not  stored  with  such  learned 
Bien  as  Germanie  is.  If  they  had  sound  preachers,  and  sincere  livers,  that  by 
the  imbalming  of  their  carian  soules  with  the  sweet  and  sacred  flowers  of  holte 
writ,  would  instruct  them  in  the  feare  of  God,  in  obeieng  their  princes,  in  ob- 
serving the  lawes,  in  underpropping  in  ech  man  his  vocation  the  weale  publike  ; 
I  doubt  not  but,  within  two  or  three  ages,  M.Critabolus  his  heires  should  heare 
so  good  a  report  run  of  the  reformation  of  Ireland,  as  it  would  be  reckoned  as 
civill  as  the  best  part  of  Germanie.  Let  the  soile  be  as  fertile  and  betle  as  anie 
would  wish,  yet  if  the  husbandman  will  not  manure  it,  sometime  plow  and  ear* 
it,  sometime  harrow  it,  sometime  till  it,  sometime  marie  it,  sometime  delve  it, 
sometime  dig  it,  and  sow  it  with  good  and  sound  come,  it  will  bring  foorth  weeds, 
bind-corne,  cockle,  darnell,  brambles,  briers,  and  sundrie  wild  shoots.  So  it 
fareth  with  the  rude  inhabitants  of  Ireland  ;  they  lacke  universities;  they  want 
instructors  ;  they  are  destitute  of  teachers ;  they  are  without  preachers ;  they 
are  devoid  of  all  such  necessaries  as  apperteine  to  the  training  up  of  youth  : 
and,  notwithstanding  all  these  wants,  if  anie  would  be  so  frowardlie  set  as  to 
require  them  to  use  such  civilitie,  as  other  regions,  that  are  sufficientlie  fur- 
nished with  the  like  helps,  he  might  be  accounted  as  unreasonable  as  he  that 
would  force  a  creeple  that  lacketh  both  his  legs  to  run,  or  one  to  pipe  or  whistle 
a  galiard  that  wanteth  his  upper  lip." — Sianihurat,  in  Holinshed's  Chronicles, 
vol.  vi.  p.  14. 

The  ecclesiastical  state  of  Ireland  in  1576,  is  thus  described  by  John  Vowell 
alias  Hooker,  the  Chronicler  : — "  The  temples  all  ruined,  the  parish-churches, 
for  the  most  part,  without  curates  and  pastors,  no  service  said,  no  God  honoured, 
nor  Christ  preached,  nor  sacraments  ministered  :  many  were  born  which  i>«ver 
were  christened  :  the  patrimony  of  the  church  wasted,  and  the  lands  embezzled. 
A  lamentable  case,  for  a  more  deformed  and  a  more  overthrown  Church  there 
could  not  be  among  Christians." — Holinshed's  Chronicles,  vol.  vi.  p.  388. 

"  The  Kernes,  or  natural  wild  Irish,  (and  many  of  the  better  sort  of  the  na- 
tion also,)  eitlier  adhere  unto  the  Pope,  or  their  own  superstitious  fancies,  as  in 
former  times.  And,  to  say  truth,  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  should,  there  being 
no  care  taken  to  instruct  them  in  the  Protestant  religion,  either  by  translating 
the  Bible,  or  the  English  Liturgy,  into  their  own  language,  as  was  done  in 
Wales;  but  forcing  them  to  come  to  church  to  the  English  service,  which  the 
people  understand  no  more  than  they  do  the  mass.  By  means  whereof,  tlie 
Irish  are  not  only  kept  in  continual  ignorance,  as  to  the  doctrine  and  devotions 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and  others  of  the  Protestant  churches,  but  those  of 
Rome  are  furnished  with  an  excellent  argument  for  having  the  service  of  the 
church  in  a  language  which  the  common  hearers  do  not  understand.  And, 
therefore,  I  do  heartily  commend  it  to  the  care  of  the  State  (when  these  dis- 
tempers are  composed)  to  provide  that  they  may  have  the  Bible,  and  all  other 
public  means  of  Christian  instruction,  in  their  natural  tongue." — Heyl}fii?s  Cos- 
mography, p.  341. 

I  transcribe  from  the  "  Letters  of  Yorick,"  (Dublin,  1817,)  this  "  description 
of  a  parish  in  the  county  of  Waterford  :" — "  Kilbarry  is  a  lay  impropriation. 
Mr.  Fox,  of  Brainham  Hall,  Yorkshire,  the  patron  and  proprietor,  maintains  no 
curate,  nor  any  other  service  than  that  of  the  occasional  duties,  for  which  he 
allows  Ol.  16s.  3d.  per  annum.  The  lauds  are  set  tithe-free.  There  is  but  one 
Protestant  family  in  the  parish,  Mr.  Carew's,  of  Ballinamona.  The  church  is 
in  ruins,  but  is  accommodated  with  a  church  yard  " 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


425 


NOTE  XXIII.    Page  182. 

Weshy's  political  Conduct. 

In  a  letter  wiittcn  in  1782,  Mr.  Wesley  says,  "  Two  or  three  years  ago, 
when  the  kingdom  was  in  imminent  danger,  I  made  an  offer  to  the  Government 
of  raising  some  men.  The  Secretary  of  War,  by  the  King's  order,  wrote  me 
word  '  that  it  was  not  necessary  :  but  if  it  ever  should  be  necessary,  His 
Majesty  would  let  me  knew.'  I  neter  renewed  the  offer,  and  never  intended  it. 
But  Captain  Webb,  without  my  knowing  any  thing  of  the  matter,  went  to 
Colonel  B.  the  new  Secretary  of  War,  and  renewed  that  offer.  The  Colonel 
(I  verily  believe  to  avoid  his  importunity)  asked  him  '  how  many  men  he  could 
raise       But  the  Colonel  is  out  of  place  ;  so  the  thing  is  at  an  end." 

NOTE  XXIV.    Page  221. 

Wesley's  Separation  from  his  Wife. 

The  separation  between  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wesley  is  represented  by  all  hi§ 
biographers  as  final.  Yet,  in  his  journal  for  the  ensuing  year,  1772,  she  is 
mentioned  as  travelling  with  him  :  "  Tuesday,  June  30.  Calling  at  a  little  inn 
on  the  moors,  I  spoke  a  few  words  to  an  old  man  there,  as  my  wife  did  to  the 
woman  of  the  bouse.  They  both  appeared  to  be  deeply  affected.  Perhaps 
Providence  sent  us  to  this  house  for  the  sake  of  i^hose  two  poor  souls." 

NOTE  XXV.    Page  263. 
Trevecca. 

The  following  curious  account  of  a  society  instituted  partly  in  imitation  of 
Lady  Huntingdon's  College,  is  taken  from  the  preface  to  a  tract  entitled  "  The 
Pre-existence  of  Souls,  and  Universal  Restitution  considered  as  Scripture  Doc- 
trines. Extracted  from  the  Minutes  and  Correspondence  of  Burnham  Society." 
Taunton,  1798.  The  editor  was  a  singular  person,  whose  uanie  was  Locke. 
Mr.  Wesley  used  to  preach  in  the  Society's  room  in  the  course  of  his  travelling ; 
and  Mr.  Fletcher,  John  Henderson,  Sir  Richard  Hill,  and  the  Rev.  Sir  George 
Stonhouse  were  among  the  corresponding  members. 

"  The  small  college,  or  rather  large  school,  established  at  Trevecca,  in 
Wales,  for  the  maintenance  and  education  of  pious  young  men,  of  different 
religious  "sentiments,  suggested  the  idea  of  constituting  a  religious  society  at 
Burnham,  in  the  county  of  Somerset,  upon  a  similar  plan,  with  regard  to  the 
difference  of  opinion.  It  was  intended  to  ensure  to  its  members  not  only  j^ll 
the  advantages  enjoyed  by  common  benefit-clubs,  from  their  weekly  contribu- 
tions, but  to  raise  a  fund  sufficient  to  enable  those  who  attended  the  monthly 
meetings  to  enjoy  all  the  pleasures  of  one  of  Addison's  Social  Convivial  Societies, 
subject,  however,  to  a  heavy  fine  lor  drinking  to  excess,  because  the  entertain- 
ment was  to  be  conducted  upon  the  principles  of  a  primitive  Love-Feast,  which 
was  to  enjoy  all  things  in  common. 

"  As  the  first  or  chief  business  of  this  society  was  to  study  philosophy  and 
polemic  divinity,  and  debate  on  the  difference  of  religious  opinions,  in  brotherly 
love  ;  so  ancient  and  modern  controversy  was  to  be  introduced,  and,  of  course, 
candidates,  of  any  religious  denomination,  admitted  as  members  of  this  philo- 
sophical society.  But  in  order  that  religious  contro%'ersy  should  not  operate  as 
a  check  upon  the  general  good  humour  of  the  members,  all  personal  reflections 
or  invectives,  tart  or  sour  expressions,  harsh  severe  speeches,  with  every  other 
impropiiety  of  conduct,  either  by  word,  look,  or  gesture,  contrary  to  patience, 
meekness,  and  humility,  were  punishable  by  fines  and  penalties;  and  for  non- 
compliance, the  delinquents  were  either  to  be  sent  to  Coventry,  or  excluded. 

"  The  resolution  entered  into  of  living  in  brotherly  love,  in  the  same  manner 
as  we  conceive  an?.els  would  live,  were  they  to  sojourn  with  men, 'and  the  libe- 
ral and  rational  plan  upon  which  this  society  was  founded,  gathered  to  it  up- 
wards of  five  hundred  members;  upon  which  a  resolution  was  made,  that  no 
speaker  should  harangue  more  than  five  minutes  at  one  time,  supposing  any 
ether  member  arose  to  speak.  Hence  arose  the  necessity  for  disputants  to  con- 
clude their  debates  in  writing,  with  references  to  authors,  who  had  written  upon 

*  Ladv  Huntlagdon,  the  founder,  leaned  to  the  Siipralapsarians ;  the  Rey,  Walter  Shirley, 
the  president,  to  the  Sublapsarians ;  the  Rev.  John  Fletcher,  the  suiicriDtendcnf  master,  de- 
fended the  Arminiari  tenets  of  John  Wesley ;  and  John  Henderson,  teacher  of  the  higher  classicE 
•nan  an  U  iivcrsalist,  after  Stonhnii''p 

VOL.  H.  r)4 


426 


NOTES  ANIJ  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


the  subject,  in  order  for  the  society  to  deliver  their  opinions  upon  the  question 
under  consideration. 

"  These  debates,  papers,  and  references  to  books,  disclosed  to  the  members 
(as  their  minds  became  more  and  more  enlightened)  a  variety  of  indirect  roads 
and  bj'epaths,  in  the  exploring  of  vhich  they  lost  themselves;  for,  however 
firmly  they  were  united  in  acts  of  brotherly  conformity  in  the  service  of  one 
common  Lord,  they  gradually  returned  to  their  old  customs — some  to  the  wor- 
ship of  vheir/«?«i/v  ^orfi— a  few  to  the  service  of  their  OJtn  gorfs— others  paid 
obedience  to  an  unknoim  god — but  most  neglected  the  service  of  erfny  god. 

"This  will  account  for  the  gradual  desertion  of  members,  and  the  apparent 
necessity  of  permitting  this  once  famous  society  to  degenerate  into  a  mere 
benefit-club,  which  is  now  kept  together  by  a  freehold  estate  (of  twenty  pounds 
per  annum  neat)  purchased  by  the  President  from  the  surplus  contributions  of 
members." 

"  You  formed  a  scheme,"  says  Toplady  to  Mr.  Wesley,  "  of  collecting  as 
many  perfect  ones  as  you  could  to  live  under  one  roof.  A  number  of  these 
flowers  w  ere  accordingly  transplanted,  from  some  of  your  nursery  beds,  to  the 
hot-house.  And  an  hot-house  it  soon  proved.  For,  would  we  believe  it! 
the  sinless  people  quarrelled  in  a  short  time  at  so  violent  a  rate,  that  you 
found  yourself  forced  to  disband  the  whole  regiment." — Toplady's  Works,  vol. 
V.  p.  342. 

Does  this  allude  to  the  Burnham  Society  ? 

NOTE  XXVI.    Pago  26.". 
JVhUefteld. 

Thk  d(^vice  upon  Whiteficld's  seal  was  a  winged  heart  soaring  abovo  th<; 
globe,  and  the  motto  Astra  pctmms.  The  seal  appears  to  have  been  circular, 
and  coarsely  eul.  A  broken  impression  is  upon  an  original  letter  of  his  in  my 
possession,  for  xvliicb  I  am  obligoil  !o  Mr.  Laing,  the  bookseller,  of  Kdinburgh. 

Mr.  William  Mason  writes  from  ?»ewburyport,  near  Boston,  to  the  Gospel 
IMagazine,  and  contradicts  "  an  account  which  was  prevalent  in  London  a  few 
year*  past,  and  asserted  with  direct  posstlivity  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine;" 
namely,  "that  the  body  of  the  late  Kev.  Mr.  George  WLitefield,  buried  in  this 
port,  was  entire  and  uncorrupted.  From  w  hence  such  a  falsehood  could  have 
arisen  it  is  impossible  to  decide.  About  five  years  past,  (he  writes  in  1801,)  a 
few  friends  were  permitted  to  open  the  to^nb  wherein  the  remains  of  that  pre- 
cious servant  of  Christ  were  interred.  After  some  difiiculty  in  opening  the 
coffin,  we  found  the  llesh  totally  consumed.  The  gow  n,  cassock,  and  band,  with 
w  hich  he  was  buried,  were  almost  the  same  as  if  just  put  into  the  coffin.  I 
mention  this  particular  as  a  caution  to  Editors,  especially  of  a  religious 
work,  to  avoid  the  matvclloiis,  particularly  wiieii  there  is  uo  foundation  for  their 
assertions." 

The  report,  thougli  it  was  as  readily  accredited  by  many  persons  as  the  in- 
vention of  a  saint''s  body  would  be  in  a  Catholic  country,  seems  not  to  have 
originated  in  any  intention  to  deceive.  Some  person  writing  from  America, 
says,  "One  of  the  preachers  told  me  the  body  of  Mr.  Whitefield  was 
not  yet  putrified.  But  several  other  corpses  are  just  in  the  same  state  at 
Newburyport,  owing  to  vast  quantities  of  nitre  with  which  the  earth  there 
abounds." 

Whitcfi''ld  is  said  to  have  preached  eighteen  thousand  sermons  during  the 
thirly-loiu-  years  of  his  ministry.  Tlie  calculation  was  made  from  a  memorill- 
duni-book  in  which  he  noted  down  the  times  and  places  of  his  preaching.  This 
would  be  something  more  than  ten  sermons  a  w-eck. 

Wesley  ti  lls  us  himself  (.Tournal,  xiii.  p.  121.)  that  he  preached  about  eight 
hundred  sermons  in  a  year.  In  fifty-three  years,  reckoning  from  the  time  of 
his  return  from  America,  this  would  amount  to  forty-two  thousand  four  hun- 
dred. But  it  must  be  remembered  that  even  the  hundreds  in  this  sum  were  not 
written  discourses. 

Collier  says,  that.  Dr.  Litchfield,  Rector  of  All  Saints,  Thames-street,  Lon- 
don, wlin  di('<l  in  1-147,  left  three  thousand  and  eighty  three  sermons  in  liis  own 
hand.— /vW.  Hisl.  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 

NOTE  XXVII.    Page  ?70. 
Conference  v:ilh  the  Calvinisls. 
"  1  M'AS  at  Bristol,"  says  Mr.  Badcock,  "  when  the  Hon.  Mr.  Shirley,  by 
the  order  of  my  Lady  Iluniir.gdon,  railed  him  (.Mr.  Wesley)  to  a  public  account 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


427 


JOr  certain  expressions  which  lie  liad  uttered  in  some  charge  to  liis  clergy,  which 
savoured  too  much  of  the  Popish  doctrine  of  the  merit  of  good  works.  \"arious 
speculations  were  formed  as  to  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Wesley  would  evade 
the  charge.  Few  conjectured  right ;  but  all  seenied  to  agree  in  one  thing,  an<l 
that  was  that  he  would  some  how  or  other  baffle  his  antagonist  :  and  baffle  him 
he  did  ;  as  Mr.  Shirley  afterwards  confessed  in  a  very  lamentable  pamphlet, 
which  he  published  on  this  redoubted  controversy.  In  the  crisis  of  the  dispute, 
1  beard  a  celebrated  preacher,  who  was  one  of  VVhitefield's  successors,  express 
liis  suspicion  of  the  event :  for,  says  he,  "  I  know  him  of  old  :  he  is  an  eel  ; 
take  him  where  you  will,  he  will  slip  through  your  fingers." — JS'iehols^s  Ancc- 
doles,  vol.  V.  p.  224. 

NOTE  XX VIII.    Page  271. 
Berridge  of  Everton. 

This  person  (who  was  of  Clare  Hall)  called  himself  a  riding  pedlar,  because, 
he  used  to  say,  his  master  employed  him  to  serve  near  forty  shops  in  the  coun- 
try, besides  his  own  parish. 

If  the  Poems  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  with  the  signature  of  Old  Everton,  are 
his,  as  I  suppose  them  to  be,  the  following  slanderous  satire  upon  Mr.  Wesley 
must  be  ascribed  to  him  ;  for  it  comes  evidently  from  the  same  hand  : — 

The  Serpent  and  t/ie  Foz  ;  or,  an  Litenien  bttneen  old  Ifick  and  old  John. 

There's  a  fox  who  resideth  hard  by. 

The  most  perfect,  and  holy,  and  sly. 
That  e'er  turu'd  a  coat,  or  could  pilfer  and  lie. 

As  this  reverend  Reynard  one  day. 

Sat  thinking  what  game  next  to  play, 
Old  Xicfc  came  a  seas'nable  visit  to  pay. 

O,  your  servant,  my  friend,  quoth  the  priest, 

Tho'  you  carry  the  mark  of  the  beast, 
1  never  shook  paws  with  a  w  elcomer  guest. 

Many  thanirs,  holy  man,  cry'd  the  fiend, 

'Twas  liecaiise  you're  my  very  good  friend 
I'liat  I  dropt  in,  with  you  a  few  ciomeuts  to  spenJ 
JOHN. 

Tour  kindness  requited  shall  be ; 

Tliere'.'!  the  Calvinist-Methodists,  see, 
Who'rc  tlernally  troublous  to  you  and  to  me. 

Now  I'll  stir  up  the  hounds  of  the  mhnre 

That's  call'd  scarlet,  to  worry  them  sore. 
And  then  roast  'em  in  Smithfield,  like  Boruer  of  yore. 
KICK. 

O.  a  meal  of  the  Calvinist  brood 
Will  do  my  old  stoinarh  more  good. 
Than  a  sheep  to  a  wolf  that  is  starving  for  food. 

JOHN. 

When  America's  conquer'd,  you  know, 
('Till  then  we  must  leave  them  to  crow,) 
I'll  work  up  our  rulers  to  strike  an  home-blow. 
KICK. 

An  excellent  plan,  could  you  do  it ; 
But  if  all  the  infernals  too  knew  it. 
They'd  be  puzzled,  like  me,  to  tell  how  you'll  go  through  it. 
JOHN. 

When  they  speak  against  vice  in  the  Great, 
I'll  cry  out.  that  they  aim  at  the  Staic, 
And  the  Ministry,  King,  and  the  Parliament  hate. 
Thus  I'll  still  act  the  part  of  a  liar, 
Persecution's  blest  spirit  irj.spire. 
And  then  ■'  Calmly  Address"  'em  with  faggot  and  die. 
NICK. 

Ay,  that's  the  right  way,  I  know  well ; 
But  how  lUs  with  perfection  can  dwell, 
\i  a  riddle,  dear  John,  that  would  puzzle  all  heU. 
JOHN. 

Pish  !  you  talk  like  adoaling  old  elf; 

Can't  you  .see  how  it  brings  in  the  pelf; 
And  all  things  are  lawful  that  serve  a  man's  self. 

As  serpents,  we  ought  to  be  wise  , 

Is  not  self-preservation  a  prize  ? 
ForthisUid  dqI  Abram  the  righteous  tell  Uce  ' 


428 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSXnATlONS. 


NICK. 

1  perceive  you  are  subtle,  tho'  small : 
You  have  reason,  and  scripture,  and  aU  : 
So  stilted,  you  never  can  finailj  tail. 

JOHN 

From  the  drift  of  your  latter  reflection. 
1  fear  vou  maintain  some  connexion 
With  the  crocodile  crew  that  belie-;c  in  ElectiOE 
NICK. 

By  my  troth,  1  abhor  tlie  whole  troop  ; 
With  lliose  heroes  I  never  could  cope  ; 
I  should  chuckle  to  see  'em  all  swing  in  a  rope. 

JOHN. 

Ah,  could  we  but  set  the  land  free 

From  those  bawlers  aboit  the  Vecne, 
Who  re  such  torments  to  you,  to  my  brother,  and  rae  .' 

As  for  tVMttfield.  1  know  i(  right  well, 

He  has  sent  down  his  thousands  to  hell ; 
And,  for  aught  that  I  know,  he's  gone  with  'cm  to  dwell. 
NICK 

I  grant,  my  friend  John,  for  'lis  true, 
That  he  was  not  so  perfect  as  you ; 
Vet  (confound  him  !)  I  lost  him  for  all  1  coold  do. 
JOHN. 

Take  comfort  !  he's  not  gone  to  glory ; 

Or,  at  most,  not  above  the  Jint  story  : 
Per  none  but  the  ptrfect  escape  purgatory. 

At  best,  he's  in  limbo,  I'm  sure. 

And  must  still  a  long  purging  endure, 
Ere,  like  me,  he's  made  sinless,  quite  holy,  and  pure. 
NICK. 

Such  purging  mj  Johnny  needs  none  ; 

By  your  ov.  n  mighty  v  orks  it  is  done. 
Anil  the  kingdom  ol  glory  your  merit  has  won. 

Thus  wrapt  in  your  self-righteous  plod, 

And  self-raised  when  you  throw  off  this  clod. 
You  shall  mount,  and  demand  your  own  seat,  like  a  god. 

You  shall  not  in  paradise  wait. 

But  climb  the  third  story  with  state  ; 
While  your  WItitifidds  and  Hills  are  turn'd  back  from  the  gate 

Old  John  never  dreamt  that  he  jeer'd  ; 

So  Nick  turn'd  himself  round,  and  he  sneer'd, 
And  then  shrugg'd  up  his  shoulders,  and  strait  disappeared. 

The  priest,  with  a  simpering  face. 

Shook  his  hair-locks,  and  paus'd  for  a  space  ; 
Then  sat  down  to  forge  lies  with  his  usual  grimace. 

ACSCUtTATOf.. 


NOTE  XXVIII.    Page  272. 
Calvinism. 

'•Some  pestilent  and  abominable  heretics  there  be,"  says  the  Catholid 
Bishop  Watson,  "  that,  for  excusing  of  themsehcs,  do  accuse  Almighty  God, 
and  impute  their  mischievous  deeds  to  God's  predestination  ;  and  would  per- 
suade that  God,  who  is  the  fountain  of  all  goodness,  were  the  author  of  all 
mischief;  not  only  suffering  men  to  do  evil  by  their  own  wills,  but  also  enforc- 
ing their  wills  to  the  same  evil,  and  working  the  same  evil  in  them.  I  will  not 
DOW  spend  this  little  time  (for  it  was  near  the  end  of  his  sermon)  in  confuting 
their  pestilent  and  devilish  sayings,  for  it  is  better  to  abhor  them  than  to  confute 
them.'''' — Holsume  and  CalhoJyke  Doctryne,  p.  124  1558. 

Dr.  Beaumont  has  two  ;:of  d  stanzas  upon  this  subject  in  his  Psyche,  which  is 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  poems  in  this  or  in  any  other  language. 
O  no  !  may  those  black  mouths  for  ever  be 

Damn'd  up  with  silence  and  with  shame,  which  dare 
Father  the  foulest,  deepest  tyranny 

On  Love's  great  God  ;  and  needs  will  make  it  clear 
From  his  own  word  !  thus  rendering  him  at  once 
Both  Cruelty's  and  Contradiction's  Prince. 
A  prince  whase  mocking  law  forbids,  what  yet 

Is  his  eternally-resolved  will ; 
Who  woos  and  tantalizes  souls  to  get 
Up  into  heaven,  yet  destines  them  to  hell  j 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTKATIONS. 


Who  calls  tliem  forth  whom  lie  keeps  locked  in  ; 
Who  damns  the  sinner,  yet  ordains  the  sin. 

Canto  10.  St.  71,  72. 

In  the  Arminian  Magazine,  Wesley  has  published  the  Examination  of  Tileiuis 
before  the  Triers,  in  order  to  his  intended  settlement  in  the  office  of  a  public 
preaclici  in  the  Commonwealth  of  F.utopia  ;  written  by  one  who  was  present  at 
the  Synod  of  Dort.  The  names  of  the  Triers  are  very  much  in  .lolin  Bunyan's 
style.  They  are — Dr.  Absolute,  Chairman,  Mr.  Fatality,  l\Ir.  Prteieriiion,  Mr. 
Fry-babe,  Dr.  Damn-m.-Mi,  Mr.  Aarrow  Grace,  Mr.  Efficax,  Mr.  Indetectible, 
Dr.  Confidence,  Dr  Dubious,  Mr.  Meanwell,  Mr.  Simulans,  Mr.  Take-o'Trust, 
Mr.  Know-little,  and  Mr.  Impertinent. 

If  the  Abb6  Duvernet  may  be  trusted,  (a  write.-  alike  liable  to  suspicion  for 
bis  ienoruice  and  his  immorality,)  Jansenius  formally  asserts  in  his  .^uo-jw- 
tinus,  that  there  are  certain  commandments  which  it  is  impossible  to  obey, 
and  that  Christ  did  not  die  for  all.  He  refers  to  the  Paiis  edition,,  vol.  iii.  py. 
138.  16.5. 

NOTE  XXX.    Page  277. 

Fletcher's  Illmtraiions  of  Calvinism. 

"  I  suppost  you  are  still  upon  your  travels.  You  come  to  the  borders  of  a 
great  empire,  and  the  first  thing  that  strikes  you,  is  a  man  in  an  easy  carriage 
going  with  folded  arms  to  take  possession  of  an  immense  estate,  freely  given 
him  by  the  king  of  the  country.  As  he  flies  along,  you  just  make  out  the  motto 
of  the  royal  chariot  in  whi'.h  he  do'.es, — '  Free  Keward.'  Soon  after,  you 
meet  five  of  the  king's  carts,  containing  twenty  wretches  loaded  w  ith  irons  ; 
and  the  motto  of  every  cait  rs,  '  Free  Punishment.'  You  inquire  into  the 
meaning  of  this  extraordinary  procession,  and  the  sheriff  attending  the  execu- 
tion answers  :  Know,  curious  stranger,  that  our  monarch  is  c6ii;/!</e  ;  and  to 
show  that  sovereignti^  is  the  prerogative  of  his  imperial  crown,  ai-l  that  he  is 
TM  respecter  of  persons,  he  distributes  every  day  /ree  rewards  and  free  punish- 
ments, X.o  a  certain  number  of  his  subjects.  'What!  without  any  regard  to 
merit  or  domeiit,  by  mere  caprice  ?'  Not  altogether  so  ;  for  he  pi/chrsupon  the 
V!Orst  of  men,  and  chief  of  sinners,  and  upon  such  to  choose,  for  the  subjects  of 
his  rewards.  (Elisha  Coles,  p.  62.)  And  that  his  punishments  may  do  as  much 
honour  xo  free  sovereign  vnath,  as  his  bounty  does  to  fref  sovereign  grace,  he 
pitches  upon  those  that  shall  De  executed  before  they  are  born.  '  What  !  have 
these  poor  creatures  in  chains  done  no  liarm  r'  '  O  yes,'  says  the  sheriff,  '  the 
king  contrived  that  their  parents  should  let  them  fiill,  and  break  their  legs,  be- 
fore they  had  any  knowledge  ;  when  they  came  to  years  of  discretion,  he  com- 
manded them  to  run  a  race  with  broken  legs,  and  because  they  cannot  do  it,  t 
am  going  to  see  them  quartered.  Some  of  them,  besides  this,  have  been  obliged 
to  fulfil  the  king's  ifcrei  icill,  and  bring  about  his  purposes  ;  and  they  shall  be 
burned  in  yonder  deep  valley,  called  Tophel,{oT  their  trouble.'  You  are  shocked 
at  the  sheriff's  account,  and  begin  to  expostulate  with  him  about  the  freenessof 
the  wrath  which  burns  a  man  for  doing  the  king's  will  ;  but  all  the  answer  you 
can  get  from  him  is,  that  which  you  give  me  in  your  fourth  letter,  pate  23, 
where,  speaking  of  a  poor  reprobate,  you  say,  '  such  an  one  is  indeed  accom- 
plishing the  king's,'  you  say,  '  God's  decree  ;'  but  he  carries  a  dreadful  mark 
in  his  forehead,  that  such  a  decree  is,  that  he  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting 
destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  the  country.  You  cry  out,  '  God 
deliver  me  from  the  hands  of  a  monarch,  Who  punishes  with  everlasting  destruc- 
tion such  as  accomplish  his  decree!'  and  while  the  magistrate  intimates  that 
your  exclamation  is  a  dreadful  mark,  if  not  in  your  forehead,  at  least  i^pon  your 
tongue,  that  you  yourself  shall  be  apprehended  against  the  next  exectition,  and 
made  a  public  instance  of  the  king's  free  wrath  ;  your  blood  runs  cold  ;  you  bid 
the  postilion  turn  the  horses  ;  they  gallop  for  your  life  ;  and  the  moment  you  get 
out  of  the  dreary  land,  you  bless  God  for  yon  narrow  escape." — Fktcker''s 
Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  26 

"  You  '  decry  illustrations,'  and  I  do  not  wontler  at  it ;  for  they  carry  light 
into  Babel,  where  it  is  not  desired.  The  father  of  errors  begets  Darkness  and 
Confusion.  From  Darkness  and  Confusion  springs  Calvinism,  who,  wrapping 
himself  up  in  some  garnieuts,  which  he  has  stolen  from  the  Truth,  deceives  the 
nations,  and  gets  himrelf  reverenced  iu  a  dark  temple,  as  if  he  were  the  pure 
and  free  Gospel. 


430 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


*'  To  bring  him  to  a  shameful  end,  we  need  not  stab  him  with  ilie  dagger  Ot 
*  calumny,^  or  put  him  upon  the  rack  of  persecution.  Let  him  only  be  dragged 
out  of  his  obscurity,  and  brought  unmasked  to  open  light,  and  the  silent  beams 
of  tiuth  will  pierce  him  through  !  Light  alone  will  torture  him  to  death,  as  the 
uiKvi  lian  sun  does  a  bird  of  night,  that  cannot  fly  from  tlic  gentle  operation  ol 
its  Loams. 

"  May  the  following  illuslratioa  dart  at  least  one  luminous  beam  into  the 
profonnd  darkness  in  which  your  venerable  Diana  delights  to  dwell  '.  And  may 
it  show  the  Christian  world,  that  we  do  not  ^  slaiukr you,'^  when  we  assert,  you 
inadvertently  destroy  God's  law,  and  east  the  Uedeemer's  crown  to  the  ground  : 
and  that  when  you  say,  '  in  point  of  justification,'  (and  consequently  of  con- 
demnation,) '  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  law  ;  we  arc  under  the  law  as  a 
rulo  of  lifp,'  ut  not  as  a  rule  of  judgment ;  you  might  as  well  say,  *  we  are 
undt  r  no  law,  and  conspt]uently  no  longer  accountable  for  our  actions.' 

"  '  Tlie  kin';,'  whoml  will  suppitsf.  is  in  love  with  your  doctrines  of /ree-g'rafe 
and  free-wrath,  by  the  advice  of  a  predestinarian  council  and  parliament, 
issues  out  a  Go«/jcZ-proclavnation,  directed  '  to  all  liis  dear  subjects,  and  elect 
people,  the  flnglish.''  By  this  evangelical  manifesto  they  are  informed,  '  that 
ill  consequence  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  meritorious  intercession,  and  perfect 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  England,  all  the  penalties  annexed  to  the  breaking  of 
those  laws  are  now  abolished  with  respect  to  Englishmen  :  that  his  majesty 
freely  pardons  all  his  subjects,  who  have  been,  arc,  or  shall  be  giiilfy  of  adul- 
tery, murder,  or  treason  :  that  all  their  crimes  '  past,  present,  and  to  come,  are 
for  ever  and  for  ever  cancelled  :'  that  nevertheless,  his  loving  sulijecls,  who  re- 
main strangers  to  their  privileges,  shall  still  be  served  with  sham-warrants,  ac- 
cording to  law,  and  frightened  out  of  their  wit?,  till  they  have  learned  to 
plead,  ihei;  are  Englishmen,  (i.  e.  eleel  ;)  and  then,  they  shall  also  set  at 
defiance  all  legalists  ;  that  is,  all  tliose  who  shall  dare  to  deal  with  them 
according  to  law  :  and  that,  excepting  the  case  of  the  above  mentioned  false 
prosecution  of  his  chosen  people,  none  of  them  shall  ever  be  molested  for  the 
breach  of  any  law. 

"  By  the  same  supreme  authority  it  is  likewise  enacted,  that  all  the  laws 
shall  continue  in  force  against  foreigners,  (i.  e.  reprobates,)  v  hom  the  King  and 
the  Prince  hate  with  everlasting  hatred,  and  to  whom  they  have  agreed  never 
to  show  mercy  :  that  accordingly  they  shall  be  prosecuted  to  the  utmost  rigour 
of  every  statute,  till  thev  are  all  hanged  or  burned  out  of  the  way  :  and  that, 
supposing  no  personal  ofieiice  can  be  proved  against  them,  it  shall  be  lawful  to 
hang  them  in  chains  for  the  crime  of  one  of  their  forcfatliers,  to  set  forth 
the  king's  wonderful  justice,  dis))lay  his  glorious  sovereignty,  and  make 
his  chosen  people  relish  the  better  their  sweet  distinguishing  privileges  as 
Englishmen. 

"  ftloreover,  his  Majesty,  who  loves  order  and  harmonj^  sharges  his 
loving  subjects  to  consider  still  the  statutes  of  England,  which  arc  iu 
force  against  foreigners,  as  very  good  rules  of  life,  for  the  Englisli,  which 
they  shall  do  icell  to  follow,  but  better  to  break';  because  every  breach  of 
those  rules  will  work  for  their  good,  and  make  them  sing  louder  the  faithful- 
ness of  the  king,  the  goodness  of  the  prince,  and  the  sweetness  of  this  Gospel- 
proclamation." 

"  Again,  as  nothing  is  so  displeasing  to  the  king  as  legality,  which  he  hates 
even  more  than  extortion  and  whoredom;  lest  any  of  his  dear  people,  wlio  have 
acted  the  part  of  a  strumpet,  robber,  murderer,  or  traitor,  should,  through  the 
remains  of  their  inbred  corruption,  and  ridiculous  legality,  inourn  too  deeply 
for  breaking  some  of  their  rules  of  life,  our  gracious  monarch  solemnly  assures 
them,  that  though  he  highly  disapproves  of  adultery  and  murder,  yet  these 
breaches  of  rales  are  not  worse  in  his  sight  than  a  wandering  thought  in  speak- 
ing to  him,  or  a  moment's  dulness  in  his  service:  that  robbers,  therefore,  and 
traitors,  adulterers,  and  murderers,  who  are  free-born  Englishmen,  need  not  at 
all  be  uneasy  about  losing  his  royal  favour  ;  this  being  utterly  impossible,  be- 
cause they  always  stand  complete  in  the  honesty,  loyalty,  chastity,  and  charily 
of  the  prince. 

"  Moreover,  because  the  king  changes  not,  whatever  lengths  the  English  go 
on  in  immorality,  he  will  always  look  upon  them  as  h'xs  pleasant  children,  his 
dear  people,  ^n<i  men  after  hisown  heart  ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  whatso- 
ever lengths  foreigners  go  in  pious  morality,  his  gracious  majesty  is  determined 
still  to  consider  them  as  hypocrites,  vessels  of  wrath,  and  cursed  children,  for 
whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever ;  because  he  always  viewi 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


431 


them  completely  guilty,  and  absolutelj- condemned  in  a  certain  robe  of  mirighle- 
oitsness,  woven  tliousands  of  years  ago  by  one  ol"  their  ancestors.  This  rlr.  ad- 
ful  sanbcnito  his  majesty  liaih  thought  fit  to  put  upon  them  by  imputation,  and 
in  it,  it  is  his  good  pleasure  that  tliey  shall  hang  in  adamantine  chains,  or  burn 
in  fire  unquenchable. 

"  Finally,  as  foreigners  are  dangerous  people,  and  may  stir  up  his  majesty's 
subjects  to  rebellion,  the  English  are  informed,  that  if  ai;y  of  ihem,  were  he  to 
come  over  from  Geneva  itself,  shall  dare  to  insinuate,  that  his  most  gracious  gos- 
pel-proclamation is  not  according  to  equity,  morality  and  godliness,  the  first 
Englishman  that  meets  him,  shall  have  full  leave  to  brand  him  as  a  papist,  with- 
out judge  or  jury,  in  the  forehead  or  on  the  back,  as  lie  thinks  best  ;  and  that, 
till  he  is  further  proceeded  with  according  to  the  utmost  severity  of  the  law,  the 
chosen  people  shall  be  informed,  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  to  beware  of  him,  as 
a  man  '  who  scatters  firebrands,  arrows,  and  deaths,'  and  makes  universal  havoc 
of  erery  article  of  this  sweet  gospel-proclaination.  Given  at  Geneva,  and  sign- 
ed by  four  of  his  majesty's  principal  secretaries  of  state  for  the  predesiinarian 
department." 

.loHN  Calvijt,  Dr.  Crisp, 

The  Author  of  V.  O.  Rowlakd  Hii.i.. 

Fklcher''s  Works,  Vol.  iii.  page  282. 

NOTE  XXXI.  Page  278. 
.Iniiinianism  described  by  the  C'ahinisls. 
"Scarce  had  our  first  parents  made  their  appearance,  v.  hen  Sa  tan,  the Jirs! ,.1r- 
tninian,  began  to  preach  the  pernicious  doctrine  of  free-will  to  them  ;  which  so 
pleased  the  old  gentleman  and  his  ladj',  that  they  (like  thousands  of  their  foolish 
offspring  in  this  our  day)  adhered  to  the  deceitful  news,  embraced  it  cordially, 
disobeyed  the  command  of  their  Maker  ;  and  by  so  doing,  launched  their  wholo 
posterity  into  a  cloud  of  miseries  and  ills.  But  some,  perhaps,  will  be  ready  to 
say  that  Arminianism,  though  an  error,  cannot  be  the  root  of  all  other  errors  ; 
to  which  I  answer,  that  if  it  first  originated  in  Satan;  then  I  ask,  from  whence 
springs  any  error  or  evil  in  the  world  ?  Surely  Satan  m\i;t  be  the  first  movina; 
cause  of  all  evils  that  ever  did,  do  now,  or  ever  will,  make  their  appearance  in 
this  world  :  consequently  he  was  the  first  propagator  of  that  cursed  doctrine 
above-mentioned.  Hence  Arminianism  begat  Popery,  and  Po])ery  begat  Me- 
thodism, and  INIethodism  begat  Moderate  Calvinism,  and  Moderate  Oalviijism 
begat  Basterianism,  and  Baxtcrianism  begat  Unitarianism,  and  Unitarianism 
begat  Arianism,  and  Arianisni  begat  Universalisro,  and  Universali^ni  begat  De- 
ism, and  Deism  begat  Atheism  ;  and  living  and  dying  in  the  embracement  of 
every  of  the  above  evils  or  isms,  where  Christ  is,  they  never  can  come.  Thus 
1  consider  that  Arminianism  is  the  original  of  all  the  pernicious  doctrines  that 
are  propagated  in  the  world,  and  Destructionism  will  close  the  whole  of  them." 
—Gospel  Magazine,  1807,  p.  16. 

"  Of  the  two  (says  Hunt-ington  the  S.  S.)  I  would  rather  be  a  Deist  than  an 
Arminian  ;  for  an  established  Deist  sears  his  own  conscience,  so  that  he  goes  to 
hell  in  the  easy  chair  of  insensibility  ;  but  the  Armiiuan  who  wages  war  with 
open  eyes  against  the  sovereignty  of  God,  fights  most  of  his  battles  in  the  very 
fears  and  horrors  of  hell." — Hunl-inglori's  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  363. 

"  The  sons  of  bondage,"  says  a  red-hot  Auti.iomian,  who  signs  himself  F.ufus, 
"  like  Satan  and  his  compeer.'-,  are  unsatisfied  with  slavery  themselves,  unless 
they  can  entice  others  into  the  same  dilemma.  They  are  for  ever  forging  their 
accursed  fetters  for  the  sons  of  God  in  the  hot  flames  of  Sinai's  fiery  vengeance  ; 
and  in  the  hypocritical  age  of  the  nineteenth  century,  pour  forth  whole  troops 
of  work-mongers,  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  Moderate  Calvinisis,  who, 
under  an  incredible  profession  of  sanctity,  lie  in  wail  to  deceive  ;  and  by  their 
much  fair  speeches  entrap  the  unwary  pilgrims  into  the  domains  of  Douiiting 
castle,  binding  them  within  those  solitary  ruins  to  the  legal  drudgery  of  embrac- 
ing the  moral  or  preceptive  law,  as  the  rule  of  their  lives." 

Upon  the  subject  of  election,  there  is  a  tremendous  rant  by  a  writer  who  calls 
himself  Ebenczer. 

"  Before  sin  can  destroy  any  one  of  God's  elect  it  must  change  the  word  of 
truth  into  a  lie — strip  Jesus  Christ  of  all  bis  merit — render  his  blood  ineffica- 
ciiius — pollute  his  rigliteoueness — contaminate  his  nature — conquer  his  omnipo- 
tence— cast  him  from  his  throne — and  sink  hin\  in  the  abyss  of  perdition  ;  it  must 
turn  the  love  of  (iod  into  haired — nullify  the  council  of  the  Most  High— rie- 
tfioy  tlie  evrrlasling  covenant — and  malie  void  iho  'lath  of  .lohnvnh — nav.  it 


432 


XOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIOAS. 


must  raise  discord  amongst  the  divine  attiibutes — make  Father,  Sob,  and  Spirit, 
unfaithful  to  eacli  other,  and  set  them  at  variance— change  the  divine  nature — 
wrest  the  sceptre  fiom  the  hand  of  the  Almighty — dethrone  him — arid  put  a  pe- 
riod to  his  existence.  Till  it  has  done  all  this,  we  boldly  say  unto  the  redeemed, 
fear  not,  for  we  shall  not  be  ashamed  ;  neither  be  dismayed,  foi  you  shall  not 
be  confounded.'' — Gospel  Magazine,  1804,  p.  287. 

NOTE  XXXII.    Page  290. 
Young  Gritnshaw. 

"  He  too,"  say.s  Mr.  Wesle;^,  "  is  now  gone  into  eternity!  So,  in  a  few  years, 
the  family  ise-xlinct.  Ipiearhed  in  a  meadow,  near  the  house,  to  a  numerous; 
congregation  ;  and  we  sang  with  one  heart — 

Let  sickness  blast  and  death  devour, 

If  Heaven  will  reconipence  our  pains  ; 
Perish  the  grass,  and  fade  the  flo\>er. 
Since  firm  the  word  of  God  remains. 

NOTE  XXIII.  Page  306. 
Wesley's  Doctrine  concerning  Riches. 
Upon  this  subjoct,  Mr.  Wesley  has  preserved  a  fine  anecdote.  "  Beware," 
he  says,  "  of  forming  a  hasty  judgment  concerning  the  fortune  of  others.  There 
may  be  secrets  in  the  situation  of  a  person,  which  few  but  God  are  acquainted 
with.  Some  years  since,  I  told  a  gentleman,  Sir,  I  am  afr.iid  you  are  covetous. 
He  asked  me,  What  is  the  reason  of  your  fears  ?  I  answered,  A  year  ago,  when 
i  made  a  collection  for  the  expense  of  repairing  the  Foundry,  you  subscribed 
five  guineas.  At  the  subscription  made  this  year,  you  subscribed  only  half  a 
guinea.  He  made  no  reply  ;  but  after  a  time  asked,  Pray,  Sir,  answer  me  a 
question  : — why  do  you  live  upon  potatoes,  (I  did  so  between  three  and  four 
years.)  I  replied,  It  has  much  conihiced  to  niy  health.  He  answered,  I  be- 
lieve it  has.  But  did  you  not  do  it  likewise  to  save  money  ?  I  said,  I  did,  for 
what  I  save  from  niy  own  meat,  will  feed  another  that  else  would  have  none. — 
But,  Sir,  said  he,  if  this  be  your  motive,  you  may  save  much  n>ore.  I  know  a 
man  tliat  !>,ues  to  tlie  market  at  the  beginning  of  every  week.  There  he  buys  a. 
pennywonli  of  parsnips,  which  lie  boils  in  a  large  (piantity  of  vi'ater.  The 
paiienips  serve  him  for  food,  and  the  water  for  drink  the  ensuing  week,  so  his 
meat  and  drink  together  cost  him  only  a  penny  a  week.  This  he  constantly  did, 
though  he  had  then  two  hundred  pounds  a  year,  to  pay  the  debts  which  he  had 
contracted,  before  he  knew  God  '. — And  this  was  he,  whom  I  had  set  down  for  a 
covetous  man." 

To  this  affecting  anecdote  I  add  an  extract  from  Wesley's  Journal,  relating 
to  the  subject  of  property. 

"  In  the  evening  one  sat  behind  me  in  the  pulpit  at  Bristol,  who  was  one  of 
our  first  masters  at  Kingsvvood.  A  little  after  he  left  the  school,  he  likewise 
left  the  society.  Riches  then  flowed  in  upon  him  ;  with  which,  having  no  rela- 
tions, Mr.  Spencer  designed  to  do  much  good — after  his  death.  Bv I  God  said 
v.nlo  him,  Thou  fool!  Two  hours  after  he  died  intestate,  and  left  all  his  money 
to  be  scrambled  for. 

"  Reader  !  if  you  have  not  done  it  already,  vxake  your  will  before  you  slecpV 
—Journal,  xix.  8. 

I  know  a  person,  who  upon  reading  this  passage  took  the  advice. 

NOTE  XXXIV.    Page  372. 
The  Covenant. 

If  proof  were  wanting  to  confirm  the  opinion  which  I  have  advanced  of  the 
perilous  tendency  of  this  fanatical  practice,  William  Huntington,  S.  S.  a  per- 
sonage sufficiently  notorious  in  his  day,  would  be  an  unexceptionable  evidence. 
He  thus  relates  his  own  case,  in  his  "  Kingdom  of  Heaven  taken  by  Prayer." 

"  Having  got  a  little  book  that  a  person  had  lent  me,  which  recommended 
vows  to  be  made  to  (iod,  I  accordingly  stripped  myself  naked,  to  make  a  vow 
to  the  Almighty,  if  he  would  enable  me  to  cast  myself  upon  him.  Thus  I  bound 
my  soul  with  numerous  ties,  and  wept  over  every  part  of  the  written  covenant 
which  this  bonk  contained.  These  I  read  naked  on  my  knei's,  and  vowed  to 
perform  all  the  conditions  that  were  therein  proposed.  Having  made  this  cove- 
Bant,  I  went  to  bed,  wept,  and  prayed  the  greatest  part  of  thai  night,  and  arose 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


433 


111  the  morning  pregnant  with  all  the  wretched  resolutions  of  fallen  nature.  I 
now  manfully  engaged  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil  in  iny  own  strength  ; 
and  I  had  bound  myself  up  with  so  many  promised  conditions,  that,  if  I  failed  in 
one  point,  I  was  gone  for  ever,  according  to  the  tenour  of  my  own  covenant, 
provided  that  God  should  deaj  with  me  according  to  niy  sins,  and  reward  me 
according  to  mine  iniqaity. 

"  But,  before  the  week  was  out,  I  broke  through  all  these  engagements,  and 
fell  deeper  into  the  bowels  of  despair  than  ever  I  had  been  before.  And  now, 
seemingly,  all  was  gone  :  I  gave  up  prayer,  and  tecretly  wished  to  be  in  hell, 
that  I  might  know  the  worst  of  it,  and  be  delivered  from  the  fear  of  worse  to 
come.  I  was  now  again  tempted  to  believe  that  there  is  no  God,  and  wished  to 
close  in  with  the  temptation,  and  be  an  established  or  confirmed  atheist ;  for  I 
knew,  if  there  was  a  God,  that  I  must  be  damned  ;  therefore  I  laboured  to 
credit  the  temptation,  and  fix  it  firm  in  my  heart.  But,  alas  !  said  I,  how  can 
I.'  If  I  credit  this,  I  must  disbelieve  my  own  existence,  and  dispute  myself  out 
of  common  sense  and  feeling,  for  I  am  in  hell  already.  There  is  no  feeling  in 
hell  but  what  I  have  an  earnest  of.  Hell  is  a  place  where  mercy  never  comes  : 
I  have  a  sense  of  none.  It  is  a  separation  from  God  :  I  am  without  God  in  the 
world.  It  is  a  hopeless  state  :  I  have  no  hope.  It  is  to  feel  the  burthen  of  sin  : 
1  am  burlhened  as  much  as  mortal  can  be.  It  is  to  feel  the  lashes  of  con- 
science :  I  feel  them  all  the  day  Ion*.  It  is  to  be  a  companion  for  devils  ;  I  am 
harassed  with  them  from  morning  till  night.  It  is  to  meditate  distractedly  on 
an  endless  eternity  :  1  am  already  engaged  in  this.  It  is  to  sin  and  rebel  against 
God  :  I  do  it  perpetually.  It  is  to  reflect  upon  past  madness  and  folly  ;  this  is 
the  daily  employ  of  my  mind.  It  is  to  labour  under  God's  unmixed  wrath  ;  this 
I  feel  continually.  It  is  to  lie  under  the  tormenting  sceptre  of  everlasting  death  ; 
this  is  already  begun.  .\las  !  to  believe  there  is  no  God,  is  like  persuading 
myself  that  I  am  in  a  state  of  annihilation." — Huntington's  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  193. 

NOTE  XXXV.  Page  375. 
Trie  Value  of  a  good  Conscience. 
Upon  this  subject  the  Methodist  Magazine  affords  a  good  illustration.  A 
poor  Cornishman,  John  Nile  by  name,  had  been  what  is  called  under  conyic- 
fion  twelve  months, — in  a  deplorable  state,  walking  disconsolate,  while  his 
brethren  were  enjoying  their  justification.  One  night,  going  into  his  fields,  he 
detected  one  of  his  neighbours  in  the  act  of  stealing  his  turnips,  and  brought  the 
culprit  quietly  into  the  house  with  the  sack  which  he  had  nearly  filled.  He 
made  him  empty  the  sack,  to  see  if  any  of  his  seed  turnips  were  there,  and  find- 
ing two  or  three  large  ones  which  he  had  intended  to  reserve  for  that  purpose, 
he  laid  them  aside,  bade  the  man  p>it  the  rest  into  the  sack  again,  helped  him  to 
lay  it  on  his  back,  and  told  him  to  take  them  home,  and  if  at  any  time  he  was  in 
distress,  to  come  and  ask  and  he  should  have  ;  but  he  exhoi  ted  him  to  steal  no 
more.  Then  shaking  him  by  the  hand,  he  said,  I  forgive  you,  and  may  God  for 
Christ's  sake  do  the  same.  What  effect  this  had  upon  the  thief  is  not  stated  ; 
but  John  Nile  was  that  night  "  filled  with  a  clear  evidence  of  pardoning  love," 
with  an  assurance,  that  having  forgiven  his  brother  his  trespasses,  his  heavenly 
Father  also  had  forgiven  him." — Did  the  feeling  proceed  from  his  faith,  or  his 
good  works 

"  The  Scriptures,"  says  Priestley,  "  uniformly  instruct  us  to  judge  of  out- 
selves  and  others,  not  by  uncertain  and  undescribable  feelings,  but  by  evident 
acliont.  As  our  Saviour  says,  ^  by  their  f i~uits  shall  ye  know  men.^  For  w  here 
a  man's  conduct  is  not  only  occasionally,  but  uniformly  right,  the  principle  upon 
which  he  acts  must  be  good.  Indeed  the  only  reason  why  we  value  good  prin- 
ciples, is  on  account  of  their  uniform  operation  in  producing  good  conduct. 
This  is  the  end,  and  the  principle  is  only  the  means."— Pr''/ace  to  Original 
Letters  by  Wesley  and  his  Friends. 

MR.  WESLEY'S  EPITAPHS. 

ON  THE  TOMB-STONE. 
To  the  Memory  of 
Tbe  Venebable  John  Weslet,  A.M. 
Late  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College,  Oxford. 
This  Great  Liout  arose 
(By  the  siiieular  Providence  of  God) 

ToenlighteiiTHESE  Nations, 
And  to  Ttvivc,  enfurce,  aud  defend. 
The  Pure,  Apostolical  Doctrines  and  Practices  of 
The  Pbijjitive  Cbubcb  : 

VOL.  ir.  55 


434 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Which  he  continued  to  do,  hy  his  Writings  and  his 

For  more  than  Half  a  Ce.vtury  : 
And,  to  his  inexpressible  Joy, 
Not  only  beheld  their  I  nfll'ence  extendiag, 
Anrt  their  Efficacy  witnessed. 
In  the  Hearts  am'  Lives  of  Many  Tiioi'sands, 
As  well  in  the  Western  Wo.  lu  as  in  these 
Kingdoms: 

But  also,  far  above  all  human  Power  or  Expectation, 
Lived  to  see  Provision  msde  by  the  singular  Grace  of 
God 

For  their  CoNTiNi'ANCE  and  Est4BLIshment, 
To  THE  Jov  OF  Future  Generations  I 
UEADER,  if  thou  art  constrained  to  bless  the  Instrument, 

GiTE  Gou  THE  GlORt! 

Jfler  having  languished  afevi  days,  he  at  length  Jinishtd 
his  CovRSE  and  his  Jafs  together;  gloriously 
Iriumpliing  over  Death,  Ma-ch2.  An. 
Dom.  \m,inthe  Eighty-eighth  Year 
Of  his  Age. 

IN  THE  CHAPEL. 

Sacred  to  the  Memory 
Ofthe  Rev.  John  Wesley,  M.  A. 
Some  time  Fe;/(jw  q/"  Lincoln  College,  Oxford. 
A  Man,  in  LearuiiiK  and  sincere  Piety, 
Scarcely  inferior  to  any  : 
In  Zeal,  Ministerial  Labours,  and  extensive  Usefulness, 
Superior  (perhaps)  to  all  Men 
Since  the  days  of  St.  Paul. 
Bejardless  of  Fatigue,  personal  Danger,  and  Disgrace, 
He  went  out  into  the  hishways  and  hedges, 
Calling  Sinners  to  Repentance, 
And  Preaching  the  Gospel  of  Peace. 
He  was  the  Founder  of  the  Methodist  Societies; 
The  Patron  and  friend  of  the  Lay-Preachers, 
By  whose  aid  he  extended  the  Plan  of  Itinerant  preaching 
Through  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
The  West  Indies  and  America, 
With  unexampled  Success. 
He  was  born  June  17th,  1703, 
And  died  March  2d,  1791, 
In  sure  and  certain  hope  of  Eternal  Life, 
Through  the  Atonement  and  Mediation  of  a  Crucified  Saviour. 
He  was  sixty-five  Years  in  theMinisIri/, 
And  fifty-two  an  Itinerant  Preacher : 
He  lived  to  see  in  these  Kingdoms  only. 
About  three  hundred  Itinerant, 
And  a  thousand  Local  Preachers, 
Raised  up  from  the  midst  of  his  own  People ; 
And  eighty  thousand  Persons  in  the  Societies  under  his  care. 
His  JVame  will  ever  be  had  in  grateful  Remembrance 
by  all  who  rejoice  in  the  universal  Spread 
Of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
Soli  Deo  Gloria. 

Not  long  after  Mr.  Wesley's  death  a  pamphlet  was  published,  entitled,  An 
Impartial  Review  of  his  Life  and  Writings.  Two  love-letters  were  inserted  as 
having  been  written  by  him  to  a  young  lady  in  his  eighty-fiist  year  ;  and,  "to 
prevent  all  suspicion  of  their  authenticity,"  the  author  declared  that  the  original 
letters,  in  the  hand  writing  of  Mr.  Wesley,  were  then  in  his  possession,  and  that 
they  should  be  open  to  the  inspection  of  any  person  who  would  call  at  a  given 
place  to  examine  them.  "  With  this  declaration,''  says  Mr.  Drew,  "  many 
were  satisfied  ;  but  many  who  continued  incredulous,  actually  called.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  they  always  happened  to  call,  either  when  the  author  was 
engaged,  or  when  he  was  from  home,  or  when  these  original  letters  were  lent  for 
the  inspection  of  others  !  It  so  happened,  that  though  they  were  always  open 
to  examination,  they  could  never  be  seen."  In  the  year  1801,  however,  the 
author,  a  Mr.  J.  Collet,  wrote  to  Dr.  Coke,  confessing  that  he  had  written  the 
letters  himself,  and  that  most  of  the  pretended  facts  in  the  pamphlet  were  equally 
fictitious. 

The  Ex-Bishop  Gregoire  has  inserted  one  of  these  forged  letters  in  his  His- 
tory of  the  Religious  Sects  of  the  last  Century.  He  reckons  among  the  Metho- 
dists Mr.  Wilberforce,  who,  he  says,  has  defended  the  principles  of  Methodism 
in  his  writings,  and  le  poele  Sir  Richard  Hill,  Baronnet.  But  the  most  amusing 
specimen  of  the  Ex-Bishop's  accuracy  is,  where  enumerating  among  the  contro- 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


435 


verted  subjects  of  the  last  century,  La  Refonne  da  Symhole  ,1lhanasien,  lie 
adds,  a  celte  discussion  sc  ratlaclie  la  Cnntioverse  Clagdoiiieunc  enlre  le  acre  rft 
Blagdon,  pres  de  Bristol,  el  Miss  Hannah  More. 

ADDITIONAL  NOTES 
co^rcERmjvG  mr.  wesley's  family. 

Bartholomew  Wesley  is  said  to  have  been  the  fanatical  minister  of 
Charmoiith,  in  Dorsetshire,  who  had  nearly  been  the  means  of  delivering  Lord 
Wilmot  and  Charles  II.  to  their  enemies.  Lord  Clarendon's  account,  however, 
differs  from  this  ;  he  says  that  the  man  was  a  weaver,  and  had  been  a  soldier  ; 
but  Mr.  Wesley  had  received  an  University  education. 

Samuel  Wesley,  the  elder,  was  a  student  in  a  dissenting  academy,  kept  by 
Mr.  Veal,  at  Stepney;  and,  according  to  John  Duntnn,  was  "educated  upon 
charity"  there  ;  an  invidious  expression,  meaning  nothing  more  than  that  the 
friends  of  his  parents  assisted  in  giving  him  an  education  wliich  his  mother  coulJ 
not  have  afforded.  He  distinguished  himself  there  by  his  facility  in  versifying  ; 
and  the  year  after  his  removal  to  Oxford,  published  a  volume  entitled,  "  Mag- 
gots, or  poems  on  several  subjects  never  before  handled."  A  whimsical  por- 
trait of  the  anonymous  author  was  prefixed,  representing  him  writing  at  a  table, 
rrowned  with  laurel,  and  with  a  maggot  on  his  forehead  :  underneath  arc  these 
vords  : — 

In 's  own  defence  the  author  writes. 

Because  when  this  foul  maggot  bites 
He  ne'er  can  rest  in  quiet, 

Which  makes  him  make  so  sad  a  face, 

He'd  beg  your  worship  or  your  grace 
Unsight,  unseen  to  buy  it. 
It  was  by  the  profits  of  this  work,  and  by  composing  elegies,  epitaphs,  and 
epithalamiums,  for  his  friend  John  Runton,  who  traded  in  these  articles,  and 
kept  a  stock  by  him  ready  made,  tliat  Mr.  Wesley  supported  himself  at  Oxford  ; 
not  as  I  have  erroneously  staled  (after  Dr.  Whitehead)  by  what  he  earned  in 
the  University  itself.  "  He  usually  wrote  too  fast,"  says  Dunton,  *•  to  write 
well.  Two  hundred  couplets  a  day  are  loo  many  by  two-thirds  to  be  well  fur- 
nished with  all  the  beauties  and  the  graces  of  that  art.  He  w  rote  very  much 
for  me  both  in  pro^e  and  verse,  though  I  shall  not  name  over  tlie  titles,  in  re- 
gard I  am  altogether  as  unwilling  to  see  my  name  at  the  bottom  of  them,  as 
Mr.  Wesley  would  be  to  subscribe  his  own." 

Dunton  and  Wesley  were  brothers-in-law,  and  when  the  former  wrote  his 
"  Life  and  Errors,"  they  were  (lot  upon  amicable  terms.  Dunton  could  not  for- 
give him  for  having  published  a  letter  concerning  the  education  of  the  Difsenters 
in  their  private  academies.  It  appears,  however,  by  his  own  account,  that  Mr. 
Wesley,  little  as  he  had  to  spare,  had  lent  him  money  in  his  distresses  ;  and 
Dunton,  even  while  he  satirizes  him,  acknowledges  that  he  was  a  generous, 
good  humoured,  and  pious  man. 

Mr.  Nichols  (Literary  Anecdotes,  vol.  ii.  p.  84.)  says  that  Mr.  Wesley's 
house  was  burnt  twice.  John,  however,  only  says,  (hat  the  villains  several  times 
attempted  to  burn  it.  He  had  made  great  progress  in  his  laborious  work  upon 
the  Book  of  Job,  having  collated  all  the  copies  he  could  meet  with  of  the  ori- 
ginal, and  the  Greek  and  other  versions  and  editions.  All  these  labours  were 
destroyed  ;  but  in  the  decline  of  life  he  resumed  the  task,  though  oppressed  with 
gout  and  palsy  through  long  habit  of  study.  Among  other  assistances,  he  ))ar- 
ticularly  acknowledges  that  of  his  three  sons,  and  his  friend  Maurice  Johnson. 

The  book  was  printed  at  Mr.  Bowyer's  press.  How  much  is  it  to  be  wished 
»hat  the  productions  of  all  our  great  presses  had  been  recorded  with  equal 
diligence  ! 

The  Dissrrtaliones  in  Libntm  Jubi,  I  have  never  seen  ;  but  I  learn  from  Mr. 
Nichols's  Literary  Anecdotes,  (vol.  v.  p.  212.)  that  a  curious  emblematical  por- 
trait of  the  author  is  prefixed  to  the  volume.  It  "  represents  Job  in  a  chair  of 
state,  dressed  in  a  robe  bordered  with  fur,  silting  beneath  a  gateway,  on  the 
arch  of  which  is  written  Job  Patriarcha.  He  bears  a  sceptre  in  liis  hand, 
and  in  the  back  ground  are  seen  two  of  the  Pyramids  of  Lgypt.  His  position 
exactly  corresponds  with  the  idea  given  us  by  the  Scriptures  in  the  Look  oi  Job, 


436 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


chap,  xxxix.  7.  :  '  When  I  went  out  to  the  gate  through  the  city,  when  I  pre- 
pared my  seat  in  the  street  according  to  the  custom  of  those  tin>es  of  great 
men  sitting  at  the  gate  of  the  city  to  decide  causes.  Tlie  subscription  on  a 
tablet  beneath  his  feet,  .In.  alat.  circiter  LXX.  Quis  viihi  tribuat  ?  mark  it 
out  as  the  quaint  device  of  a  man  in  years  who  thought  himself  neglected." 

Garth  and  Swift  have  mentioned  Wesley  with  contempt  ;  and  Pope  introduced 
him  in  the  Dunciad,  in  company  with  Watts.  Both  names  were  erased  in  the 
subsequent  editions.  Pope  felt  ashamed  of  having  spoken  injuriously  of  such 
a  man  as  Dr.  Watts,  who  was  entitled  not  only  to  high  respect  for  his  talents, 
but  to  admiration  for  his  innocent  and  holy  life  ;  and  he  had  become  intimate 
with  Samuel  Wesley  the  younger.  That  excellent  man  exerted  himself  in  every 
way  to  assist  his  father,  when  the  latter  had  lost  all  hope  of  the  preferment 
which  he  once  had  reason  to  expect. 

"  Time,"  says  Mr.  Badcock,  had  so  far  gotten  the  better  of  his  fury  against 
Sir  Robert,  (Walpole,)  as  to  change  the  satirist  into  the  suppliant.  I  have  seen 
a  copy  of  verses  addressed  to  the  great  Minister,  in  behalf  of  his  poor  and  aged 
parent.  But  I  have  seen  something  much  better.  1  have  in  my  possession  a 
Xellei  of  t\\is  poor  and  aged  parent,  addressed  to  his  son  Samuel,  in  which  he 
gratefully  acknowledges  his  filial  duty  in  terms  so  affecting,  that  I  am  at  a  loss 
which  to  admire  most,  the  gratitude  of  the  parent,  or  the  affection  and  generosity 
of  the  child.  It  was  written  when  the  good  old  man  was  nearly  fourscore,  and 
so  weakened  by  a  p  ilsy  as  to  be  incapable  of  directing  a  pen,  unless  with  his 
left  hand.  I  preserve  it  as  a  curious  memorial  of  what  will  make  Wesley  ap- 
plauded when  his  wit  is  forgotten."    Literary  Anecdotes,  vol.  v.  p.  220. 

The  only  works  of  the  elder  Wesley  which  I  have  met  with,  are  the  two  fol- 
lowing, which  were  probably  his  most  successful  publications. 

The  History  of  the  Old  Testament  in  Verse,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty 
Sculptures,  in  two  volumes,  dedicated  to  her  most  sacred  Majesty.  Vol.  i. 
From  the  Creation  to  the  Revolt  of  the  Ten  Tribes  from  the  House  of  David. 
Vol.  ii.  From  that  Revolt  to  the  End  of  the  Prophets.— Written  by  Samuel  Wes- 
ley, A.  M.  Chaplain  to  his  Grace  John,  Duke  of  Buckingham  and  Marquis  of 
Normandy,  Author  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  an  Heroic  Poem.  The  Cuts  done  by 
J.  Sturt,  London:  Printed  for  Cha.  Harper,  at  the  Flower-de-luce,  over-against 
St.  Dunstan's  Church,  in  Fleet-street.  1704.  12mo. 

The  History  of  the  New  Testament,  representing  the  Actions  and  Miracles 
of  our  Blessed  Saviour  and  his  Apostles  ;  attempted  in  Verse,  and  adorned  with 
152  Sculptures.  Written  by  Samuel  Wesley,  A.  M.  Chaplain  to  the  Most 
Honourable  the  Lord  Marquis  of  Normandy,  and  Author  of  the  Life  of  Christ, 
un  Heroic  Poem.  The  Cuts  done  by  J.  Sturt.  London  :  printed  for  Cha.  Har- 
per, at  the  Flower-de-luce,  over-against  St.  Dunstan's  Church,  in  Fleet-street. 
1701.  12ma. 

The  elder  Wesley  had  a  clerk,  who  was  a  Whig,  like  his  master,  and  a  Poet 
also,  of  a  very  original  kind.  "  One  Sunday,  immediately  after  Sermon,  he 
said,  with  an  audible  voice.  Let  us  sing  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God,  ahyma 
af  my  Own  composing.    It  was  short  and  sweet,  and  ran  thus; 


King  William  is  come  home,  come  home, 

King  William  home  is  come  ! 
Therefore  let  us  together  sing 

The  hymn  that's  call'd  Te  D'um." 

Wale^js  Remarhs  on  Mr.  HilVs  Farrago  Double  Dislilhd. 


Works,  vol.  XV.  p.  109. 


THE  EXD 


I 


